Side Effects of Acne Drug Isotretinoin Professor Jinho Chung, Department of Dermatology, Seoul National University Hospital

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Isotretinoin, if you take it consistently for more than 6 months, will you not get acne for life?

 

Isotretinoin is very effective in suppressing the secretion of sebum in the sebaceous glands. The face may become dry due to reduced sebum production, but acne will definitely improve. In addition, sebum is food for acne bacteria, but since sebum is not secreted, acne bacteria disappear. Sebum also has the effect of causing inflammation. Therefore, inflammation is also suppressed, so inflammation of acne is also suppressed. Since there is no phenomenon of dead skin cells blocking hair follicles, isotretinoin affects all four causes of acne, and it is quite effective.

 

It's true that isotretinoin is a breakthrough drug. Therefore, if you take the medicine consistently for more than 5 months, most of the time the acne will not recur for a long time. However, there are also cases where it recurs after a few months. So, I don't think it's going to work for everyone.

 

Isotretinoin, how much and how to take it?

 

Isotretinoin works well, but there are prerequisites. You need to use a sufficient dose for a sufficient period of time so that you do not relapse even after stopping the medication. The recommended dose is 0.5mg to 1mg per kg for 5~6 months. For a person weighing 50kg, it is about 25~50mg.

 

However, there are many cases where patients have a hard time because of various side effects when taking such a drug. Recently, people have been asked to take half or two pills every day. If you are a 50kg adult, it is about 5~20mg. However, if the dose is low, the recurrence rate is high, so it is important for adults to take 3~5 pills for 4~6 months.

 

Side effects of isotretinoin

 

Isotretinoin has many and many side effects. Almost invariably, the side effect is dryness of the skin. Lips become dry and chapped, and some people have dry skin, which can cause flaking and itching. After that, the eyes also become dry, resulting in dry eyes, and in severe cases, conjunctivitis and keratitis.

 

Headaches and nausea can also occur in severe cases. Recently, there have been claims that it can cause depression, although not as often.

 

Another common side effect of isotretinoin is an increase in triglycerides. If your triglycerides start to rise above 500, you should check your triglyceride levels more often. If it rises to 700~800, it is better to stop the medicine.

 

Also, the most important thing is when you are pregnant. If you take this medicine without knowing that you are pregnant, it may cause malformations in the fetus, so you should never take this medicine if you are pregnant. Therefore, it is recommended that you use contraception for one month before taking the pill, and that you use at least two methods of contraception thoroughly for at least one or two months after you stop taking the drug.

 

As such, isotretinoin can cause a wide range of side effects, from dryness of the skin to deformity, so it is only recommended to use it for very severe acne.