Oral Vitamin A and acne

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So, this is a new one for me. Someone asked me about using High dose vitamin A (24,000 IU qd) for treating acne because they don't want to take oral Abx and they said it is making their skin clear. It makes sense based on the efficacy of all the topical Vit A derivatives and accutane. I've looked at literature and everything is pretty old and not super robust. I guess I'd me most concern about chronic toxicity/hepatotoxicity but some studies have used up to 100,000 units/qd without problems. Any opinion? I'd be more happy if they used a topical prep but cost may be an issue

 

[eagles22]

So, this is a new one for me. Someone asked me about using High dose vitamin A (24,000 IU qd) for treating acne because they don't want to take oral Abx and they said it is making their skin clear. It makes sense based on the efficacy of all the topical Vit A derivatives and accutane. I've looked at literature and everything is pretty old and not super robust. I guess I'd me most concern about chronic toxicity/hepatotoxicity but some studies have used up to 100,000 units/qd without problems. Any opinion? I'd be more happy if they used a topical prep but cost may be an issue

Is the patient going to take your advice? This should temper how much you worry about this.

 

[BidingMyTime]

You could suggest they try using raw egg yolks (pasturized of course!) topically, I haven't tried it myself, but anecdotally its supposed to be good for acne, I assume because of the vitamin A content in it. Safer and cheaper than high dose oral vitamin A, it's worth a try.

 

[Ackj]

You could suggest they try using raw egg yolks (pasturized of course!) topically, I haven't tried it myself, but anecdotally its supposed to be good for acne, I assume because of the vitamin A content in it. Safer and cheaper than high dose oral vitamin A, it's worth a try.

While on the topic of crazy ideas, I heard from a pharmacist that a patient told him (aka hearsay) they urinated on a washcloth and cleaned their face with it every night. The pharmacist remarked that they DID have an excellent complexion. I guess it's just homemade topical urea, but yikes.

 

[owlegrad]

While on the topic of crazy ideas, I heard from a pharmacist that a patient told him (aka hearsay) they urinated on a washcloth and cleaned their face with it every night. The pharmacist remarked that they DID have an excellent complexion. I guess it's just homemade topical urea, but yikes.

Yeah, I have heard of some crazy uses for urine.

 

[Trent Steele]

Look up where accutane comes from... theres your answer. I sure as hell wouldn't give a patient my blessing for mega dosing vit A.

 

[JanuviaGrl]

If the urine works due to it being acidic, why not use fruits like pineapple or orange which are highly acidic too? Squeezing out the juice from pineapple, rubbing on the face and allowing to dry before washing off is very efficacious in promoting smooth, healthy facial skin/complexion. Being that pineapple is high in bromelain and vitamin A also adds to it's effectiveness. Someone once told me the secret to her youthful skin is using pineapple as described above. And she does have great facial skin/complexion.

 

[txpharmguy]

Urine good health