Pregnancy and Acne
The first three months of pregnancy are a time filled with an amazing amount of stress, excitement and worry. It also is a time filled with hormone changes within the body that have an effect on every system.
Even if you have never had acne before you may find yourself facing breakouts during pregnancy. The reason for this is the increased levels of hormones within the body. The hormones which are now increasing cause the over production of oil from the glands in the body and this is one of the contributing factors to acne. If you notice that you are starting to break out an over, the counter treatment is usually effective but it might be a good idea to speak with your doctor before starting any treatments.
In order to help control acne during pregnancy there are a few things you should do and it starts before you ever get pregnancy.
The first thing to do if you are planning on getting pregnant is to check and make sure that the medications you are using will not be harmful to the unborn child. There are many acne medications, which may prove harmful. Check with your doctor especially if you use treatments like tetracycline antibiotics, Isotretinoin, or retinoids. There is only one antibiotic that is considered safe during pregnancy and unfortunately, it is not very effective on the bacteria that resides on the skin.
Once you are pregnant, expect your skin to dry out more. This means normal over the counter acne treatments may end up giving you problems with excessive dryness. In order to avoid this consider using natural based products like Tea tree oil and witch hazel instead. Use an every day face wash instead of a medicated or exfoliating face wash and make sure that it is made for sensitive skin or is extremely mild.
If you are eating lots of vegetables and fruits in order to help an already existing problem with acne you are in luck since this type of diet is healthy during pregnancy as well. It is also important to drink plenty of watch this helps maintain hydration, which has been known to be an issue during pregnancy in some women.
Vitamin supplements are not only good for your unborn baby but also good for your skin. Many vitamin supplements for use during pregnancy contain increased quantities of the types of vitamins you look for in healthy skin.