Birth Control Pill Can Clear Up Acne

Fri., Jan. 3, 1997

Compiled From Wire Services

Women with acne may now be prescribed a birth control pill to help clear up their skin.

Ortho Pharmaceutical’s Tri-Cyclen birth control pill may be prescribed as an acne treatment for girls and women at least 15 years old, the Food and Drug Administration decided Tuesday.

The patient also must desire contraception, must have no health problem that prohibits pill use and must have tried other topical acne treatments that failed, the FDA said.

Some dermatologists long have considered certain birth control pills to have the added bonus of controlling hormone levels that contribute to acne. Ortho studied the question, and its FDA approval makes Tri-Cyclen the only contraceptive that can be advertised as an acne treatment.

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Birth Control Pill Can Clear Up Acne

Jesse Tinsley

Jim Meehan

Molly Quinn

Rob Curley

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