Nov 24, 2015 09:00 PM EST
You may be Immune to Your Acne Antibiotics, Experts Revealed

A zit appearing on a person's face is normal and with a week of proper washing it will be gone. But if they continue to grow constantly and no cleansing or even medication can cure them, pimples can be considered one's worst enemy.

Pimples are skin conditions that may upset the  oil glands. The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases explained how a pimple develops. "The small holes in your skin (pores) connect to oil glands under the skin. These glands make an oily substance called sebum. The pores connect to the glands by a canal called a follicle. Inside the follicles, oil carries dead skin cells to the surface of the skin. A thin hair also grows through the follicle and out to the skin. When the follicle of a skin gland clogs up, a pimple grows."

According to American Academy of Dermatology, acne is the most universal skin problem in the US and is being experienced by 40 to 50 million people. Having pimples usually starts when a person hits adolescence.  Around 85% of American age 12 and 24 are affected of common acne.

A recent study by Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust found that four out of five people with acne are now immune to antibiotics like erythromycin, clindamycin and tetracycline which are used to treat pimples. In 2002, one study released in the Clinical Therapy found that after one and one-half months of using antibiotic to prevent acne from multiplying, the drug becomes less effective since the bacteria grow to be invulnerable to its effects. Professor Nick Lowe, a consultant dermatologist and medical director of the Cranley Clinic in London stated, "It is clear that long-term over-prescribing of antibiotics allows bugs to build up resistance in some cases.

A teenage male was referred to me recently with severe acne, and he had been trying different antibiotics for more than a year which weren't working. It's a trend that's developed over the past 15 years."

If prescribed antibiotics fail to function Dr. Lowe suggested acquiring spironolactone which delays excretion of sebum. "Another option is Isotrex, the gel‑form of Roaccutane, which works by encouraging regulating skin cell growth. It can cause irritation, redness and increased sensitivity to sunlight, but does not lead to mood disorders. Laser and light treatments can also help reduce the appearance of skin lesions. They penetrate the skin and kill bacteria," Lowe recommended.

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