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Acne - Patient's guide

Acne Treatment: Understand Your Patient's Options

Clindoxyl® Gel
Diane-35®

Understanding Your Patient's Acne Treatment Options:

There are two main methods of acne treatment that you can follow, which are topical treatment and oral treatment. Before selecting treatment, you must have a solid understanding about acne, and you must determine the exact type of acne that your patient has. In addition to this, it is also important to set goals for your patient's acne treatment.

Here are some points to keep in mind when thinking about acne, and when selecting the best acne medication for your patient.

Goals Of Acne Treatment:

You should understand how much acne and what type of acne your patient has, to stop new acne blemishes from developing with appropriate treatment.

To treat acne scars and prevent new scars from forming, points you should remember:

  • You can control and cover the visible lesions and avoid embarrassment
  • Treatment is available that can prevent acne scarring
  • You should get help for your patient's acne as soon as you notice it
  • Early treatment minimizes the severity of acne
This is important especially if one of your patient's parents have had severe acne. Treatment may last for months and often years, you should understand that improvement can be slow, and will often take months (not weeks) to work. There may even be an initial flare of your patient's acne.

Points To Remember For Selecting the Best Acne Treatment for Your Patient:

  • The severity level of your patient's acne
  • Your patient's personal goals for therapy
  • The effectiveness of the treatment and possible side effects
  • Your patient's personal preferences

Other Circumstances Specific To Girls And Women:

Pregnancy:
Is it possible your patient could become pregnant during treatment, or is she already pregnant?

Breastfeeding:
Will she be breastfeeding during treatment?

Is she in the childbearing age range?

The Acne Treatment That You Select Will Depend On The Factors Listed Below:

  • The severity of your patient's condition
  • The type of acne (comedonal vs. inflamed) lesions your patient has
  • Any previous experience your patient has had (and their skin’s response) to other treatments
  • The degree of oiliness or sensitivity of your patient's skin
  • Any history your patient may have of sensitive skin or extreme irritation to specific products
Note: Acne may flare in the initial stages of treatment. However, this is not necessarily an indication of unsuitable treatment. On average, your patient is likely to see about a 20% improvement per month.

Acne Stage:

Minimal, mild, moderate, severe
Few comedones
Rare papules, few papules, many papules
No nodules/scars, few pustules, many pustules
Face only, no nodules, no nodules on the face
Scars uncommon, scars may be present, scars on face/chest and back

Acne Treatment:

Minimal, mild, moderate, severe
Acne cleansers
OTC treatments
Topical retinoids, topical retinoids
Topical benzoyl peroxide
Topical antibiotics
Oral antibiotics
Hormone pills
Oral retinoids for acne scarring
(Isotretinion or Accutane)

Clindoxyl® Gel

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  • INTRODUCTION
    Clinical experience confirms what has been shown in clinical trials, that Clindoxyl Gel is effective and well tolerated Once daily application of topical that combines two active anti-acne agents may well increase patient compliance...   |   Read more ...


  • CLININCAL EXPERIENCE
    More than six international studies involving over 6,000 patients have shown reductions in the PASI (Psoriasis Area and Severity Index) of approximately 40% after one week of treatment and 70% after four weeks...   |   Read more ...


  • INDICATIONS
    Moderate comedonal and papulo-pustular acne Approved in Canada as a once daily topical for moderate Acne in December 2000...   |   Read more ...


  • PATIENT PROFILE
    Any patient who has inflammatory acne can be treated with Clindoxyl Gel Acne patients with comedones only are best treated by topical retinoids Patients with cystic acne usually require systemic therapy...   |   Read more ...


  • DOSING
    Once daily application of Clindoxyl Gel is recommended The product needs to be applied to the whole region of skin that is affected with acne. In other words...   |   Read more ...


  • EFFICACY
    The following figures show pooled data from randomized, controlled double-blind trials involving 673 patients with acne...   |   Read more ...


  • COMPLIANCE
    Three factors to consider for good compliance of Clindoxyl Gel are: Well tolerated by most patients, results are often seen within 2 weeks...   |   Read more ...


  • SIDE EFFECTS, SAFETY AND RISKS
    Overall tolerance was rated as excellent in 94% of patients. Potential side effects expected in some patients...   |   Read more ...


  • COST OF TREATMENT
    This is a cost effective product. Reducing inflammation can reduce the risks of scarring...   |   Read more ...

View the entire Clindoxyl® Gel presentation.

Diane-35®

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  • INTRODUCTION
    There are limitations for regulators, pharmaceutical companies and pharmaceutical sales representatives to present clinical evidence following development of product monograph and drug approval...   |   Read more ...


  • CLININCAL EXPERIENCE
    Diane-35® (2mg cyproterone acetate and 0.035mg ethinyl estradiol) is approved for use in Canada to treat women with severe acne who are unresponsive to other available treatments and who have associated symptoms of androgenization, such as seborrhea and mild hirsutism. In addition to treating acne, Diane-35® also provides reliable contraception...   |   Read more ...


  • INDICATIONS
    Used to treat women with severe* acne and its associated symptoms of androgenization, including seborrhea and mild hirsutism..   |   Read more ...


  • PATIENT PROFILE
    Women who have acne associated or not with signs of hyperandrogenism. Any woman who has acne that is not controlled with topical medication...   |   Read more ...


  • DOSING
    Diane-35® is sold in blister pack units containing 21 tablets. Each tablet contains 2mg of cyproterone acetate and 0.035mg of ethinyl estradiol. Each cycle consists of 21 days on the medication and a 7-day interval without it...   |   Read more ...


  • EFFICACY
    Improvements in seborrhea are generally seen after 2 to 3 months. Improvements to acne are generally seen after 3 to 4 months. Numerous studies have proven the efficacy of hormonal therapy in treating acne over 6 or more months of use...   |   Read more ...


  • COMPLIANCE
    Patients should take Diane-35® at the same time each day with liquid...   |   Read more ...


  • SIDE EFFECTS, SAFETY AND RISKS
    Side effects are typical of most oral contraceptives and can include breast tenderness, headache, nausea, breakthrough bleeding, ankle swelling and weight gain. These side effects are typically mild and tend to resolve by the second or third cycle of therapy...   |   Read more ...


  • COST OF TREATMENT
    Diane-35 is sold to pharmacy wholesalers at a cost of $19.00 per cycle...   |   Read more ...

View the entire Diane-35® presentation.

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