Is oral isotretinoin suitable for my acne condition?

It is acknowledged that oral isotretinoin is the first-line treatment for severe acne and may also be used in people who have failed conventional acne treatment, such as through the combination of topical retinoids, benzoyl peroxide, topical or systemic acne antibiotics or where appropriate hormonal acne therapies too.

In general, we may go for oral isotretinoin for our acne condition if we are having:

• Severe nodulocystic acne (i.e. scattered noducles mostly concentrated on our face, chest and our back) or severe acne variants
• Inflammatory acne (i.e. mostly papules, pustules, cysts) with acne scarring consequences that has failed conventional acne treatment
• Moderate-to-severe acne with frequent relapsing
• Acne coupled with severe psychologic distress

To have a better understanding of what is nodules, papules, pustules and cysts, we may want to read “What does acne look like?”