Have acne? Get rid of it quickly, using a safe medicine that costs almost nothing. Despite the claims of the 1001 acne remedy breakthroughs you'll see on the internet, Tetracycline, a basic antibiotic, works better for most sufferers than any other treatment.

Disclaimer: I’m neither a medical doctor nor health practitioner. I own no shares in tetracycline. I’m just a former acne sufferer who wants to pass on what worked so well for me.

Acne: Get Rid of It Without Expensive Medical Treatments

From my early teen years I tried the usual over the counter agents (Clearasil, etc). I graduated to dermatology treatments, including ultraviolet light and expensive prescription topical ointments. None of my dermatologists ever prescribed tetracycline. I can only guess that either they were needlessly cautious because of reported side effects from high dosages of oral antibiotics, or that tetracycline is such a dull, non-sexy pill that they had to prescribe more exotic remedies to demonstrate their expertise.

Acne: Get Rid Of It Without Health Treatments

If, like me, you eventually gave up medical treatments of acne for the health route, you need to get rid of standard health food store notions about diet, cleansing, low-oil diets, flushing impurities from the system, and the like. I tried them all--for years--but I still had acne. Get rid of it? I really wanted to, but nothing worked.

Here are some of the health remedies I tried for acne: get rid of all chocolate and nuts in the diet, eliminate oil, periodic fasting on water only, no meat, juice fasting, herb poltices, herb teas, herb enemas, colonics, clay masks, chiropractic treatment, castile soap, natural astringents, massage, sunbaths, exercise, sauna, steam treatments.

I could go on and on, but trust me, I tried it all in the health line.

Acne: Get Rid of it at Last

When my acne was at its worst, I was given tetracycline for another, unrelated infection. My acne went away, but unfortunately I didn’t make the connection. I thought the health diet and herbs did the trick. It took me several more years of fruitless health and medical trials before I remembered that my acne cleared up best of all when I was on tetracycline.

With nothing to lose, I tried it tetracycline again. Sure, enough, my acne stayed gone as long as I kept on a low dose. Tetracycline doesn’t cure the acne, it just keeps it away as long as the antibiotic is in the system. But that effect is better than that of any other acne remedy touted by MDs diet gurus, or heath practitioners.

The Cause of Acne

As it turns out, the main cause of acne is bacteria that tetracycline kills easily. Get rid of the bacteria that causes acne, get rid of the acne. It’s that simple.

But doesn’t Tetracycline for Acne Get Rid of “good” bacteria, too?

In large doses, any antibiotic can wipe out good bacteria and cause resistant strains of bad bacteria. But here’s what the health and medical practitioners (the ones with something more expensive than tetracycline to sell) won’t tell you: You don’t need a large dose to control acne. 250-500 mgs per day will do it. After a while, I only needed 250 mgs every other day. This dose is so low that none I took tetracycline almost daily for seven years and had no yeast infection, built no resistance to antibiotics, had no tooth discoloration, or anything associated with antibiotics in high doses.

Could it be that your acne went away by itself?

No, when I periodically quit taking the tetracycline (remember, I was a health nut and still am, so I don’t want to take any medication I don’t have to), the acne came back. I resumed taking the tetracycline, and the acne went away. I kept going off and going on till my mid-forties, when the acne finally did leave of its own accord.

Acne: Get Rid of It in Three Easy Steps

1. Tell your GP or dermatologist you want to try tetracycline for acne. Get rid of your need for encouragement--You probably won’t get much, but that’s okay. Ask for a 90 day supply, preferably in 250 mg. pills. Tetracycline usually costs less than ten cents per pill. Generic tetracycline works fine, and it’s even cheaper.

2. Ask your doctor if s/he approves this dosage: 500 mgs at bedtime and on arising for the first week. Then 250 mgs twice a day until the acne is gone. Then 250 mgs once a day for maintenance. Go back to 500 if you have a flare-up. Follow all instructions on the bottle about not mixing with dairy, drinking plenty of water, no mixing with antacids, etc.

3. Aim for the lowest dose you can get away with. Stop taking the tetracycline from time to time to see how you’re doing. Go back to the starter dose if you’ve been off a while and the acne comes back.

That’s about it, except to say that it couldn’t hurt to stay on your healthy diet. I never tried a regimen of junk food and antibiotics, and I wouldn’t recommend it. If acne lashed you into health, stay with your healthy lifestyle and be grateful that at least you got SOME benefit from having acne.

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