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What special precautions should I follow?
Breast-feeding¡XIt is not known whether Retin-A passes into the breast milk. Mothers who are using this medicine and who wish to breast-feed should discuss this with their doctors.
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Why is this drug prescribed?
If you are to apply any form of Retin-A, follow these steps:
- Wash your hands and affected skin area thoroughly with mild, bland soap (not medicated or abrasive soap or soap that dries the
skin) and water. To be sure that your skin is thoroughly dry, wait 20-30 minutes before applying Retin-A.
- Use clean fingertips, a gauze pad, or a cotton swab to apply the medication.
- Use
enough medication to cover the affected area lightly. Do not oversaturate the gauze pad or cotton swab.
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Cautions
During the first 3 weeks you are using Retin-A, your skin may become irritated. Also, your acne may seem to get worse before it gets better. It may take longer than 12 weeks before you notice full imp
rovement of your acne, even if you use the medicine every day. Check with your health care professional at any time skin irritation becomes severe or if your acne does not improve within 8 to 12 weeks
.
You should avoid washing the skin treated with Retin-A for at least 1 hour after applying it.
Avoid using any topical medicine on the same area within 1 hour before or after using
Retin-A. Otherwise, Retin-A may not work properly or skin irritation might occur.
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How should you take this medication?
The presence of other medical problems may affect the use of Retin-A. Make sure you tell your doctor if you have any other medical problems, especially:
- Dermatitis, seborrheic or
- Eczema
or
- Sunburn¡XUse of this medicine may cause or increase the irritation associated with these problems
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Other Medicines
Although certain medicines should not be used together at all, in other cases two different medicines may be used together even if an interaction might occur. In these cases, your doctor may want to c
hange the dose, or other precautions may be necessary. Tell your health care professional if you are using any other topical prescription or nonprescription (over-the-counter [OTC]) medicine that is t
o be applied to the same area of the skin. When you are using topical Retin-A, it is especially important that your health care professional know if you are taking any of the following:
- Ac
itretin (e.g., Soriatane)
- Etretinate (e.g., Tegison)
- Retin-A, oral ¡XMay increase chance of getting severe dryness or redness of skin
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Why is this medication prescribed?
Retin-A is used to treat acne. It promotes peeling of affected skin areas and unclogs pores. Retin-A controls acne but does not cure it.
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