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Do Birth Control Pills Help Your Acne?

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Since birth control pills or oral contraceptives are popular with many people, there just might be a chance that this approach to treating acne might gain ground. Birth control pills or oral contraceptives can control androgens from performing their tasks. But does it really work? There’s only one way to find out.

When to Use Birth Control Pills?

The pill helps to even out the irregular flow levels of your estrogens and progesterone. You will want to use birth control pills if:

1) You regularly engage in sex with one or more partners and need oral contraceptives.

2) You regulate your monthly cycle through oral hormonal therapy.

3) You are taking the anti-acne drug Accutane.

The pill alone is all that’s needed by women who have mild acne and need oral contraceptive protection at the same time. Acne that is moderate to severe requires stronger treatment measures – an oral contraceptive which can be used in tandem with either topical or oral acne therapies.

Alternative Contraceptive Methods Against Acne

If for moral or religious grounds you are unwilling to take the pill or switch to other contraceptive methods, you may want to consider other curative options such as anti-androgens or physical therapy.

The other methods of hormonal contraception like the birth control patches and rings affect acne differently and can sometimes aggravate it. Depo-Provera, a contraceptive injectable which contains synthetic progesterone, can even initiate a severe acne breakout from time to time.

Accutane (isotretinoin) is a very potent anti-acne preparation that has been linked to severe birth deformities. Women undergoing Accutane treatment are often prescribed birth control pills to stop pregnancy from occurring. Apart from abstaining from sex, the first line of defense in birth control for women taking Accutane is the pill.

Taking birth control pills for acne treatment has its share of advantages and disadvantages. Be on the safe side. Seek your doctor’s advice to know what is the right birth control pill for you.

How Does Birth Control Pills Work on Acne Control?

The role of birth control pills in acne treatment is to keep androgens from affecting the oil glands. Birth control pills contain estrogen which regulates the female’s monthly cycle to discourage ovulation. Apart from inhibiting ovulation, estrogens help treat acne by:

1) Decreasing the release of free testosterone or androgen from the ovary

2) Preventing the released free testosterone from stimulating the oil glands to manufacture and release excess oil.

Estrogens can diminish the rising amount of androgen in your system by releasing great amounts of SHBG proteins that “capture” and stick to the androgens, preventing them from stimulating the oil glands to release excess oil that triggers acne.

The most effective oral contraceptives in the treatment of acne are the ones that have estrogen and progestin, a man-made progesterone, working in tandem. The standalone progestin pill, also known as the minipill, is a good oral contraceptive with less adverse reactions. The more recent progestins have the capability to show great improvements against acne.

Wong Darren is an online medical researcher on acne treatment and skin care. He has completed 20 Acne Medication Reviews and 30 Acne Treatment Reviews. For more information, visit his website: Acne Treatment 2009 now.

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Why an Acne Birth Control Pill is Effective

birth control pills


Birth control pills or oral contraceptives are taken to prevent women from getting pregnant in the event they had sexual intercourse. Most married couples use oral contraceptives for the purpose of family planning while those in the dating stage use it to prevent having a baby on the way.

The pill has been in the market for over four decades, but recently, many people use oral contraceptives for acne medication. Studies found that birth control pills can actually reduce the appearance of acne. The pill is composed of estrogen and progestin levels that can balance out the hormones in the female’s reproductive system. By fixing the hormones, the pills can inhibit the amount of testosterone found in the female body.

Why is testosterone a main factor? A low testosterone level produces less oil in the sebaceous glands. When there is less oil, the pores on the skin will be free from oil blockages, thus acne breakouts are reduced. There are different kinds of oral contraceptives in drugstores which females can self-prescribe.

However, it is still important to consult a dermatologist to make sure that the right acne birth control pill is appropriate to one’s body. There are some pills which are formulated to produce more testosterone, thus the tendency is to have worse acne conditions.

While many people claim that all pills produce the same results, these can never guarantee exactly the same effectiveness. Some people can easily adjust to the daily, weekly, or monthly intake of medicine while some people need months before the pill takes full effect. Pills for acne medication will work its best if taken in moderation and on schedule.



