Is it a sin to take prescription pills?

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flamez3

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I have a bad case of acne, i was wondering if taking pills and cream from the doctor was a sin of some sort?
 
flamez3 said:
I have a bad case of acne, i was wondering if taking pills and cream from the doctor was a sin of some sort?
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I don’t think so. Acne is sort of a medical condition - for lack of a better word. And, like any medical condition, it can be treated. In my opinion, you are fine to receive acne medication. That is just my opinion, but I am pretty sure that I am correct.
 
No it isn’t a sin to take prescription pills for your acne. It is a disorder of the skin, and to bring about healing of the disorder is a good thing.
God bless you.

It’s not much fun having bad acne. I hope the treatment is successful.
 
Taking prescription pills for the condition they were prescribed for is perfectly OK. The problem arises when prescription pills are abused. For example, maybe you were prescribed one pill a day. But you think “if one pill is good, two or three a day would be even better”. This excess could be dangerous and cause other physical problems.

Good luck with your treatment.
 
flamez3 said:
I have a bad case of acne, i was wondering if taking pills and cream from the doctor was a sin of some sort?
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not in my wildest imagination can I come up with a reason it might be, has someone said something to disturb you on this issue?
 
In no way is taking medication for a medical reason a sin. God gave us the ability to determine what causes illness, disease and afflictions, and to cure those things. How could utilizing the fruits of that God given ability possibly be a sin?

I can’t help but wonder WHY you would even ask such a question? There is absolutely NOTHING in any teaching of the Church, or anything in the Bible, that would even call such a thing into question.

It would appear that you have a SERIOUS misunderstanding about your faith.
 
What if the prescription medication is also marketed as an oral contraceptive pill?
 
I think her concern is that the doctor prescribed her to take contraceptive pills (which really has an effect in reducing acne) and her problem is since the church does not allow artificial birth control, she might be sinning.

I think as long as your sole purpose in taking the pills is strictly to cure your acne, there’s no problem.
 
amythest27 said:
What if the prescription medication is also marketed as an oral contraceptive pill?
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My understanding is that taking a medication for a medical problem is not a sin, even if it also has a contraceptive effect. However, if that is the case, it would probably be worth it to look into alternative treatments (often “the pill” can be used to alleviate symptoms of other underlying problems…but without fixing the actual problem). Also, in rare instances, oral contraceptives can have an abortifacent effect. If the pill is being used for acne (I have seen advertisements to this effect), I would suggest finding another treatment - acne seems like the much lesser of the two issues in this case.

(Though, if one is abstaining, it would be impossible for the pill to have an abortifacent effect…)
 
Ecclesiasticus Chapter 38
[1]Honour the physician for the need thou hast of him: for the most High hath created him. [2] For all healing is from God, and he shall receive gifts of the king. [3] The skill of the physician shall lift up his head, and in the sight of great men he shall be praised. [4] The most High hath created medicines out of the earth, and a wise man will not abhor them.

As long as the medicine is for moral purposes it is fine and biblical unless you use an abridged (protestant) bible.

Remember, protestant bibles lack Wisdom.
 
amythest27 said:
What if the prescription medication is also marketed as an oral contraceptive pill?
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If there is no other alternative or if another alternative has negative health effects then medication that is marketed as a contraceptive is acceptable. The results are help with the issue it is prescribed for, but with an unintended disruption of fertility.

The best thing would be to find a good Catholic doctor that will treat the condition within the morals of Catholic teaching. It is possible that medication that is marketed as a contraceptive is the only reasonable choice, but you will know this with a clear concious.
 
If the doctor is prescribing Birth Control, as is normally done with the acne cream, you really need to know the side effects of the Pill. It is a class one carcinogen–that is it causes cancer. It causes heart disease, strokes and can render you sterile to where you can’t have children. you can learn more on the package insert as well as at thepillkills.org/ this site is run by American Life League a Catholic Prolife organization and they are faithful to the magisterium.

You also need to know that one of the side effects of the Acne Cream is birth defects as well as miscarriage. That is part of the reason they prescribe the pill along with the cream. I would really read those package warning labels carefully before you jumped into this.

In this day when there is so much information published, you should keep yourself well informed. I don’t know how bad your acne situation really is, some people have it really bad and others just don’t want to deal with it and then you get doctors who don’t want to go against what their patients say they want for fear of reprocussions (law suits). Please just be very cautious in going this route and talk to your parish priest if you have anyother concerns.
 
Monarch7 said:
If the doctor is prescribing Birth Control, as is normally done with the acne cream, you really need to know the side effects of the Pill. It is a class one carcinogen–that is it causes cancer. It causes heart disease, strokes and can render you sterile to where you can’t have children. you can learn more on the package insert as well as at thepillkills.org/ this site is run by American Life League a Catholic Prolife organization and they are faithful to the magisterium.

You also need to know that one of the side effects of the Acne Cream is birth defects as well as miscarriage. That is part of the reason they prescribe the pill along with the cream. I would really read those package warning labels carefully before you jumped into this.

In this day when there is so much information published, you should keep yourself well informed. I don’t know how bad your acne situation really is, some people have it really bad and others just don’t want to deal with it and then you get doctors who don’t want to go against what their patients say they want for fear of reprocussions (law suits). Please just be very cautious in going this route and talk to your parish priest if you have anyother concerns.
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👍

I think I would find another doctor or exhaust all other possibilities to treat the acne before I would ever consider taking the birth control pill to treat it.
 
IMO you should ignor what Monarch 7 has said. Unless Monarch 7 is your physician who prescribed your medication.

There are a variety of contraceptive pills which have different contents and different side effects etc no where have I see you tell anyone precisley what drug you are taking nor you full medical history. Without these and professional qualifications no one should provide medical or pharmacutical advice!!!..very, very dangerous!!!
As I understand it , so long as medication that may also be prescribed for contraceptive purposes is prescibed for another condition and is used for the purpose of treating the condition, there can be no problem in taking it from the point of view of the catholic church.
 
waterbrook said:
IMO you should ignor what Monarch 7 has said. Unless Monarch 7 is your physician who prescribed your medication.
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Kind of. It is very true that one should beware getting medical advice from strangers on the internet, but it is false that one should never ask one’s physician probing questions, research issues for oneself or get other qualified medical opinions. Never rely on a stranger’s opinion, but there is no need to “ignore” it either. Just do your homework, verify and ask pointed questions.

The medical community (in the US, anyways) is very focused on prescription solutions. Often times, if you want non-chemical treatment options you have to be pushy.

I, personally, will be rather pushy and do lots of homework first should the day one day come when a doctor wants to put my teenage daughter on the pill to resolve acne (not that I know anything about the OP’s age, just an example).
 
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