acne medicines and abdominal pain

Acne(pimples) is a common problem experienced by many mostly teenagers. Though it's not a big health problem , affecting appearance and also causing depression. It is a very disgusting problem and difficult to get rid of it. Antibiotics are commonly prescribed to help control severe breakouts of acne. drugs belonging to the cycline group(tetracycline family) are the most commonly prescribed. But a word of caution in their use! Now there's evidence that antibiotics used to treat pimples cause Inflammatory bowel disease.
Bowel disorders linked to acne treatment are "a rare outcome," cautioned Dr. David Margolis, a dermatologist and lead author of a study in the American Journal of Gastroenterology.
 previous studies have suggested that the acne drug isotretinoin, might be the cause of inflammatory bowel disease in a small number of patients being treated for severe acne.
A recent study done based on 94,000 British teenagers and young adults diagnosed with acne between 1998 and 2006 reported that long-term use of antibiotics appeared to double the risk of developing inflammatory bowel disease.
The 3 commonly used cyclines doxycycline, minocycline, and tetracycline were reported to cause IBD(Inflammatory Bowel Disease) in 0.21%, 0.17%, 0.20% patients respectively.
IBD is of 2 forms Crohns disease and ulcerative colitis. Of these the Crohns disease appears to be much more associated. Crohn's disease is an inflammation of the lining of the gastrointestinal tract, which can lead to abdominal pain, severe diarrhea and malnutrition. It is treated with anti-inflammatory drugs and some complications of the conditions can require surgery.

It is definitely a rare outcome but very disabling and difficult to treat and also very costly. It can be life-altering conditions that restrict social interactions and increase depression. And this potential risk should be considered when prescribing this medication.

So the next time you use medicines for pimples be careful about your intestines....



Endoscopic view of intestine affected with Crohns disease