Understanding Isotretinoin (Accutane)

Isotretinoin is a prescription medication. It is included in the class of medications known as retinoids! Patients take this medication orally. Adults typically take 0.25 to 0.5 milligrams per kilogram of their weight to treat acne. They will often take two doses each day! Of course, they cannot exceed two milligrams per kilogram of their weight in a day. Patients are safe to take this medication for up to twenty weeks! However, they have to follow strict instructions during this time. This prescription is only available at certified pharmacies. Patients must also join a registry when they are taking isotretinoin. It tracks their treatment! The patient's prescribing doctor will monitor them closely as well. A seventy percent decrease in nodular acne allows patients to stop taking this medication before twenty weeks have passed!

It is clear that isotretinoin is a strong prescription acne treatment. It even acts as an acne scar treatment! Of course, most individuals try other treatments for acne first. This includes over-the-counter acne washes and topical acne spot treatments. Patients often try home remedies for acne first as well! Most doctors also prescribe other acne medications, including topical retinoids, before writing an isotretinoin prescription. Patients need to understand isotretinoin as a treatment for acne before they take it.

How It Works

Isotretinoin is an oral retinoid! Patients will recognize it as Accutane. This medication is also a synthetic version of vitamin A. It works to reduce the size of an individual's sebaceous glands permanently! In addition, this medication reduces how much sebum these glands produce. Isotretinoin also decreases skin inflammation. It even reduces bacteria on the skin! Ultimately, this medication dries out an individual's skin and creates an unfavorable environment for acne.

Patients taking isotretinoin see fewer clogged pores. Their skin cell turnover rate will be faster as well! This medication increases how much neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin the skin produces. This is what kills cells in an individual's sebaceous glands! Experts also have proof showing that this medication blocks MMP-9 action in sebum. The studies also say that it influences telomerase and hTERT, two more reasons for why it works!

Continue reading to reveal the uses for this medication next.