A generic high blood pressure drug has become the most commonly prescribed oral medication to treat acne in women, overtaking antibiotics and birth control pills, a new report from Epic Research shows. Prescriptions for oral antibiotics — previously the go-to pill for acne — decreased from 41% to 27% in the same time period. While the drug was approved as a high blood pressure medication in 1960, it was in the 1980s that some doctors began prescribing it to women for acne. Birth control pills can also be an effective treatment for this type of acne, and indeed, can be prescribed by dermatologists for this reason. However, prescriptions of birth control for acne also fell from 2017 to 2023, Epic Research found.

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Persons: spironolactone, John Barbieri, epidemiologist, Barbieri, “ There’s, ” Barbieri, Jessica Krant, ” Krant, Patricia Oyetakin, ”, Oyetakin, “, dermatologists, Krant, Deborah Bartz Organizations: Epic Research, NBC, American Academy of, Brigham, Women’s Hospital, Surgery, New, Research, Women’s Locations: Boston, New York, Atlanta