History of Birth Control Pill

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Birth control pill is the most popular method of contraceptive world wide. Today many birth control pills like Yasmin, Lybrel, Alesse and many others manufactured by different pharmaceutical companies are available in the market. The reason for their popularity is ‘convenience’, unlike sterilization, birth control pills are not permanent; it is for temporary use i.e. they can be taken till the time a women is not ready to start a family and can also be used for proper family planning.

Though, birth control pills are popular but there are many people who are still naïve about their origin. The hard work and efforts put by the scientists who invented it and the endless support given by the great women who made this invention of the first contraceptive pill possible is little known by people, not even by those who use these pills. Therefore, I found it worth writing about the origin or history of birth control pills which extremely contributes to the elevation of a woman’s status.

Since ancient times birth control was an issue. We can even see the word “abstinence” being mentioned many times in the bible. Aristotle, Pliny and even Casanova talk about abstinences and spermicides. Human reproduction was understood only in the 1800’s when the scientists of that time discovered the female egg and its importance in reproduction. Earlier it was considered that men were the life creator while women were just the nest. From then on the approach to birth control took a different turn. Devices like condoms, sponges, douching syringes (injection in the uterus with birth control solution after intercourse), diaphragms and cervical caps started being widely used but some of them were not at all safe.

Katherine McCormick, Margaret Sanger, Dr. John Rock and Gregory Pincus are the names to reckon with, without their zeal and hard work the birth of contraceptive in the form of a pill would not have been possible. I would especially want to give kudos to Katherine McCormick.

Katherine McCormick was born in 1875 in a wealthy family in Dexter, Michigan. In 1904, she became one of the first women to graduate in a degree of science (biology) from Massachusetts institute of technology. She got married to Stanley McCormick, heir to the International Harvester Company fortune, who later suffered from schizophrenia. Believing that schizophrenia is hereditary Katherine McCormick vowed not to have any children. Therefore, contraceptives became her prime concern. She was involved in many philanthropic works and was also a women’s right activist. McCormick believed that as much as the right to vote for women is important so is the right to control her body. She helped Margaret Sanger, a birth control activist by supporting her cause in many ways.

When her husband died in 1947, she became the sole inheritor of his property and a wealthy widow; she was 75 years of age then. Along with Sanger she envisioned a birth control method which could be taken in the pill form. Accordingly they met a scientist called Gregory Pincus who was equally interested in developing a birth control pill. Gregory was researching on progesterone and believed that it could be used as an anti-ovulent and could be developed as a contraceptive. He had already tested and proved progesterone to work on animals but could not move further with the research due to lack of funds. McCormick asked him to immediately restart the research and handed him a check of $40,000 which was quite a fortune that time.

Wanting the pill to be developed in her life time, McCormick moved from her Santa Barbara home to the east where the research lab was located. She time and again asked the scientist to hurry up the project. Dr. John Rock joined Pincus and together they did their first trial on human beings. The progesterone pills were tested on 50 women who administered them for 21 days with seven days break for menstruations. The human trial was a success, not even one out of the 50 women tested ovulated while on the pill. This laid the foundation of the birth of Enovid, the first contraceptive pill. In 1960 FDA approved Enovid as a birth control pill.

Today many new pills are available in the pharmaceutical circuit. You can opt for Yasmin birth control or Lybrel birth control, as per the prescription given by your doctor. But while buying spare a moment for these great people without whom it would not have been possible to develop birth control pills. Great honor and acclaims should be given to the scientists that they without question deserve. However, the name of Katherine McCormick the real person behind the development of birth control pill and the sole financier, is today forgotten. Great injustice is done by us for not knowing and remembering the selfless women who paved the way for our liberation. Therefore, let us all give a toss to her, remembering that it is only because of her that today we can opt for family planning and pursue our career without the hassle of periods and unwanted pregnancies. Kudos! Katherine McCormick.



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Birth Control 101

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We now live in a world where sex is as normal as going out to the movies. Even teenagers as young as fifteen years old are aware of the concept of premarital sex. And chances are, a lot of adolescents aged 15 to 19 are already sexually active. It is because we take sex so lightly that the rate of accidental pregnancies are going higher and higher up the charts.

While we’re on the subject of being permissive enough to ignore teenage sex, think about this: Do these teenagers know what contraceptives are? Do they know which ones to use and how to properly use it? This article will help children understand birth control more.

What is contraception and how does birth control work?

