Moderate acne consists of more papules and pustules with mild scarring. Severe acne consists of a high number of papules, pustules, and nodules, which may lead to extensive scarring. Listed below are available treatments and doses for the three categories of acne. Topical treatment is noninvasive but its benefits can only be seen after applying it over a period of time. Topical treatment Topical treatment is suitable for mild to moderate inflammatory acne or non-inflammatory comedones.
Topical medications can be comedolytic agents or antibacterial agents and antibiotics.
Tretinoin is considered to be the most effective comedolytic agent and can be used as a single-agent therapy. Substantial clinical improvement can be seen after six weeks of continuous therapy. Tretinoin also has a long-lasting remission period. The side effects associated with topical tretinoin application include erythema, peeling, and burning. In order to accelerate improvement in the inflammatory lesions, tretinoin can be used in combination with antimicrobial agents such as benzoyl peroxide, erythromycin, and clindamycin.