New Trend in Prescription Acne Remedies
Treatment of acne can sometimes be overwhelming. There are topical medications to be applied every morning and evening, sometimes oral medications to take once or twice a day, and weekly in-office treatments. The good news is that many precription medications are now available as combination therapies, meaning that these acne remedies are now combined into a dual action topical cream.
Dr. Schweiger explains that, “Many topical medications are now available in combination formulations. This means that the benzoyl you previously used in the morning is now combined with the Differin cream you were using in the evening. This combination cream can be applied just once daily. In many instances, the combination acne remedies are more effective than the sum of their parts.”
Examples of combination acne therapies include:
Epiduo: Epiduo is a combination of benzoyl peroxide and adapalene, or Differin. Epiduo should be used in the evening, as you would have previously used Differin. This is a unique medication, because it is the only available retinoid formulation combined with benzoyl peroxide. Other retinoid formulations are not stable in the presence of benzoyl peroxide.
Acanya: Acanya is a combination of benzoyl peroxide and clindamycin. Benzoyl peroxide and clindamycin have a synergistic effect, meaning that Acanya cream is more effective than benzoyl peroxide and clindamycin seperately. Duac and Benzaclin are also topical medications that combine benzoyl peroxide and clindamycin.
Ziana/Veltin: Ziana and Veltin are both topical acne remedies combining clindamycin and tretinoin. These medications should be used in the evening, as tretinoin may cause sun sensitivity.
Click here to read more about prescription acne medications.
