Taking birth control pills to treat acne, the girl brought disaster upon herself

Dr. Thanh examines a female patient with complications from taking emergency contraceptive pills to treat acne - Photo: Provided by the doctor

Inviting trouble because of taking birth control pills to treat acne

Ms. VTTN (22 years old, from Hung Yen ) shared that she has had acne for 5 years now and has used many methods from skin peeling, microneedling or using many types of cosmetics to treat it, but her skin condition has not improved. Her face often has many pustules, inflamed acne accompanied by peeling skin and pitted scars, making her lose confidence and afraid to communicate with people.

Hearing many people say that taking birth control pills will cure acne, and reading online that the pills can also treat acne, Ms. N. went to the pharmacy to buy 2 doses of emergency birth control pills to take.

But the beauty was not yet visible. After more than 3 weeks of taking the medicine, the acne had not gone away, so she had to visit the doctor with symptoms of red, burning skin, more pustules, dark spots and menstrual disorders.

During the direct examination, Dr. Nguyen Tien Thanh - member of the Vietnam Dermatology Association - said that the patient was diagnosed with acne accompanied by severe irritant contact dermatitis. In addition, the patient had mistakenly used daily birth control pills and emergency contraception to treat acne.

With this condition, treatment will be more complicated than the original acne, because many methods have been used such as peeling, applying, microneedling...

In particular, treatment after taking emergency contraceptive pills causes hormonal changes in patients, making acne appear more.

Need to be prescribed by a doctor

Dr. Thanh stated that there are currently three types of daily birth control pills approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat acne.

However, the use of systemic medications must be prescribed by a doctor, who evaluates endocrine and menstrual factors, etc., because not everyone is indicated to use this medication to improve their skin condition.

The medication used must be a combination oral contraceptive, a daily pill that usually contains a combination of estrogen and progestin hormones that are effective in treating acne.

"But in fact, single-ingredient birth control pills containing only progesterone are the agents that make acne worse. Many people with other types of milder acne such as whiteheads and blackheads do not need to use this medication.

In addition, this method is contraindicated for pregnant women, breastfeeding women, people with liver disease, cardiovascular disease, blood clotting disorders, diabetes, breast cancer, arterial and venous obstruction..." - Dr. Thanh added.

In case of misuse or wrong use, patients not only do not see improvement in acne but also have to endure unwanted side effects from the drug, because birth control pills are hormonal drugs.

Dr. Thanh recommends that choosing an acne treatment method requires examination, diagnosis and prescription under the direction of a dermatologist.

People should not arbitrarily use drugs to avoid complications affecting health as well as causing difficulties in treatment.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/uong-thuoc-tranh-thai-tri-mun-co-gai-ruoc-hoa-vao-than-20240702090942791.htm