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The use of birth control pills and possible side-effects can be confusing for some women. For some, birth control pills can cause severe acne, and with others it's the exact opposite.

This topic could just as well been named, "how birth control pills improve acne." Actually one of the side perks of today's low-ogestrel birth control pills is how they will improve the skin of women who are prone to acne. Yet at the same time, birth control pills with less estrogen still provide the same protection as a birth control that the older contraceptives did.

In the past, women with perfectly good, clear skin were afflicted with acne problems as a result of the progestin norgestrel in the pills.

Women, especially younger women, are becoming aware of the benefits of certain birth control pills when it comes to healing their acne, but are not feeling necessarily obligated to take the pills(on a daily basis)as prescribed in order to prevent pregnancy. So it seems that some doctors are actually prescribing contraceptives with low levels of ogestrel to combat acne and not necessarily unwanted pregnancy.

When it comes to birth control pills that can "cause" acne as a side effect it is normally the pills high in andorgenicity like Loestrin, Estrostep, or Alesse.

There have been cases where women have been switched(by their OB/GYN)to a birth control that had less estrogen for the sake of the health benefits. In some cases they ended up with terrible acne that lasted for years without realizing exactly why. No matter what remedy they tried, nothing would clear up the acne until they switched birth control pills. In a matter of weeks after switching to another pill like Ortho Tri Cyclen, their skin problems disappeared completely.

The bottom line appears to be that not every woman is effected the same way and with the same hormonal changes by certain birth control pills. As with most prescription medication, it's wise to be aware of any possible side effects when taking a new medication.

If a side effect like acne crops up shortly after beginning a new birth control pill regimen, it's a simple matter of talking to your doctor about alternative birth control options. That's exactly what happened to my wife years ago when she began taking the pill. We were just fortunate enough that she had a friend who had dealt with the same problem and steered her back to our doctor so she could try an alternative birth control pill.

Learn more about this author, Ray Fauteux.
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