What is your opinion on antibiotic use for acne?

Nurses General Nursing

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I am currently working and a med-spa (though I have put my notice in and am going back to hospital nursing in a week).

The Dr. at this facility frequently prescribes antibiotics for long term use for people with acne problems. I am not sure I really agree with this considering all of the superbugs out there that we are creating due to overuse of antibiotics. Just wondering what everyone else thought of this?

Specializes in PeriOperative.

Huh. Do you have orthopods in your hospital? Every orthopod I work with routinely implants methyl methacrylate impregnated with both vanc and tobra. Sometimes it is removed, sometimes it isn't.

Personally, I don't stay up at night worrying about doxycyline-resistant bacteria. Bugs that are resistant to vanc and tobra, a little more troublesome.

There are pros and cons. Essentially, your treating an infection. Patients with recurrent UTIs are put of prophylactic abx. If it helps treat the infection, I think the pros outweigh the cons.

I don't give a rat's hind end if you consider it cosmetic. It is the patient's choice to put something into their body or to have any given procedure. If you are as bothered as you seem by cosmetic concerns, a hospital is probably a much better fit for you.

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Specializes in Infusion Nursing, Home Health Infusion.

Absolutely they should be used when indicated without hesitation. It seems to me that you are looking at acne as a little cosmetic problem. Acne especially on the face neck and chest can have a profound effect on psychosocial development, can cause isolation and depression and impact the quality of ones life . LOOK when it is most likely to occur...during the teenage years..when individuals are working through all the teenage issues ans figuring out who they are and their place in the world . Its not fun getting called a "pizza face" Women also tend to have acne during periods of hormonal changes and there is such a thing as adult onset acne. I have battled acne all my adult life...finally got it under control with plain old aging..several courses of accutane....I was on abxs..creams and potions...and treatments of all kinds. It is a very difficult skin disorder to treat. I know it effected EVERY aspect of my life...my dating life...my work life...my social life. I remember many times when I did not go somewhere or do something b/c my skin looked "bad" and I was too self conscious to enjoy myself..ACNE can make you completely miserable. You never want to withhold an indicated treatment b/c you are concerned about developing resistant organisms. It is the indiscriminate use of antibiotics that creates the problem. Doctors prescribing to keep a parent happy....doctors extending prophylactic abx administration when not indicated....plus many more

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Absolutely they should be used when indicated without hesitation. It seems to me that you are looking at acne as a little cosmetic problem. Acne especially on the face neck and chest can have a profound effect on psychosocial development, can cause isolation and depression and impact the quality of ones life . LOOK when it is most likely to occur...during the teenage years..when individuals are working through all the teenage issues ans figuring out who they are and their place in the world . Its not fun getting called a "pizza face" Women also tend to have acne during periods of hormonal changes and there is such a thing as adult onset acne. I have battled acne all my adult life...finally got it under control with plain old aging..several courses of accutane....I was on abxs..creams and potions...and treatments of all kinds. It is a very difficult skin disorder to treat. I know it effected EVERY aspect of my life...my dating life...my work life...my social life. I remember many times when I did not go somewhere or do something b/c my skin looked "bad" and I was too self conscious to enjoy myself..ACNE can make you completely miserable. You never want to withhold an indicated treatment b/c you are concerned about developing resistant organisms. It is the indiscriminate use of antibiotics that creates the problem. Doctors prescribing to keep a parent happy....doctors extending prophylactic abx administration when not indicated....plus many more

Acne is much more than a cosmetic problem.

Antiboitics work and are much, much cheaper than the lasers and other agressive treatments

Risks vs benefits

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Specializes in Medsurg/ICU, Mental Health, Home Health.

I started having acne in the fourth grade. It was, more than anything, PAINFUL. The cosmetic part, eh, whatever, I just know that my face HURT, and the acne would not go away. I have scars from it.

I ended up taking tetracycline for a time. I took it just as prescribed and I do think it helped. I've been off of it for years and haven't had acne since.

Plus, it's cool that my bones glow.

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Specializes in M/S; LTAC.

I have struggle with acne for years. My dermatologist recently started me on Nicotinamide ZCF, which is a prescription medication that contains high doses of zinc, copper, folic acid - all of which are known for their anti-inflammatory properties. He told me that it was gaining popularity in use years ago, before the use of antibiotics in acne became the norm. Therefore, it was subsequently put on the back burner. Let me tell you, my skin looks wonderful after 3 months. I have had a much better response with this than with antibiotics!

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Specializes in LPN, Peds, Public Health.

Well, I have cystic acne, which topical creams and gels will not treat. It is very painful, just think if you have ever had a boil or infected hair follicle, imagine that on your face.

I take minocycline daily for it. It has been the only thing that has worked.

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Specializes in LPN, Peds, Public Health.
All good points and reasons that I assume are why he sometimes chooses to prescribe oral antibiotics.

However what I was getting at is do you all think it is responsible to be so frequently prescribing antibiotics longterm to people for something cosmetic like acne? Couldn't this make them resistant to the antibiotic and then later in life, should they develop an infection and require antibiotics they might run into problems?

The infection control nurse at the last hospital I worked at used to question Docs about every antibiotic they prescribed because of the dangers of antibiotic resistance. Should antibiotics really be used for something cosmetic like acne?

Acne is NOT always about cosmetics. It can be VERY painful. I agree with the other commentor too who said acne affects so many aspects of a person's life. We are not talking about a little zit here or there, there is much more to it than that.

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Specializes in CRNA.

I agree with previous posters; I had terrible acne once I hit puberty that has continued on into my adult life. I tried everything before being prescribed Bactrim DS @ age 20....I'm 28 and STILL have acne that probably will not go away for quite some time (I have genetics to thank for that one..) I don't know what I would do without the abx, as it's the only thing that has worked for me (I refuse to take accutane, so this is the end of the line for me). I am a grad student with literally NO $$, and my antibiotics cost around 10 bucks for a little over a month's supply....lasers, chemical peels, etc can be extremely expensive and not feasible for a student with individual (crappy) insurance to afford. Acne is a terrible condition that has made me extremely self conscious, upset and afraid to go out in public throughout my teens and 20s...not a simple cosmetic irritance

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Specializes in Acute Spine, Neuro, Thoracic's, LTC.

Thank you for the input everyone. You have given me a new perspective.

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Specializes in Spinal Cord injuries, Emergency+EMS.
I'm confused...acne is caused partly by bacteria what else should it be treated with?[/quote']

topical treatments first, second, third , fourth, eightteenth ... only once all appropriate topical preparations have been proven not to work should the prescriber be considering Antibiotics or Roaccutane and by that time hopefully the patient will have been seen by a dermatologist or a Family Doc with a proven and documented Derm specialist interest.

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My daughter took a month of one of the cyclines she is fourteen. I thought it was a good thing because it helped. I don't understand the long term use though. I think that abx are over prescribed for everything!

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Specializes in Acute Spine, Neuro, Thoracic's, LTC.
topical treatments first, second, third , fourth, eightteenth ... only once all appropriate topical preparations have been proven not to work should the prescriber be considering Antibiotics or Roaccutane and by that time hopefully the patient will have been seen by a dermatologist or a Family Doc with a proven and documented Derm specialist interest.

This is what I think too...

I am actually quite surprised by how many people see no problem with long term antibiotic use... but after reading some of the posts I can kind of see some points...

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