According to a recent study, young people taking antibiotics inwards to treat acne are more likely to suffer from sore throat.

And although it is impossible to say unequivocally that the pain in the throat is caused precisely by these drugs, a prolonged intake of antibiotics, according to scientists, can change the balance of microorganisms in the pharynx, which in turn can lead to the propagation of pathogenic strains.

"Such people are more susceptible to diseases of the upper respiratory tract, and we do not know exactly why," says Dr. David Margolis of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, who participated in the study. People who take antibiotics (most often tetracyclines) to treat acne are usually young and healthy, and can continue to be treated this way for months and even years, so it is very important to understand the consequences of such treatment, he noted..

However, to date, the Dr. Margolis group has not detected an increased risk of resistance to antibiotics when taken to combat acne. Meanwhile, a sore throat, in his opinion, in many cases is worth the effect that antibiotics give in acne. "Acute respiratory diseases of the respiratory tract usually flow easily and pass on their own," he explains..

Together with colleagues, Dr. Margolis conducted two separate studies among students and college graduates in Pennsylvania. In the course of the first, they interviewed 266 students about the presence of acne and the intake of antibiotics inside for their treatment. Also, students answered whether they had a sore throat in the last month.

Ten out of 15 students who took antibiotics noted that they had a sore throat recently. For comparison, out of 130 students with acne not taking antibiotics, 47 (about a third) complained of a sore throat in the last month,. Among students who do not have acne, the pain in the throat in the last month experienced slightly less than in the previous group.

In the second study, the scientists observed during the school year another group of nearly 600 students, noting which of them suffers acne, whether they take antibiotics and how often they contact a doctor with a sore throat.

More than 11% of students with acne taking antibiotics regularly visited the doctor with a sore throat. Among those who did not take medication, those were about 3%. Students who used acne-based external agents (lotions and ointments) containing antibiotics did not fall into the high-risk group.

Researchers were unable to identify a specific microorganism that causes sore throat. So, the test for streptococci was positive only for several students. This inserts a wedge into the theory of the erosion of the balance of microorganisms living in the pharynx by antibiotics, and an increased risk of infections, but, on the other hand, does not disprove it, says Dr. Margolis.

"The importance of these works is difficult to determine, because we do not know what exactly caused the sore throat, it is only known that it was not streptococcal angina," says Dr. Guy Webster, a dermatologist at the Thomas Jefferson College of Medicine in Philadelphia, who did not participate In research.

According to him, the cause of sore throat can be not only infections, but also, for example, lesions of the gastric mucosa and increased gas production on the background of antibiotics, while the acid content of the stomach can get into the pharynx and cause pain in the throat.

Thus, people taking antibiotics and suffering from sore throat may not worry and do not stop treatment: these symptoms do not mean any terrible disease. We need to weigh the pros and cons: in the end, acne can cause a lot of trouble, and antibiotics - a proven method for their treatment, adds Dr. Margolis.

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