Birth control is a set of actions, devices, medications used for the sole purpose of preventing conception or pregnancy. It works in three ways:

1.    It prevents the monthly release of an egg cell (ovum) from the ovaries during menstruation.

2.    It thickens the cervical mucus lining so that sperm cells would not be able to swim and join with an ovum.

3.    It changes lining of the uterus to make implantation of a fertilized egg difficult.

What are the different birth control types available?

There are natural methods of birth control. These do not require the aid of any device of medication. The natural method of contraception includes:

1.    Abstinence. This requires a person to totally abstain from engaging in sexual activities of any form.

2.    Withdrawal. This requires the man to pull his penis out of his partner’s vagina before he reaches his climax and ejaculates.

3.    Sexual outercourse. It allows sexual gratification by means of non-penetrative sex. It may be in the form of oral sex or masturbation.

4.    Fertility awareness. This method allows for couples to determine a woman’s safe and unsafe periods by means of careful recording of the woman’s basal body temperature, her first and last day of menstruation, and the consistency of her vaginal mucus secretions.

The barrier method of contraception includes:

1.    Male condom. It is a latex or polyurethane rubber cylinder worn on the man’s penis to block sperm from going into the partner’s body.

2.    Female condom. It is a thin sheath or pouch worn to line the vagina to collect sperm ejaculated by a man during sex.

3.    Cervical cap. It is a barrier made out of either latex or silicone which is placed over the cervix to prevent sperm from entering the female reproductive tract.

4.    Diaphragm. It works much like the cervical cap.

The hormonal birth control method includes:

1.    Oral contraceptive pills. These are pills that contain synthetic versions of the female hormones estrogen and progesterone which aim to normalize a woman’s hormone level to prevent ovulation.

2.    Injectables. It is a progestin-only solution that is injected to prevent ovulation for three months.

3.    Hormonal patches. It is a thin, 2in by 2 in patch that slowly releases hormones into the body within the span of a week before it is replaced.

4.    Birth control implants. It is a thin flexible plastic rod to be inserted under the skin of the upper arm of the woman to slowly release synthetic hormones into the body within the span of a year before it is replaced.

The intra-uterine device (IUD) is a T-shaped rod placed inside the uterus to created a localized inflammation so that the bodies auto-immune system will create white blood cells to repair the infection and in turn kill sperm cells that get within the vicinity of the inflammation.

Choosing the best birth control method to use is a serious matter. Consult your doctor to know more about the different risks and benefits of these contraceptive methods before picking one to use.

IUD Contraceptive is a very effective and safe birth control method. Visit http://iudcontraceptive.com to see if it is right for you.

Learn How To Take Yourself Off The Birth Control Pill

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Virtually all women are still using the pill as their primary birth control despite all of the advances and various types that have been produced. Women can pick out so many unique types that include the patch, the shot, and the ring – but they feel that the pill is either their healthiest choice or the most low-cost one.

After using the pill for several years some women may decide it is time for them to start a family and have a child of their own. But they do not know how much time they need to delay to conceive. Most health experts concur that women should stop using the pill two or three months before they wish to begin trying to conceive.

This time period will allow the hormones that the pills have been pouring into your system to leave your body and to let your normal and more natural hormones to take its place. Do not be scared at the changes that your body will be making. It will take some time for it to restart the natural process of normal periods and to get back on track. So do not be frightened if many of your periods are irregular.

It is best to use the barrier method for your birth control or condoms. If you do get pregnant earlier than predetermined then you need to take a folic acid supplement that will serve to prevent your baby from having any birth defects during the first trimester.

Numerous women ask why doctors press them to use other forms of birth control for the first two to three months after they have stopped use of the pill. There are some serious reasons for this. Because a cycle of a woman is irregular during the time that they stop using the pill most who do not use birth control will not understand when or even if they have conceived.

Some women may not even ovulate until a month (or longer) after their last cycle from the birth control pill because the hormones from it are still in their system. This will cause women to question whether or not they are late because of the pill or because they are pregnant and this can cause confusion.

Other women may ovulate very quickly after they stop using the pill and become pregnant without realizing it. They may assume that they are missing their period because the cycle has been stopped and will be stopped for some time and will drink alcohol and drink a lot of caffeinated beverages when they shouldn’t be.

Women should learn how to Stop Birth Control and the different Types Of Birth Control that they can use.