What is the best treatment to reduce acne and scarring? I've tried Aldactone and doxy with little improvement. (photo)

Question

I never had issues with acne! Not even as a teen. An occasional pimple around my period at most. I gave birth to my son >1 year ago (I'm 30) & I've had nothing but horrible acne around my mouth/jawline & under the "sideburn" areas. I'm currently using Retin-A. My doctor prescribed Aldactone. I took it briefly but stopped after reading it has the potential to cause tumors. I tried doxy for 3 months. I've seen little to no improvement! What else can I try without ill side effects? TIA!

Sean McGuire, MD · Answer

Hi there!  
Your situation seems most consistent with adult female acne (life truly is not fair) which can be very hormonally driven.  For this condition, aldactone is considered very effective, although not without side effects.  Fortunately, the cancer risk seems isolated solely to rats given huge doses of spironolactone and has not been seen in human consumption.  I frequently cite an excellent study with 74,000 patients that saw no difference in cancer risk between those treated with spironolactone and those that did not get spironolactone. Granted it was in a different clinical setting, but still very informative.  (Google 'Spironolactone use and risk of incident cancers: a retrospective matched cohort study')
Otherwise, topical medications such as Aczone and Onexton are useful in this clinical setting. 
Another effective option in adult female acne is the use of combined oral contraceptive for acne purposes.  
All of these treatments have their pluses and minuses, so it can take a bit of research to figure out which one will work best for you.  But there are options.
I hope that was helpful!

What is the best treatment to reduce acne and scarring? I've tried Aldactone and doxy with little improvement. (photo)

Answers (1)

Recommended reading

Everything you need to know about Retin-A

Our mission is to create a world where every investment in modern beauty is Worth It.

What is the best treatment to reduce acne and scarring? I've tried Aldactone and doxy with little improvement. (photo)

Answers (1)

Browse related questions

Recommended reading

Everything you need to know about Retin-A

Our mission is to create a world where every investment in modern beauty is Worth It.