If your acne looks bad enough that you've visited a dermatologist to get more powerful treatments than are available over-the-counter, your physician may have given you a prescription for oral antibiotics. While physicians don't commonly use the antibiotic medication methoxazole to treat acne, they sometimes prescribe it for acne that's proven resistant to other forms of antibiotics.
Cause
It's not clear why some people develop the oily skin that leads to acne, according to MayoClinic.com. In acne, the excess oil that's present on your skin joins with dead skin cells shed by your body to form plugs in your hair follicles. Once your hair follicles are plugged, bacteria can begin to grow inside them, leading to inflammation and infection.
Function
Methoxazole, known by the brand names Bactrim and Septra, fights the bacterial infection that makes acne worse, according to Drugs.com. The medication combines the two antibiotic ingredients sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim into either a tablet or a liquid that you take by mouth. If your physician prescribes methoxazole for your acne, you'll probably take it twice every day. You shouldn't stop taking it until your prescription runs out, even if your acne begins to clear up.
Warning
You shouldn't use methoxazole if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, according to Drugs.com. In addition, some people develop allergies to methoxazole and other antibiotics. If you have a fever accompanied by a blistering rash while you're taking the medication, contact your physician immediately. Less serious but more common side effects of methoxazole include nausea, stomach upset and diarrhea.
Results
Dermatologists report that methoxazole can successfully treat acne in cases where other antibiotics don't work. In a study reported in 2007 in the journal "Advanced Dermatology," study leader Dr. C.B. Turowski and colleagues said they have treated patients who stopped responding to first-line antibiotics with methoxazole and the medication contributed to significant improvement in patients' skin. Dermatologists have in fact used methoxazole for decades to treat these types of cases, making it a well-established treatment. In a medical study reported in the journal "Dermatologica" in 1978, a total of 42 patients with acne vulgaris took methoxazole for 18 weeks while the researchers, led by Dr. K. Nordin, tracked the number of acne lesions they had. The vast majority--33 out of 42 patients--achieved either "excellent" results or complete remission of their acne, the study concluded.
Considerations
Since dermatologists began treating acne with antibiotics back in the 1960s, many strains of acne-causing bacteria have developed resistance to the most common antibiotics used to treat the skin disease, according to the American Academy of Dermatology. Although methoxazole can work in cases where other antibiotics have failed, you need to take the medication exactly as directed, without skipping any doses, to avoid your bacteria developing resistance to it.
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