Birth Control is Not a Cure [OPINION]

Gather ‘round, one and all, Modern Medicine has done it again. You will not believe what trick we have under our sleeve this time around. Do you struggle with acne? Painful or irregular periods? Thyroid issues? General hormonal imbalance? Then step on down, because boy do we have something for you, and we have a version for everyone (well, if you’re a young person with a female reproductive system). Introducing, Hormonal Birth Control!

Now available in a pill, patch, needle injection, semi-permanent inserted device, a self-insert vaginal ring or an implant that goes right into your arm. Oh, and while using one of these easy and convenient methods, you (most likely) will not become pregnant. All of this at the small price of your mental health, joint and blood quality and future reproductive fertility for an unknown amount of time, but we can talk about that when you’re done taking it.

Alright, alright, I’ll cut the act. Obviously, birth control is not a magical, cure-all medication. So why is it being treated as such? More specifically, why do doctors continue to prescribe hormonal birth control to people as a way of “treating” issues like hormonal acne? This happens often with adolescent females, and too often with people who are not sexually active and therefore do not need birth control for contraceptive purposes. So, is hormonal birth control a good way to treat hormonal acne? 

The answer is no. Not at all. Effective? Sometimes. Efficient? Usually. Safe? Kind of. But good? Not at all. 

Now, I want to be clear here. This isn’t an anti-birth control article. Far from it, actually. Hormonal birth control is a feat in modern medicine, especially for women’s reproductive health and rights. Thanks to pioneer women Margaret Sanger and Katharine Dexter McCormick, and Dr. John Rock, in 1957 the FDA approved the first oral contraceptive for women, therefore finally allowing women sexual freedom and the chance to safely control their fertility, with only a few known side effects. 

But 60 years after the conception of hormonal birth control, and many known side effects later, doctors are prescribing “the pill” to treat a list of health issues caused by hormonal imbalance, including hormonal acne. And this is the issue! Because while hormonal acne is normal and happens to many people, especially in adolescence, it is just one of many signs of a hormonal imbalance. This imbalance is not the natural state of the human body, but a sign of something going wrong under the surface.

So, yes, hormonal contraceptives are effective at balancing hormones, and therefore clearing the acne, but it is done by ingesting a synthetic version of those hormones, which is a temporary solution that doesn’t prepare the body for life after it has stopped taking the medicine. Which means once you stop taking the medication, you stop gaining the benefits.

The thing is, when you’re young and desperate to have beautiful, clear skin, it seems like a no-brainer. It is up to the adults and, even more so, the medical professionals in these young people’s lives to at the very least disclose the long-term effects and risks of hormonal birth control. At that first gynecologist appointment, most people only hear surface-level side effects, if any. You might gain weight, you might experience lightened periods or stop bleeding all together or you might experience some changes in premenstrual symptoms. But what the doctors do not usually tell these girls is that they could develop severe depression and anxiety, or they could be infertile for months or years after discontinuing birth control, likely when they are ready to conceive, or in some cases they may develop deadly blood clots. These sound scary, but it’s important information to include to truly allow people the freedoms that birth control originally stood for. 

To be sure, many people get on birth control and do not experience these severe symptoms and they get clear skin in the meantime, however when those people discontinue the use of the medication, the hormonal imbalance they had beforehand comes back, and likely with a vengeance. The body does not understand how to regulate its own hormones while on the medication, because it does not need to, the contraceptive does it for them. 

So if what you’re looking for is a sort of “get rich quick” scheme for your skin, then sure, grab your prescription and get going. But, if you want to end the cycle of hormonal imbalance and hormonal acne, you will need to do some more digging and get to the root cause of your issue. This route can be longer, and can require more work up front, but the lasting effects of getting to know your skin and your hormones is more valuable than the time spent in the beginning. 

Trying to balance hormones by the proper, well-rounded diet and support of the body’s major organs is one way to get there; however, for people of adolescent age, this can be a rather difficult task. Vitamin A and B supplements are another proven way to drastically reduce the effects of hormonal acne, and it is completely natural if you choose the correct supplements. But with all the other options available, they start within, and finding the underlying cause of your hormonal acne is the most effective way to get rid of it long term. 

With teens and adults, hormonal birth control can be a useful and safe contraceptive that allows those with female reproductive systems to have sexual freedom and take control of their bodies. However, doctors prescribing contraceptives as a medication to treat other issues in your body is going to hurt you in the long run. Especially with young teens, who often are written this prescription with no thought to their future, and for no good reason other than to clear their skin.