The

drug A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via insuffla ...

combination sulfacetamide/sulfur is a

topical A topical medication is a medication that is applied to a particular place on or in the body. Most often topical medication means application to body surfaces such as the skin or mucous membranes to treat ailments via a large range of classes ...

acne Acne, also known as ''acne vulgaris'', is a long-term Cutaneous condition, skin condition that occurs when Keratinocyte, dead skin cells and Sebum, oil from the skin clog hair follicles. Typical features of the condition include comedo, black ...

medication A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field and re ...

manufactured by Medicis under the trade name Plexion and also available under other trade names such as Clenia, Prascion, and Avar. It combines sodium sulfacetamide, a

sulfonamide In organic chemistry, the sulfonamide functional group (also spelled sulphonamide) is an organosulfur group with the structure . It consists of a sulfonyl group () connected to an amine group (). Relatively speaking this group is unreactive. ...

antibiotic An antibiotic is a type of antimicrobial substance active against bacteria. It is the most important type of antibacterial agent for fighting bacterial infections, and antibiotic medications are widely used in the treatment and prevention of ...

, and

sulfur Sulfur (or sulphur in British English) is a chemical element with the symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with a chemical formula ...

, a

keratolytic Keratolytic () therapy is a type of medical treatment to remove warts, calluses and other lesions in which the epidermis produces excess skin. In this therapy, acidic topical medicines, such as Whitfield's ointment or Jessner's solution, are ap ...

agent. It is available in four

formulations Formulation is a term used in various senses in various applications, both the material and the abstract or formal. Its fundamental meaning is the putting together of components in appropriate relationships or structures, according to a formul ...

: as a cleansing cloth,

cleanser The term cleanser refers to a product that cleans or removes dirt or other substances. A cleanser could be a detergent, and there are many types of cleansers that are produced with a specific objective or focus. For instance a degreaser or carbur ...

, topical

suspension Suspension or suspended may refer to: Science and engineering * Suspension (topology), in mathematics * Suspension (dynamical systems), in mathematics * Suspension of a ring, in mathematics * Suspension (chemistry), small solid particles suspend ...

, and as a

facial mask A facial mask is a creamy or thick pasted mask applied to clean or smoothen the face. Facial masks often contain minerals, vitamins, and fruit extracts, such as cactus and cucumber. A sheet mask is a piece of paper, cellulose or fabric used to ap ...

. The sulfacetamide inhibits the growth of the

bacterium Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were among ...

Cutibacterium acnes ''Cutibacterium acnes'' (formerly ''Propionibacterium acnes'') is the relatively slow-growing, typically aerotolerant Anaerobic organism, anaerobic, gram-positive bacterium (rod) linked to the skin condition of acne vulgaris, acne; it can also ca ...

'' that is associated with acne, while sulfur facilitates the removal of dead skin cells to prevent clogged pores.

References

Anti-acne preparations Combination drugs {{dermatologic-drug-stub