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Birth Defects by Accutane
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Helen Antley
Helen Antley has been an expert in skin health writing specifically on the subject of acne. Her work has been published on various websites and magazines and provides insightful advice for skin disease sufferers. For more articles on acne and its causes please visit http://www.acnehome.com. 
By Helen Antley
Published on 06/30/2008
 
Hormonal acne is a major problem faced by women even in their late 20's or 30's.
Birth Defects by Accutane

Hormonal acne is a major problem faced by women even in their late 20's or 30's. Whenever hormonal changes occur in our body, people get acne mostly. Due to hormonal imbalance, our body produces more sebaceous glands then needed which results in clogged pores that are a main reason of acne. Hormonal acne can be mild, moderate or severe. Mild acne can be treated with over the counter products or prescription medications, but severe acne which is commonly cystic acne is only treated with accutane. Due to its severe side effects, it is given under high monitoring. Most severe side effect besides high depression is birth defects in fetus.

There is a strict guide lines for prescribing accutane. A doctor should discuss everything with patient like its side effects and precautions while using this medicine. It is strictly prohibited for mild or moderate acne. But it is observed that doctors are prescribing accutane where it is not needed. It is strongly recommended do not prescribe it if a patient is not resistant to other treatments. The complete course takes 10 to 15 weeks to heal acne. Some people may observe minor break outs even after this course and some have to continue this course for another 3 or 4 months.

Dermatologists should give pregnancy test before a month of starting this treatment. If it appears negative then prescribe two different types of contraceptives. Plus regular pregnancy test should be taken throughout the treatment. As it is said that birth deformities occur in first three months especially in first few weeks when women do not know that they are pregnant.

Which type of birth deformities it causes?

It links to severe fetal brain and heart defects, mental retardation, and other birth abnormalities. 25% of children born to women who were on accutane have birth defects including brain and nervous system damage, hydrocephalus; microcephaly, mental retardation; heart defects; ear and eye abnormalities; cleft lip and palate; and other facial abnormalities.

Many pregnancies end in a abortion because people do not want any deformities in their child. Women who get pregnant while using very low dose of accutane are at a great risk of having a baby with severe facial birth defects malformed thymus glands, and mental retardation.

As accutane is a derivative of vitamin A, it is recommended that do not take food rich in vitamin A with accutane or during pregnancy as it will be harmful for new born baby. Fortunately, because it is a naturally occurring product, the body is able to quickly remove Accutane from the bloodstream. It is gone from the blood within nine days and has no lasting effect on future pregnancies. That is why it is recommended not to get pregnant after a month completing this treatment. In fact there is strict guideline from the manufacturers in accutane to follow to reduce side effects of this treatment.