Have you ever had a pimple on your face right on the day when you least wanted it? And have you Googled on to find a solution and stumbled onto the popular toothpaste solution to it? We, at our clinic, see a lot of patients who come to us having applied toothpaste on to their acne and have suffered burns as a result and we’d like to talk about this popular mistake here.

Why not Toothpaste?

Toothpaste contains Triclosan which not only burns the acne but can irritate the skin and leave a scar behind as well. This is certainly not worth the trouble at all for an acne that would have gone away by itself, without leaving any mark behind.
So what should you do?
For starters, one could try icing the acne. This can possibly reduce its size. Do not squeeze the acne, whatsoever, as this could push the inflammation down into the skin which might increase the acne’s size. Get in touch with your doctor as soon as possible as you could be given an antibiotic pill that could reduce the acne’s size by 50% in 24 hours’ time. The doctor can also give you an injection directly on the pimple and make it disappear in 24 hours.

If you would like to know more about acne management, please feel free to drop us a message!

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The information provided in Dr. Dixit's answer is for educational purposes only and is not intended to constitute medical advice. The information provided should not be relied upon as a substitute for consultations with a qualified health professional who may be familiar with your individual medical needs.