Menopause, the "change of life," definitely brings changes, but for some women, it brings a reprise of their teenage years in the form of acne. The same types of hormonal fluctuations that caused pimples to break out in your adolescence can bring them back during menopause. If this happens to you, you might want to consider the estradiol patch to control your acne and your menopausal symptoms.
Cause
Hormones, even at normal levels, drive acne development. Your skin produces sebum, a type of oil, in response to hormonal signals from androgens, which are considered male hormones. Sebum, when too much is present, can help to clog your skin's pores and encourage bacteria to breed. During menopause, you're undergoing hormonal shifts as your levels of estrogen and progesterone--two female hormones--decline, increasing androgen hormones' influence on your skin and potentially leading to too much sebum.
Function of the Patch
Physicians use the estradiol patch to replace the estrogen that's naturally lost in your body during menopause, according to Drugs.com. The patch also can treat dryness, itching and irritation in your vaginal area, and can alleviate the need to urinate frequently or urgently. If you receive a prescription for the estradiol patch, you should apply it exactly as instructed. Only place it on your stomach, buttocks or lower back, and don't place it on one of your breasts.
Side Effects
Estrogen replacement therapy with the estradiol patch carries a risk of side effects. If you're using the patch to treat acne or other menopausal symptoms, you might experience nausea, vomiting or even lose your appetite. Other fairly common side effects include swollen breasts, decreased sex drive or skin color changes. You might experience migraines from the estradiol patch.
Warning
A very large study conducted by the National Institutes of Health concluded that estrogen therapy at menopause raises the risk of heart disease, and some concerns remain about the risk of breast cancer while using the medication. Because of the information obtained by this study, many physicians recommend that their patients stay on hormone replacement therapy, including the estradiol patch, for only a short time, and use the lowest dosage that treats their symptoms.
Considerations
Although the estradiol patch can curb acne in menopausal women in many cases, it also causes acne in some women using it for other menopausal symptoms. If this happens to you, women's health physician Dr. Christiane Northrup advises getting a full workup from a physician who specializes in endocrine balance to determine what you need to do to curb your acne.
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