Pregnancy Acne Treatment - How to Manage Acne During Pregnancy

Many pregnant women struggle with acne during pregnancy. The causes are twofold:

1: Hormones are a big part of pregnancy, and a major cause of acne, so often pregnancy and acne go hand in hand. Often women can have some of the worst acne during pregnancy caused by the multitude of hormonal changes during pregnancy. Even if they have never had bad acne, face or otherwise, they will often experience really bad acne during their first trimester.

2: Many are unsure what treatments to use to guarantee the baby's safety. Trying to work out how to get rid of bad acne during pregnancy is a jungle to navigate on your own. This article hopes to cut a clear path to overcoming acne in pregnancy, but always check with your doctor if you have any questions.

So, first the good news. As your pregnancy advances, your acne will probably get better also, as it is during the first trimester that it is a major issue. After that, raised estrogen levels typically protect against it. This does not mean that acne is to be accepted as part of the deal for the first half of your pregnancy, as you may end up with bad acne scars if you are not proactive in your treatment. We have all seen bad acne scars. These are usually caused by apathy towards acne, rather than seeking and applying treatments to it.

So what can you do?

To Avoid

Most important to remember, avoid all acne medication taken orally. Also to be avoided are Tetracycline, Isotretinoin, and all Retinoids. These can harm your unborn child. ALWAYS safeguard your baby's safety first. Doctors sometimes prescribe a drug called erythromycin, but this may be risky, which is why it's only used in extreme cases. It works by stimulating the root cause of acne in pregnancy.

How to Get Rid of Bad Acne

Use active ingredients in creams and gels such as Benzoyl Peroxide and Salicylic Acid. They are commonly used by pregnant women who are experiencing bad face acne to promote skin peeling and as an antibacterial. Although they sound toxic, they are reportedly reported to be a safe acne treatment pregnancy solution.

As we have mentioned, acne during pregnancy will usually clear up as time passes. If the pregnancy is not severe, it might be best to just gut it out. There are a multitude of natural products which may work as a pregnancy acne treatment. One of my friends was experiencing some really bad back acne. She had read that antioxidants can be a great acne treatment during pregnancy, and she was really paranoid about ANYTHING which was not natural (and organic).