Daily Skin Care Tips

Dear Dr. Donohue • I have a gorgeous 19-year-old daughter who has acne. We hear it is due to heredity and hormones. We go to a dermatologist and get fair results. Tetracycline doesn’t work. We hear birth-control pills are good. Any suggestions? — J.P.

Answer • An attack of acne centers on oil production, clogged skin pores and the bacterium P. acnes. Heredity has a hand. Oil production is linked to the production of male hormones. Women do make them. Puberty is the age at which all hormone production goes into high gear. Acne pretty well peaks between the ages …

Trying to find a method of treatment that actually works to clear up your acne can be a frustrating process. The thing to keep in mind, though, is that people who do stick to trying to find an approach with results are more likely to find that one thing that helps with their acne. Although both men and women can feel and see the effects of acne caused by changes in hormone levels within the body, women are more likely to struggle with this. Female hormones can be affected on a regular basis due to menstruation or pregnancy, not to …

By MATTHEW PERRONEAP Health Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) – Birth control drugs that were heavily promoted as having fewer side effects and the ability to clear up acne and other hormonal bothers are under new scrutiny from U.S. safety regulators.

Research suggesting that newer birth control formulations are more likely to cause blood clots than older drugs has prompted the Food and Drug Administration to consider new safety measures in meetings later this week. the increased risk is slight, but significant because blood clots can cause heart attacks, strokes and blockages in lungs or blood vessels, which can be fatal.

Regulators could order new warning labels on several contraceptives that gained popularity in the last decade, including Bayer's pill Yaz, which was the best-selling birth control pill in the U.S. for 2008 and 2009.

Yaz, its …

November 30, 2011, 6:38 AM EST

By Jef Feeley and Margaret Cronin Fisk

(Updates with share price in 11th paragraph.)

Nov. 21 (Bloomberg) — Units of Bayer AG, Germany’s largest drugmaker, may have sought to market the Yasmin family of birth- control pills for unapproved uses and misled women about the health risks the drug posed, according to company e-mails.

Bayer unit officials discussed promoting the contraceptive known as Yaz, a spinoff of Yasmin, for treatment of all types of premenstrual syndrome, according to company files provided to lawyers for women suing Bayer. U.S. regulators approved Yaz only for the most severe form of PMS. Salespeople for Bayer unit Berlex Laboratories Inc., acquired in the 2006 purchase of Schering AG, received an e-mail that year from a company official citing a Woman’s Day magazine article …