Acne Sufferers

What does the future hold for acne sufferers?

There are plans constantly afoot to develop a “silver bullet” in the fight against acne, and these plans are getting closer incrementally, perhaps a day at a time. The latest plan to be seen as a potential winning blow in the battle is a vaccine tested on mice in 2008 which has had reported good results. As yet there is no definitive proof that this vaccine would be effective in preventing acne in humans, but there is continuing work being carried out to ensure that any discrepancies are ironed out. If the vaccine were to be perfected, scientists believe it could be the answer to many of the problems with other acne treatments.

Long term antibiotic therapy has been found to have side-effects including gastro-intestinal problems. For acne sufferers, much of the recent past has been about making a decision on what they most want to be rid of -–the acne which has blighted their lives for a considerable period of time, or the side-effects which exact such a heavy toll that they need to be taken as a fresh health problem in and of themselves. It would therefore be ideal if a vaccine could be developed which would bypass the trouble spots of other medications.

Other methods are of course constantly being considered and honed, with the inclusion of continuing efforts to create a pill that will have the positive effects of the more powerful compounds available without causing side-effects that outstrip the acne in terms of discomfort. It is a painstaking process, however, and it may yet be years before anything conclusive is announced.