Accutane As Acne Treatment: Part 4

That's not to say that all the traditional therapies are duds. An effective form of treatment that has very few side effects is cryotherapy - targeted freezing of the skin. Physicians either rub dry ice onto the skin or apply liquid nitrogen directly to the acne lesions. The downside is that to ensure optimum effectiveness, cryotherapy should be administered daily, which makes this form of treatment impractical for the average patient.

Another acne treatment is a procedure known as acne surgery. The physician uses a small instrument that presses down upon the acne lesion, forcing out the impaction. This treatment must be performed regularly. However, insurance companies do not cover this mode of treatment, so it is not very popular. Nor is it all that effective.

After a quick rundown of some of these traditional treatments it becomes apparent that:

• They are not particularly effective, yet carry risks.
• They work but are not practical due to treatment frequency, prohibitive cost, etc.
• They do work but have potentially serious side effects.
• They are very effective but are proinflammatory.

Retin-A and many over-the-counter treatments can be irritating. In fact, these treatments actually make the acne worse before - maybe - making it better. In particular, these treatments can be a disastrous choice for adult patients, whose skin is very different from that of adolescents. Yes, they may help the acne - but at what price? Dry skin? Accelerated aging?