Birth control pills that help acne | HealthInfi

Birth control pills that help acne

Acne is a disease of hair follicles and sebaceous glands, characterized by chronic inflammation. Acne makes the sebaceous glands to produce excessive amount of secretion, blocking the hair follicles of sebaceous ducts. As a result pathogenic flora is formed on the skin, creating favorable environment for multiplication of bacteria and developing local inflammatory process.

Acne can be of different severity and may cause not just physical but psychological discomfort. Appearance associated complexes hinder active social life and cause severe depression. Therefore acne is not just some sort of cosmetic drawback, but a complex problem, which requires medical intervention. Methods of acne treatment may vary, depending on gender of a patient. For instance, to improve state of skin in women, it is recommended to use birth control pills.

Birth control pills that help acne are the following: Ortho Tri-Cyclen; Estrostep and Yaz. Today these are the three drugs that are approved by the FDA not just as birth control pills, but also as pills for acne treatment. Different birth control pills contain derivatives of two female hormones: estrogen and progesterone. Herewith doses of estrogen and progesterone vary according to the type of birth control pills.

How exactly do birth control pills help to get rid of acne?

To understand how birth control pills help to get rid of acne, you should know that hormonal imbalance is one of the common causes of acne. The truth is that not only the male body can produce male hormones, but female body as well. In prepubertal period androgens are especially active, since it is natural change of hormonal balance, associated with puberty.

Male sexual hormones affect many processes in the body, as for example occurrence of acne. The thing is that androgens stimulate the growth of cells of the sebaceous glands, responsible for production of sebum. As a result, sebaceous glands produce larger amount of sebum with more dense and sticky texture. Therefore many people suffer from acne in adolescence. Little by little the hormonal level becomes normal and acne disappears. But in some cases, the skin inflammation doesn’t go away.

The reason why acne appear in women during postpubertal period is hormonal imbalance most of all, the state when the body produces more androgens than necessary. Birth control pills contain female sex hormones. Getting into the body, estrogen and progesterone both inhibit the release of androgens. Now, because the amount of male sexual hormones becomes lower, their stimulating effect on the production of sebum decreases too. Thus this helps to eliminate one cause of acne formation, providing healthy skin.

In addition, acne and pimples often occur in premenstrual cycle. It is caused by the fact that steroid hormone levels are increased at the last phase of menstrual cycle. Usually acne arises on the chin zone. In this zone sebaceous glands are especially sensitive to hormonal changes. Thus birth control pills help to reduce premenstrual activity of testosterone, thereby preventing inflammations on the skin during this period.

Birth control pills for acne treatment

Ortho Tri-Cyclen contains progestational compound Norgestimate and estrogenic compound ethinyl estradiol. Combination of ethinyl estradiol and norgestimate has inhibition effect on testosterone production and at the same time increases the level of sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG). Depending on the dosage of birth control pills, Ortho Tri-Cyclen contains 0.180mg, 0.215mg or 0.250mg of norgestimate. While the dose of ethinyl estradiol in any Ortho Tri-Cyclen pill is 0.035mg.

Ortho Tri-Cyclen is prescribed for the treatment of moderate acne vulgaris in female patients of 15 years old and older, as well as for prevention of pregnancy. Unlike different birth control pills, (Estrostep and Yaz), Ortho Tri-Cyclen is used in pediatric patients for preservation of bone mineral density, associated with anorexia.

Other birth control pills are known as Estrostep, which active substances are called norethindrone and ethinyl estradiol. Unlike Ortho Tri-Cyclen, ethinyl estradiol dose can vary in Estrostep. It is 20mcg, 30mcg or 35mcg in each tablet. Dosage of norethindrone is stable – 1mg. Estrostep is recommended as birth control means and also as drug to cure acne in patients over 15 years old.Read More