The most popular pill to treat women's acne is a blood pressure drug
A generic high blood pressure drug has become the most commonly prescribed oral medication to treat acne in women, overtaking antibiotics and birth control pills, a new report from Epic Research shows.
A generic high blood pressure drug has become the most commonly prescribed oral medication to treat acne in women, overtaking antibiotics and birth control pills, a new report from Epic Research shows.
The report, conducted on behalf of NBC News, found that spironolactone made up 47% of all oral medications prescribed to women for acne in 2023, up from 27% in 2017. Prescriptions for oral antibiotics — previously the go-to pill for acne — decreased from 41% to 27% in the same time period.
The shift is likely driven in part by the American Academy of Dermatology’s call to limit the use of antibiotics when possible, according to Dr. John Barbieri, a dermatologist and epidemiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. Those prescribing guidelines, which Barbieri helped write, have encouraged dermatologists since at least 2016 to limit prescribing antibiotics in an attempt to combat drug resistance.
“There’s been more interest in antibiotic stewardship over the past few decades than prior to that, so I think those trends have helped to spur these shifts,” Barbieri said.
Antibiotics including doxycycline have long been prescribed for acne. They work by targeting acne-causing bacteria and decreasing inflammation, though they can come with side effects including increased sensitivity to the sun and gastrointestinal issues.
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