Treatment of Acne During Pregnancy: Options For New Mothers

Pregnancy is the precious time in a woman’s life as it is the time when a new life is developing inside you, but this period is filled with a lot of anxieties and this also leads to the hormonal variations and cause acne. Acne during pregnancy is common as the skin becomes more sensitive, which can lead to blackheads, whiteheads, scars, blemishes etc. A lot of hormonal changes occur during pregnancy.

Here are some tips from the experts to combat acne during pregnancy. If you are planning to get pregnant, it is important to discuss your acne treatments with your doctor. Many acne treatments can harm an unborn baby. These include tetracycline antibiotics, oral isotretinoin (Roaccutane, Accutane) and topical retinoids (tretinoin, isotretinoin and adapalene). Erythromycin is the only antibiotic regarded as being safe in pregnancy, but it may not be very effective as many skin bacteria are now resistant to it. However, it’s probably better to avoid all medications during pregnancy if possible.

The Causes of Acne During Pregnancy

Home changes in the progesterone leves are thought to be the contributing factor to pregnancy acne.  Progesterone boosts the secretion of the skin, which creates the glands that produces the oil to activate. This activation then triggers an easy spot for bacteria to breed and show up in the skin through acne. Good news for the mommies because there are acne treatment during pregnancy available, safe and easy to find or use.

The effects of pregnancy acne is as the result of a combination of dead cells and bacteria clumping together and clogging the pores. This condition is most likely to happen whenever there are hormonal changes or hormonal surges in the body in other words, during puberty or pregnancy. During pregnancy, these hormonal changes tend to encourage the extra production of natural oils which can clog the pores of the skin, causing acne during pregnancy.

Those women who are pregnant, experience the worst phase of acne in their first trimester. It is impossible to predict who will get acne and who will not but those who have had previous acne problems and are more prone to the outbreak suffer from it during pregnancy. Following are some of the symptoms of acne in early pregnancy:

• Inflamed and painful bumps and pustules
• Red spots
• Whiteheads
• Blackheads
• Oily skin

Home Treatments of Pregnancy Acne

There really is room for a lot less concern when treating pregnancy acne with home based ingredients. Lavender oil, for instance, can be safely used applied on the acne-infested skin area. It is a powerful anti -oxidant and can cure all types of skin ailments. In addition, it is also mild on the skin and don’t cause any side effects. Belladona is taken as a supplement instead of topical. In the event that your acne has pus formation, use belladonna.

Hepar Sulfur is used to treat cystic acne that is painful, big and filled with pus(may we add gross, yucky and plain gross). Extreme caution must be taken to avoid scarring. Rose is another essential oil that can be used for acne treatment during pregnancy. Rose oil can be used on mild acne cases and infections. Witch hazel is used as an astringent and available in stores. And lastly, Kali Bromatum can also cure troublesome blemishes, and is sold in health food stores and online.

There are a wide selection of herbs and household products which can be great aid at treating acne, especially the kind of acne outbreaks that occur as a result of hormones during pregnancy. Don’t be fooled into thinking that all home treatments are harmless as once again being pregnant extra caution has to be used. There are some completely natural herbs which can induce contractions, so you can’t assume all natural means it is a safe acne treatment during pregnancy.

Medical Treatments of Pregnancy Acne

The most common medicine for cystic acne is Isotretinoin or Accutane. It is basically a supradoze of Vitamin A. The side effects to some pregnancy acne treatments can be severe and even dangerous and must be administered under a Doctor’s guidance. The treatment lasts several weeks, sometimes up to six months to see any effect. This treatment should not be taken by pregnant women, mothers to be or breast feeding mothers as it is known to cause birth defects and abortion. Actually, many women experience cystic acne after pregnancy and they can try using birth control pills.

Again it must be remembered that even topical creams used for pregnancy acne can be absorbed into the skin and could be dangerous. Although topical lotions and any skin cream used for treatment of acne are less absorbed by the body than those taken orally, the potential risk that these medications have on the unborn fetus must be weighed carefully before application.

Other Tips To Help Combat Acne Naturally

• Drink plenty of water during the day, at least 8 glasses, to help moisturize your skin and stabilize your hormone levels.
• Do your best not to touch your pimples. This only irritates them and can spread the bacteria into new areas, forming new breakouts in the future.
• Whatever you do, get out of the habit of squeezing and popping your pimples. Nine out of ten times this results in acne scars, which in most cases are permanent, requiring laser resurfacing treatment.

Although with these tips, remembering that pregnancy acne is usually a temporary situation can go a long way. It’s best to wait it out, and keep your body in as much of a balance as possible, to help minimize breakouts. Enjoy the ride as much as you can while it lasts.