The Secrets of Antibiotics & it’s Relationship to Acne

October 8, 2009 | 1 comment

Yes, I said it. The same antibiotics that your drug pushing dermatologist prescribes you to ‘fix’ your acne indeed does cause acne! Let me explain. Antibiotics work by destroying micro-organisms, such as bacteria, in your body. A pretty simple concept. The problem is, our bodies have both healthy microorganisms and unhealthy ones. What the antibiotics are doing so effectively is destroying ALL microorganisms, good and bad. This is extremely unhealthy for our bodies and consequently for our skin!

Now if you’ve ever taken antibiotics, maybe you’ve noticed that things got better at first – this is because all that bad bacteria has been destroyed. It’s a known fact that superfluous bacteria on your skin leads to acne. However, this is only destroying a symptom of a true cause – that is a weak immune system. A weak immune system allows this bad bacteria to overgrow in the first place. Overgrowth of bacteria is only one step on the ladder of causes. The only way to keep a good ratio of healthy and unhealthy bacteria in your body is to practice healthy eating habits.

Antibiotics causing acne to become worse is a very common issue. A simple search on the acne.org forums show dozens of these cases:

Tetracycline (Antibiotics) Reviews – Acne.org Reviews

I was on tetracycline for about a year before i had to come off it because it made me lose so much weight and I was becoming resistant to antibiotics in general. It’s great for a temporary solution, but unfortunately when I came off of it again after a few months my acne went from being mild/moderate to severe when I went away to college and practically impossible to control since.

after a month all of the zits came back even in places on my face i never had them before

You have to keep using it, once you stop they come back. I have been on them for years. Everytime I think I should stop using them I break out all over again!!!

I stopped taking the pills for about two months and decided to start taking them again. I found that my acne had worsened. My cheeks are red and they feel/look almost like I have a rash. I’m not sure what to do. I’m frustrated.

later..after i was taking it for over a year, it entirely quite working and my acne got very very very bad. way way way worse than when i started a year earlier. this happened to be right when i started college.. really made it easy meeting ppl

Is it possible for antibiotics to make it worse? – Acne.org Forums

I have been on lymecycline before and it worked very well.
I stopped taking it for 6 months to see how it went and it wasnt good.
Ive just started again 3 weeks ago and my acne is worse than ever.

and she changed my minocycline to lymecyline, saying she couldn’t see any reason why it would get any worse, and it might improve things, and keeping me on dianette. now my skin is TERRIBLE

Antiobiotics make you worse? – Acne.org Forums

I was on Mino for around 8 months and I was the clearest I’ve ever been. Then a few months after I stopped taking the antibiotic twice a day, my mild acne came back and turned much much worse.

Taking antibiotics have a three step process in dealing with acne:

Both healthy and harmful bacteria is destroyed, acne gets better temporarily
Bacteria becomes resistant or patient goes off of the drug, immune system is compromised and bacteria overgrows
Acne gets worse

What’s even scarier is the fact that once the antibiotics cause your skin to get worse, unhappy patients go back to their dermatologist (the very same dermatologists that made their problem worse in the first place) and the derm prescribes them more antibiotics! Here are a few quotes from those same threads which show just a few people’s experiences.

My doctor put me on mino again but I’m seeing another doctor soon to see if I can get Accutane, because I don’t trust the mino.

I dont think Ill ever do Antibiotics again. Its all my one derm EVER wanted to give me. Its not good for you I dont think.

The fact is, dermatologists prescribing acne sufferers with antibiotics is an effort in futility. It will do nothing to cure your acne and in most cases will make things worse. Not to mention all the other health implications that antibiotics can cause. (See Another Antibiotic Hits the Dust & New “Ramp” Antibiotics May Be Fatal)

Antibiotics Fact Sheet:

Doctors over prescribe antibiotics in almost all cases. In turn, antibiotics are widely available and overused. (See Free Antibiotics: Wrong Prescription For Cold And Flu Season, Experts Say)
Antibiotics are never a risk correct treatment for acne. Acne can always be cured naturally without the risk of it coming back much more persistently in the future. Antibiotics prescribed before or after major surgery would be one example of risk correct usage.
Many natural treatments are much more effective and safer than medical antibiotics including coconut oil, garlic, oil of oregano, cloves and clove oil.

An inherint problem of acne is that sufferers are desperate. Everyday they have acne is a day other people will see it. Sufferers want to it gone ASAP (I know I did!) The problem with this is that it took many years of unhealthy eating to become sick enough to get acne in the first place. Antibiotics and the Dermatologists that prescribe them throw out the notion that your acne can be cured within a month or less with a prescription drug. It doesn’t work that way! To cure your acne, you must do it naturally, and it takes time and dedication. If you can grasp and understand this concept, you’ve already come half the way to curing your acne.

References

Tetracycline (Antibiotic) Reviews, http://www.acne.org/tetracycline-antibiotic-reviews/20/page6.html
Is it possible for antibiotics to make it worse?, http://www.acne.org/messageboard/antibiotics-worse-t116580.html
Antibiotics make you worse?, http://www.acne.org/messageboard/Antibiotics-worse-after-t132906.html
“Another Antibiotic Hits the Dust,” http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2006/05/27/another-antibiotic-exits-the-consumer-marketplace.aspx
“New ‘Ramp’ Antibiotics May Be Fatal,” http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2003/07/05/ramp-antibiotics.aspx
“Free Antibiotics: Wrong Prescription For Cold And Flu Season, Experts Say”, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090116111137.htm