What You Should Know About Treating Your PCOS-Related Acne

When you suffer from polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) you can experience a wide variety of symptoms, including acne. If you have PCOS-related acne, you may feel frustrated and confused as to how to deal with the situation. There are many different approaches to treating the acne caused by PCOS. Get to know more about some of these treatment options, so you can be sure that you are doing everything you can to deal with your PCOS-related acne issues. 

Take Oral Contraceptives

One of the treatments available for PCOS in general can also help with the PCOS-related acne; that treatment option is oral contraceptives. When you have acne from PCOS, it generally stems from the hormonal imbalances that occur with PCOS. Women with PCOS often have lower levels of female sex hormones, like estrogen and progesterone, and excess androgens (male sex hormones) like testosterone. 

When there is excess testosterone in a woman's body, they can experience symptoms such as facial hair and acne. Oral contraceptive medications can help to counter this excess testosterone by increasing female sex hormones, as well as counteracting the androgens.

Anti-Androgen Medications

Another option to help treat your PCOS-related acne is taking a medication specifically designed to act as an androgen antagonist. Androgen antagonists are medications that act to lower the levels of testosterone in the body. 

These medications are prescribed alongside oral contraceptives and are designed to enhance the effects of oral contraceptives on the hormone levels in the body. These medications are daily oral medications, and include options like spironolactone and cyproterone acetate. 

Prescription Acne Medications

Whether or not you are taking oral contraceptives and anti-androgen medications, you may want to consult with a dermatologist about your PCOS-related acne. They can help to address your skin issues directly through various treatments. One of the treatments you can consider from a dermatologist is an oral prescription acne medication. 

Oral prescription medications for acne can be quite potent, and are generally used for severe cases of acne. If your acne from PCOS is quite severe, you may want to visit your dermatologist and talk to them about options like isotretinoin and others. 

There are also topical acne medications that your dermatologist may recommend to you. These creams, gels, and lotions can be applied directly to your blemishes to reduce redness and the prevalence of acne blemishes. 

Now that you know some of the treatment options to help you treat your PCOS-related acne, you can contact your medical team and get the treatments you need to clear up your skin as soon as possible.