How to Treat Acne During Pregnancy

Some women can automatically tell when they are pregnancy as they immediate suffer from pregnancy acne. For me at least it’s this way. In fact, it’s usually the first symptom I notice. I’ve been really lucky not to have much acne in my life, other than the usual teenage “t-zone” breakouts, but never really any random acne spouts. Then I got pregnant for the first time. I had no idea acne could be such a pain in the butt. And it comes back like clockwork right at the beginning of each pregnancy, and lasts clear until the end. It’s my preggo nightmare, I tell you.

However, every individual new mom to be is different and some never get so much as a single pimple . A fear some women have is that if they have pregnancy acne, then their unborn child will develop the same symptoms in later life. There is no medical bias for this thought and is largely unfounded.

Why do women search for information on acne treatment pregnancy? Mostly because they have to be cautious as to what they are going to use as a treatment. It is important to understand what is going on with their own bodies while they are supporting two people during the gestation period.

The Causes of Acne

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.

Pregnancy induced acne is almost always caused by hormonal fluctuations, and the acne usually disappears once the baby is born and everything has time to return to normal. If it seems like the acne is getting out of hand then speak with your health care provider about this. You can always practice non-medication based acne treatment methods, such as cleansing routines, facial masks made from fruits or other foods, drink more water, etc. You can find many recipes for natural facials online; some are as simple as boiling a cup or so of milk, and then adding some fresh lime juice, and once the mixture cools, applying it to your face. You aren’t using any kind of chemicals, so you should be fairly safe with this type of acne treatment. Before you try anything, you should talk to your doctor, since you not only have to be concerned with your own health, but that of your unborn child as well.

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.

Many times pregnancy acne is a symptom of their pregnancy. In fact, this could happen to women who had no acne problems prior to becoming pregnant. But why does pregnancy and acne seem to go together? This can be recognized as a form of hormonal acne, wherein a woman develops inflammation on the skin as a direct result of massive hormonal fluctuations inside the body.

The symptom of pregnancy induced acne usually goes away as the pregnancy advances and the hormone level stabilizes. How long the pregnancy acne lasts for during the pregnancy term differs from each woman.

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:

1) Inflamed and painful bumps and pustules
2) Red spots
3) Whiteheads
4) Blackheads
5) Oily skin

Solutions

Naturally a woman in her pregnancy has to deal with pregnancy acne cautiously. But still, you cannot neglect this problem because it is just as important to maintain healthy skin condition. Make sure to cleanse your face twice daily – once in the morning and before bedtime. You need to be meticulous when choosing the type of facial cleanser you use to ensure that it is gentle enough for your sensitive skin. Your best bet is to go for fragrance-free facial products since they are made up of mild ingredients.

As though the constant backaches, migraines, nausea and the actual delivery weren’t enough for the mommies expecting a child, acne has joined the ride to even further the stress of giving birth. It is not always an easy task to find a safe and effective task for pregnancy acne. . In the gestation months, the level of hormones is increased; this hormonal increase will result to the many skin changes including acne.

The safer choice for pregnancy acne would be the natural home remedy treatments or the natural ingredient products. But don’t jump right into using any herbal or home products without consulting your doctor whether they are safe or not. 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.

Some women have opted to forfeit all forms of acne treatments during pregnancy just to safeguard the health of their babies. It is very important though that it not be left to get out of hand as there is a risk of infection.

Pregnancy acne will not take to your extracting the pimples by squeezing them so be sure to refrain from this. Also try to ensure you do not keep touching your face. Often, the best treatment for pregnancy acne is to live healthily and try not to ‘interfere’ with the acne too much.

One should not give up hope though because pregnancy acne does goes away. However, the same hormones may act up and once again trigger the acne problem later on. There are women who suffer from acne during their menstrual periods. Some women would experience acne breakouts during pregnancy or while going through menopause.

Knowing what causes pregnancy acne, and making informed treatment decisions is the key to success. One of the best ways to reduce the symptoms of acne is to not get stressed, this increase hormonal imbalance, and get plenty of sleep, this will help your body rest and tackle the hormonal imbalance.

Over the Counter Treatments

The key to using over the counter treatments for pregnancy acne is to know what harmful ingredients could be present that may create danger for the unborn child.

You should always seek a dermatologist’s consult before purchasing any over the counter pregnancy acne treatment. This is especially important when you are not using a all natural over the counter acne treatment product.

All drug treatments for adult acne can have adverse side effects so it is very important to research any acne medication before using it. It must be remembered that even creams and gels can be absorbed into the skin. It is especially important that treatment for acne during pregnancy should be monitored by a physician because some treatments can cause birth defects or problems during pregnancy. Acne during pregnancy is not uncommon. It can be triggered by hormonal changes and will probably disappear once the baby is born and the mother’s body gets back to normal.

Benzoyl peroxide has been considered as a safe pregnancy acne treatment, but you should check with your doctor first. Avoid any treatment that contains salicylic acid, such as Stridex or Propa pH. However, even with topical treatments (treatments that are applied directly to the affected area), you are strongly advised to see your doctor. Topical treatments can enter your bloodstream and affect your fetus.

With the use of over the counter treatments it means that many women don’t have to suffer through the first trimester pregnancy acne. There are some acne medications like Azelic acid and Benzoyl peroxide that are safe for treating acne during pregnancy. Oral medications must be avoided for acne treatment during pregnancy. However Erythromycin can be used with the consultation of doctor.

The choices are many to treat acne during pregnancy. Benzoyl peroxide, AHAs, Salicylic acid and few other products may be allowed by your doctor to treat acne. Again though it is better to be safe than sorry and obtain your Doctor’s approval for any acne treatment you may be contemplating.  Topical solutions containing salicylic acids are not recommended for pregnant women who wish to treat their acne. Instead, medical practitioners and dermatologists recommend the use of Benzoyl Peroxide, which is an effective acne fighting ingredient that is not harmful to the fetus or Mother. The only downside to using Benzoyl Peroxide for treatment of acne is that it often works slowly and the benefits may not be seen immediately.

Acne treatment in pregnancy may not always be necessary, but it would definitely benefit the pregnant woman if she could control and manage the outbreak. It is a personal decision that one has to make utilizing the proper care. There are many medications as well as over the counter remedies that can be dangerous to the fetus. Mild acne may only need topical applications of acne cream or spot treatments. While severe acne may require an oral acne medication prescribed by a dermatologist.

Home Treatments

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 Sulphur 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

The last is different “topical retinoids” that include adapalene and tretinoin. The problem is that there seems to be a lack of evidence for it. They are considered uncertain pregnancy acne treatments due to the lack of studies and information. Until we have more information on topical retinoids, they should be avoided while pregnant according to literature.

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.