04/06/2022
https://www.facebook.com/349459748428383/posts/7543223695718583/
Do you remember being a teenager? Did you experience any issues with acne? It can be such a tumultuous time for teenagers, who are they, what do they look like, what do their friends think. etc….
I am sharing about a medication called Accutane also called Isotretinoin. A few weeks ago I was in a cafe and the girls next to me were talking about how ‘‘ugly’ their acne looks and wish they could just peel off their skin and grow a clean layer’. Acne can impact some teenagers mentally, they are already at a vulnerable stage in life and then to add insult to injury along comes acne.
But to further add abuse to the ‘insulted injury’ is the drug Accutane.
If you search up the side effects of Accutane, as a parent you would more than likely try to encourage your teenager(s) from taking this at all costs. These side effects include from ‘mild ones
dry, cracking, or peeling skin.
dry or inflamed eyes.
chapped lips.
a dry nose, perhaps with nosebleeds.
These side effects are to be expected as it is basically the drying effect of this medication.
Then we have the not so mild ones,
aches and pains
Depression, suicidal thoughts or behaviour
Inflammatory bowel disease
Ulcerative Colitis
What do all the above side effects have in common? …intestinal damage…leaky ‘gut’ , leaky blood brain barrier….
Here are some articles ….
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2210836X12000103
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3073620/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19492487/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34901184/
Have you looked into allergies and Accutane? This article although one child was studied here, one child is enough for any parent to think, I am not risking this medication as not only does it have the potential for triggering auto-immune conditions and mental health issues but it has the potential to trigger an ANAPHYLACTIC reaction in a man with hazelnut and birch pollen allergy
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34627369/
Over the last few years, I have noticed a pattern, a few of the teenagers I have been seeing in clinic came for hay fever…and taking their time line, noticed some had taken or were still on Accutane for acne.
If we break this down a little, if this drug effects the gut mucosal lining, and in the gut lining we have this enzyme called Diamine Oxidase (DAO), and this Diamine Oxidase, metabolises histamine (breaks it down) and histamine is ‘part and parcel’ of those annoying hay fever symptoms…is hay fever due to the impact of the Accutane? The Accutane is reducing the DAO?
Well the only way to test is to give some diamine oxidase as a supplement, not that this is the answer ..the answer is to look at the underlying cause of the acne, is there too much of a specific type of a testosterone? How can this be addressed? Is it poor diet, sadly this generally comes hand in had with the teen years, just when they really need some nutrient dense meals and nutrient dense snacks, plenty of good quality water and sleep, they decide to ‘veg on quite a plethora of toxin riddled ‘foods’ and go to bed at odd hours etc’.
And yes, diamine oxidase actually cleared the hay fever symptoms…
So just imagine, what else is this drug doing?
If you are a parent of a teenager with acne, give them the above science links if they are considering Accutane. This is not a miracle drug and usually the acne comes back once the medication is stopped, but in that time the gut or rather the mucosal membranes have been ‘battered’.
This hay fever is actually a sign from the body to say ‘hey this Accutane, is not doing me any good in here’….the body does not produce ailments/symptoms for no reason, there is always a reason, the body knows.
Know your medications, know their side effects.
Address the root cause.
