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Best Treatment for Acne? Take Your Pick

By Henry J. Fishman, M.D.
ConsumerAffairs.com

October 11, 2005

Dr. Henry Fishman • New This Week • Previous Topics • About Henry Fishman • Radio Features

Lotions, pills, antibiotics, drying agents -- what works best for teen-age acne? The envelope please.

According to an article published in Lancet, it's pick your poison. Believe it or not, they all work about the same.

Doctors studied about 650 teenagers with facial acne. They divided them into five equal groups. Each group received a different treatment.

The treatments included two different types of Tetracycline, an oral antibiotic, or three different topical treatments -- benzylperoxide, a drying agent, and an antimicrobial called Clearasil, a combo cream with benzyl peroxide and erythromycin mixed, or a regimen of erythromycin cream in the morning and benzyl peroxide in the evening.

In summary, just about any combination you can imagine and you know what? After about 18 weeks, each of the groups had about 50 percent of the teenagers get better, especially in the first few weeks.

While the studies did not look at acne on the body or severe acne, the conclusion seems clear: If you have acne, talk to a dermatologist about your potion, all of which will work about the same.

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