Why should you visit a dermatologist?
With the host of over-the-counter medications available, it can be quite a frustrating experience and long drawn process finding the right medication that suits your particular type of acne and skin. The easier and most often desirable option would be to contact a dermatologist, a medically trained professional who specializes in treating skin conditions, to help you sort the options and customize an acne treatment that specifically tackles your exclusive case.

Types of Prescription Treatments
Prescription treatments include oral medications and topical treatments. In the oral type of medications you could be advised to have antibiotics or contraceptives. You might also be prescribed a topical antimicrobial or retinoid to be used in conjunction with the oral medication or separately.

Oral Antibiotics
Antibiotics help to kill the bacteria that are in the blocked skin pore. They are usually prescribed for a more severe case, although sometimes a person suffering from moderate acne may also be prescribed antibiotics. Common prescription antibiotics for acne are tetracycline, doxycycline and minocycline. However, it can been noticed that as the P. acnes bacteria is becoming more and more common, it is developing a certain amount of resistance to antibiotics. Oral antibiotics for acne usually show results within a few weeks.

Oral contraceptives
Many women resort to oral contraceptives as long-term treatments for acne. Oral contraceptives suppress the over active sebaceous glands which produce the excessive sebum and lead to blocked pores and acne. A new pill with the progestin drospirenone has been known to be effective in controlling this hormonal activity. Oral contraceptives have several side-effects like strokes, heart attacks and blood clotting which need to be considered before starting on this course.

Topical Antimicrobials
Topical acne microbials include clindamycin and erythromycin and are most commonly prescribed to treat this condition. They work by attacking the P. acnes bacteria and its inflammatory effects and thus help to minimize papules and pustules.

Topical Retinoids
Derivatives of vitamin A, these topical retinoids such as tretinoin, adapalene and tazarotene all influence the cell creation and lifecycle of the cells in the follicle lining. This prevents the cells from getting blocked. Topical retinoids have been found to be quite effective in the treatment of acne but they have side effects like skin irritation and increased sun sensitivity.