Accutane: Acne Medicine or a Deadly Drug?

Different surveys show that Acne is considered by teenagers one of the worst diseases. This is not because of its life-threatening risks but due to the appearance problems it creates. Pharmaceutical Companies having this in mind, create effective drugs but with a lot of serious side effects. The best example of this is of course Accutane or isotretinoin.

But what is Acne? It is a disease related to the sebaceous glands in the skin, which are mostly found around hair follicles on the face, back and chest. A major function of these glands is to secrete an oily substance called sebum. The secretion of this substance increases dramatically during puberty due to hormone changes in the body. Its function in simple terms is to keep the skin moist and remove dead skin cells. If the pores through which sebum is secreted are blocked then bacteria develop resulting in the formation of acne pimples. The glands though continue the production of sebum making the problem ever worst and hard to eliminate.

Accutane is a powerful drug that shrinks the size of sebaceous glands and reduces the amount of sebum they make. This decreases the bacteria development and thus eliminates the acne problem. People who have used it all admit that it actually works quite well. But there is something else that they all agree on: Accutane has serious side effects.

Due to its cellular level action, accutane is strictly prohibited during pregnancy because there is almost an 100% chance of teratogenesis. The company which produces it actually makes you sign (!) that you will do a pregnancy test every month during the treatment. Other side effects include: skin, nose and eye dryness, temper control problems, mood changes, depression. But other side effects have been reported which are even more serious: increased risk of colon cancer, pain during sexual intercourse, penis erection problems in men, serious psychiatric side effects, heart diseases. There is even a website created by a group of lawyers who undertake legal action on the company producing accutane.

Side effects are not always there. There are people who just had their acne cured and nothing happened to them. So it is strongly advised to have a good talk with several doctors before following an accutane treatment and during the treatment to carry out blood examinations frequently.