What is Acne, Roaccutane ?

Acne is a condition of the skin that shows up as different types of bumps. These can be
whiteheads, blackheads, pimples, and cysts. The type of acne that a lot of teens get is called
"acne vulgaris." It usually shows up on the face, neck,shoulders, upper back, and chest.

The hair follicles, or pores, in your skin contain sebaceous (say: seh-bay-shuss) glands
(also called oil glands). These glands make sebum (say: see-bum), which is an oil that
lubricates your hair and skin. Most of the time the glands make the
right amount of sebum, and the pores are fine. But sometimes a pore gets
clogged up with too much sebum, dead skin cells, and even bacterial germs,
and acne can happen.

If a pore gets clogged up, closes, and bulges out from the skin, you're left with a whitehead. If a pore gets clogged up but stays open, the top surface can darken and you're left with a blackhead. Sometimes the walls of the pore are broken, allowing sebum, bacteria, and dead skin cells to make their way under the skin - and you're left with a small, red infection called a pimple. Clogged up pores that open up deep in the skin can cause cysts, which are infections that are bigger than pimples.

* Isotretinoin in its tablet form is usually referred to as Roaccutane in the UK. Abroad it is often referred to as Accutane which is the US version of the drug and also RoAcutan in Italy..

* In the UK it is available in 20mg and 5 mg capsules. Abroad it is also available in 2.5mg, 10mg and 40mg capsules, depending on the country.

* They are available in blister packs (individually sealed to be pushed through the silver foil) of seven per sheet and boxes of 8 sheets making 56 in total.

* The dosage should be determined between you and your consultant but is usually between half and one mgper kg of your weight e.g 180lbs = 82kg = 41mg to 82 mg dosage.

* It is not known exactly how the medication works but it seems to work on a principle of ensuring that youtake an amount of the drug over time not just a set quantity each day.

How does it work

This is a good question. Nobody is 100% sure of how it stops acne but it does. It does reduce the size of the sebaceous glands.Now there is some question as to whether sufferers of acne have particularly large sebaceous glands in which case this is restoring them to Joe Public's size or whether the are being shrunk smaller than they should. I don't know myself but the net result is a reduction in sebum over production.

Being a Vitamin A compound it promotes the regeneration of skin cells. Unfortunately this not only improves the standard of your skin but causes flakiness. (See side effects below). It also has some anti-bacterial and anti-inflamatory benefits, so preventing skin infections and reducing swollen spots.

The side effects

This is the area that frightens most people off taking the tablets. But you've got to weigh up whether the benefits outnumber the dificulties. I can't decide for you only that I decided it was worthwhile after all the other treatments I'd tried and I decided that if it worked I could cope with six months of discomfort. The stronger the dose the greater the side effects.

Dryness causes the greatest problems. The dryness may not start untill a couple of weeks into the treatment but you'll soon notice your lips become very chapped and your skin dries. You will also notice the inside of your nose drying and your eyes becoming quite dry.

You can solve the skin dryness by using a good unscented moisturiser. Be careful if using a fragranced moisturiser as they normally have alcohol in them which can aggrivate and neutralise the moisturising effect. For your lips petroleum jelly is excellent but I particularly recomment Chapstick lipsalve in a tube and Blisteze, which work better. Remember to use plenty at night as your lips will soak up the moisture during the night.

I haven't found much to help with the nose. Some people find a small amount of petroleum jelly can help if smeared just inside the nose. However don't be surprised if you have a problem with small nosebleeds when you blow your nose. This is the dry mucous membrane cracking as you blow. It will heal itself naturally. If however, you find yourself having spontaneous nosebleeds then tell your doctor or consultant as this could be a sign of problems in your blood and you may need your dosage adjusted.

Drying eyes are only a real problem if you wear contact lenses. I found that after about three weeks I had to stop wearing my gas permeable lenses because my eyes were constantly dry and itchy and no matter what eyedrops I tried nothing helped. Some people have managed to continue wearing their lenses with the use of eye drops or just limit the wearing to small periods of time. I happen to use a vdu screen most of the day in work and that most likely compounded my problems. If you're unsure have a chat with your optician or consultant and get their view and see how it goes but make sure you've got up to date prescriptions in your specs before you start as you may be caught out later!!!

Other side effects can involve headaches, joint aches, nausea and hair loss. These are less frequently experienced but all the same possible. I've personally had joint aches and a little nausea, but I found taking the tablets straight after food in the evening helped to stop the nausea and keeping my joints mobile and warm made them ache less often. Another side effect I've eperienced which doesn't seem to have effected anyone I've come across is a change in hair colour. nothing dramatic just a lightening of the hair. Has anyone else had this problem?

One final comment on this drug. DON'T DRINK. To avoid suffering with the worst hangover on record avoid alcohol while taking this drug. Nobody can tell me exactly what happens but I have been out for the night had a few drinks and felt fine, but the following day suffered like hell. I can only think it is somthing to do with dehydration which is the main cause of hangovers and also a side effect of the drug. If anyone can give me more info let me know