As if regular old zits weren't bad enough, awkward teens now have a new worst nightmare: antibiotic-resistant super-acne. Dermatologists say the bacteria that causes pimples is increasingly immune to common treatments, reports MSNBC. And while acne may not be a life-threatening condition, the frequent prescription of antibiotics to treat it can contribute to a general antibiotic resistance.
Doctors also worry these super-zits are mutating in ways that could be “passed over” to more harmful bacteria like MRSA, the super-bug behind deadly staph infections. “Which means that our only weapons against the bad guys suddenly do not work anymore,” says one doctor. "If it became bad enough, it would be like the days before antibiotics, when infection was a common cause of death.”
(More acne stories.)