Acne treatment: Easy ways to improve your care

Laser treatment can also be used for scarring. Ablative laser resurfacing significantly improves acne scars; nonablative and fractional CO₂ laser modalities can also be used, with minimal downtime and no serious complications.⁴³

Other complementary therapies, including aloe vera, pyridoxine, kampo, tea tree extract, and fruit-based acids, have little or no data regarding their efficacy.

The importance of maintenance therapy

With the exception of patients whose acne was cured or who achieved remission with isotretinoin, maintenance is required once the desired appearance is reached. Without it, recurrence is likely—possibly within as little as 4 weeks.

For most patients, a topical retinoid is the only medication that should be continued. Tell patients to apply it nightly and to call for an appointment if an acne flare-up occurs.

CASE When Ms. S comes in for a follow-up visit, her acne is cleared except for a couple of lesions on her back and she is happy with the results. You advise her to continue on the OCP to avoid a recurrence but caution her that in a small percentage of cases, the acne may worsen even in women who continue to take OCPs and topicals. You agree to initiate isotretinoin if this occurs.

CORRESPONDENCE
Tam T. Nguyen, MD, San Joaquin General Hospital, 500 West Hospital Road, Suite 1103, French Camp, CA 95231; ttnguyen@sjgh.org