The Rise of Super Acne – Is Anyone Safe?
There’s a discouraging new skin condition that some are calling Super Acne. This is acne caused by bacteria that are no longer susceptible to antibiotics. These forms of acne are difficult to treat and bode ill for public health reasons as well.
To begin, we need to understand how bacteria develop resistance to antibiotics in the first place. I think we’ve all know about methacillin resistant staph (MRSA). Super acne cam about in the same way.
Bacteria multiply rapidly and as they do mutations can develop. Eventually, a mutation occurs that makes bacteria unaffected by to an antibiotic.
Groups of bacteria compete for the nutrients necessary to grow and multiply. The resistant bacterium is just one of millions. However, if an antibiotic kills all the bacteria sensitive to it, that competition is gone. The resistant bacteria is then free to grow rapidly.
When penicillin was first used no bacteria were resistant to it. Now almost all bacteria are resistant to it. For the same reason, using antibiotics to treat acne has made the bacteria that cause acne are becoming more resistant the more anitbiotics are used.
Physicians are aware of this disturbing trend and are getting away from using antibiotics for acne. In the past it was relatively common for a physician to prescribe a daily low dose of an antibiotic, often tetracycline or erythromycin, for acne. They’re much less likely to do that today.
Fortunately, we have good treatment options today that yield great skin without resorting to antibiotics. One that I’ve seen help a lot of people very rapidly is Acne Free In Three Days.
They may be exaggerating when they say three days in the title but the treatment program does help people quickly. And it doesn’t call for antibiotics.
You can find a lot of good information on the prevention and treatment of acne and I suggest you look around. Best Acne Answers is a site I visit frequently. You may want to check out their page on super acne:The Rise Of Super Acne - Is Anyone Safe?
You may still find a physician that wants to prescribe antibiotics for acne. Antibiotics may be the right treatment for you, but should probably be used only after all other options have been exhausted.
BTW – family physicians are more likely to prescribe an antibiotic for acne than dermatologists are. If your family doc recommends antibiotics, you may want to get a second opinion from a dermatologist first.