Saturday, January 17, 2009

What hormonal acne therapy is right for me?

It is learnt that estrogens (i.e. female sex hormone) are particularly helpful in women who have oily skin and clear signs of increased sebum production that lead to acne. Any estrogen, if given in high enough doses (i.e. higher than that required for typical oral contraception), will decrease sebum production and work to suppress the ovarian production of androgens (i.e. a class of hormones that can cause the sebaceous gland to enlarge and produce more sebum that will cause acne) and encourages the liver to increase the production of sex hormone binding globulin that binds the androgen from circulation.

After appropriate evaluation, our doctor will work with us to determine the right medicine or combination of medicines for us. It is good to know that should a woman on estrogen therapy, i.e. hormonal acne therapy, breast exam and pap smear should be done at least annually, though it is varied from country to country, on age, sexual activity, family history of breast and other cancers as well as other factors too.

The incidence of more serious side effects, such as clotting and high blood pressure that can occur in the use of estrogens is rare in healthy young women. However, the potential risk of adverse reactions against the benefits should be carefully considered before we start on estrogen hormonal acne therapy.

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