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Medical Advice On Continuing Medicine Minocycline For Acne
I was taking minocycline for about 5 months then stopped for about a month becuz my acne had cleared up. But I recently started getting large cystic pimples but only one or two at a time. So I started taking the minocycline again but it seems as though it is making my acne worse. So I m wondering if I should stop taking it and hope my acne goes away or keep taking it and expect my face to clear up in the next couple days.
Mon, 23 Mar 2015
Hello. Thank you for writing to us
Cystic type of acne is an indication for oral retinoids i.e Isotretinoin and would not respond as well to minocycline.
Cystic type of acne is the most severe grade of acne and is prone to scar therefore treatment should be aggressive and started early.
Retinoids are antiinflammatory, comedolytic, sebostatic i.e inhibit sebum production and therefore have multipronged action in acne. They are one of the best choices for cystic type of acne.
In addition to oral retinoids I would suggest you to use topical antiacne preparations like benzoyl peroxide, clindamycin, nadifloxacin etc.
Single or just a few cystic acne lesions can also be treated by Intralesional injection of Triamcinolone acetonide.
It comes as an injection of 10 mg/ ml. I usually dilute it (1:4) with sterile water and inject a small amount of it (0.05 to 0.1 ml) directly into the acne nodule or cyst.
This usually flattens an acne cyst or nodule within 36-48 hours.
This procedure would however be done only by a dermatologist at his office and therefore might not be an option.
Regards
Cystic type of acne is an indication for oral retinoids i.e Isotretinoin and would not respond as well to minocycline.
Cystic type of acne is the most severe grade of acne and is prone to scar therefore treatment should be aggressive and started early.
Retinoids are antiinflammatory, comedolytic, sebostatic i.e inhibit sebum production and therefore have multipronged action in acne. They are one of the best choices for cystic type of acne.
In addition to oral retinoids I would suggest you to use topical antiacne preparations like benzoyl peroxide, clindamycin, nadifloxacin etc.
Single or just a few cystic acne lesions can also be treated by Intralesional injection of Triamcinolone acetonide.
It comes as an injection of 10 mg/ ml. I usually dilute it (1:4) with sterile water and inject a small amount of it (0.05 to 0.1 ml) directly into the acne nodule or cyst.
This usually flattens an acne cyst or nodule within 36-48 hours.
This procedure would however be done only by a dermatologist at his office and therefore might not be an option.
Regards
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