Fast Relief: Do over the Counter Acne Treatments Work?
The surprising thing about over the counter acne medications is that most of them work fairly well in mild to moderate cases of acne. So no matter how much you mock and mistrust them, OTC acne treatments ought to receive their due share of credit. The snag, however, lies elsewhere. Given the vast number of acne remedies that can be bought over the counter, you will most likely stop at the local pharmacy to buy one. Worse still, it may be an OTC product that a friend has told you about, or you have seen in a TV commercial.
Unfortunately, this will do little for your acne. It would make far greater sense to consult a dermatologist before buying an over the counter acne medication. Charles, a doctor I know from my days at university, says the worst thing for a doctor is to try and get a self-medicating patient back on track. “The number of wrong decisions people take when self-medicating is killing,” he always says. So don’t think about it.
When you do consult a doctor, you will find that the first thing s/he will recommend is likely to be benzoyl peroxide, the life and soul of any over-the-counter acne treatment. Benzoyl peroxide can be found in various acne gels, lotions, and cleansers and works by killing the bacteria which cause acne. Depending on the severity of your acne, your doctor will prescribe a certain concentration of benzoyl peroxide, so stick to that.