My Thai girlfriend aged 28 has had an acne problem for a few years.
She recently used a product made in Thailand that contains 99%Sulfanilamide. It's a powder and the instructions say that it should be rubbed onto the affected areas of skin.
Within an hour, her face became very hot, fire red and very itchy.
I gave her anti-histamines and then I took her to our GP and she also prescribed anti-histamines as well as washing the face with sterile saline.
It took several days before her face began to look normal again.
One can only conclude that she had become very allergic to this product after using it only a few times.
I prescribe antibiotics regularly for my dental patients.
Sulfa drugs are still available but the practitioner is running the risk of having a major allergic reaction in his patient.
Large doses taken internally by a patient who is allergic can have life threatening consequences.
If the product was safe and effective for acne, it would be a major seller on the market.
Ask yourself - why is it not so popular (or not even stocked) in western pharmacies?
Do a search in Google "sulfa drugs allergy" and see for yourself!
Many acne products in this country contain sulfur and/or sulfacetamide. I assume that you are talking about a cream, not a pill, in which case it will probably work the same way, though I am not familiar with this particular sulfa-related ingredient in a cream. As an oral medicine, sulfanilamide is highly photosensitizing (it makes people sensitive to light.) That would make me reluctant to recommend it, especially when there are good sulfacetamide products that don't have the sun-related issue.
If your face has improved over many years, is it at least possible that you've outgrown your acne and don't need anything medicated at all?
Best.
Dr. Rockoff