<p>There was a side topic on another thread about kids’ acne. As it was stated, “severely bad skin can be life-altering; sapping confidence, changing the way others relate to you”, and there was a brief discussion of Accutane.</p>
<p>I am a mom of a young-teen son who has acne, but darn if I can get him to do much about it. He is at that sensitive age where he really cares about how he looks & what his peers think, but I doubt that he washes his face, much less use any OTC acne med I’ve bought for him. Guess the acne is no surprise.</p>
<p>I’ve been just laying low on this so far, but I do know that acne can scar, and he would prefer to have better skin. I could bring him to a dermatologist (one who prescribes Accutane to me for wrinkles LOL). My spouse says that it would be pointless until son would care enough to use the regimen (Accutane or otherwise). Thoughts?</p>
<p>(ok, laughing allowed at this point…I know there are bigger problems to have…). Just wondering if anyone else has been in the same spot.</p>
<p>Absolutely - I am sure that many of us have been there. I bring both of my teenage boys to the dermatologist periodically. Both have 2 prescription creams to use - one in the morning and one in the evening. I find that they will listen more and be more willing to follow the instructions of the dermatologist rather than those of the mom. Not saying they use it perfectly - sometimes those prescriptions seem to be hanging around in the bathroom for a long time - but it is better than nothing and when I notice that they have been faithfully using it and skin looks clear - I will comment on how great they look. When I see not so great results - I just bite my tongue. I don’t think my nagging 2-3 times a day to wash your face and apply the cream is going to help much.</p>
<p>That’s a tough one. My third has acne although his two older brothers never did. The difference - you are right - is how much they care. 3 keeps it in pretty much in control but he showers twice a day (morning and after practice) and he uses a scrub, an astringent and night cream. If he even takes a few days off his regime they are back…but a couple days of diligence and they subside.</p>
<p>I did find that helped to take my son to the pharmacy and let him pick out his supplies. He asked somewhere along the line and tried the Proactive but it didn’t really work any better than the Oxy products that he liked. He got much better about his grooming after picking out his own supplies. Once he had a year under his belt of battling the acne I told him if it ever got out of control that I would take him to the dermo. Neither his dad nor I ever had acne so we feel for him but we’re hoping it never gets so bad he needs drugs. We’re hoping that in about another year he’ll have outgrown it.</p>
<p>When my son had acne, I took him to a dermatoligist and he prescribed tetracycline which is a antibiotic. It was a pill he took every day, very low dose. He ended up taking it for a couple of years. Worked great.</p>
<p>Aczone has been a miracle cream for my son. It is by prescription only. It is relatively new and works best on inflammatory acne (not nodular acne). As per it’s promise, you do see results within two weeks. It is expensive, but well worth it. Ask your dermatologist about it. My son had used many different prescription washes, lotions, oral antibiotics, topical antibiotics, etc… before being prescribed Aczone - my son’t doctor says that it will be the new gold standard for acne treatment.</p>
<p>I just want to add that one of my sons took great care of his skin, yet still had cystic acne. He asked to see the dermatologist and used everything she gave him faithfully. He tried everything and after 2 years finally agreed to use Accutane. His skin cleared up and still looks great, 8 years later. My other son has an occasional pimple, but not acne. He’s the one who usually showered one or twice a day (the second was only if he had been playing sports), but otherwise didn’t wash his face. Different kids, different skin.</p>
<p>Actually, it a myth that washing your face has much to do with acne. Acne is primarily hormone-related (testosterone - that’s why boys usually have more severe cases of it). Hormones cause excessive oil production which leads to clogged pores (and bacteria then invades those clogged pores causing infection and inflammation). Overwashing can lead to dry skin and even greater oil production in any effort to compensate for the dry skin. My son was told to wash his face at most twice a day (morning and night) and to NOT rub/scrub it excessively. Usually, when hormone production settles down (after puberty), acne will subside. Accutane works by reducing oil production - hence the side effects of dry, cracked lips and skin.</p>
<p>2kidsnoanswers: Really, ask your kids’ dermatologist about Aczone. Or, even easier, google it. Both of my teenagers (one a male and one a female) use it and their skin is absolutely beautiful. Currently, they both use Aczone in the morning and Differin at night. But, since adding Aczone to their regimen about 6-8 months ago, their skin is really almost flawless. It is really amazing stuff.</p>
<p>The only thing I would add to all these great comments is how to broach the topic with your son, who is sensitive about his appearance (aren’t they all?). When my son started breaking out (way ahead of his classmates – in 7th grade) I tried to “normalize” it by saying that boys who were active in sports (which he was and is) sometimes had more of an issue keeping their face clean because they were sweating more and their helmets or chin guard trapped the sweat inside. So it made regular skin care sort of a necessary “macho” thing. Sorry to be so reductive but sometimes that’s what it takes to get through to them…I also printed some things off the internet that basically said what I’d been saying – wash your face twice a day and pat dry; don’t touch your face during the day; don’t rub/scrub/poke/pick. They don’t listen to their mom who loves them - they listen to the “experts” on the Internet. :)</p>
<p>Oh gosh the chin straps…I bought those velco covers and washed them every day, but that chin area. Yikes. Hair is a big one, too. My son finally cut his hair quite short because it kept his forehead and really his whole face in better shape.</p>
<p>Here is something to add to the mix. Through trial and error, we determined that my D was very sensitive to the sodium lauryl sulfate that is in almost all shampoos. She switched to SLS free shampoo and saw a huge improvement in her complexion. She uses Burt’s Bees products because they seem to be the most widely available SLS free products. SLS is both drying and is a skin irritant to many - both will trigger breakouts.</p>
<p>My DS has suffered from acne since his freshman year (he’s now a senior). We tried Proactive, Oxy, Neutrogena acne sytem, to no avail. His dermatologist prescribed him tetracycline (as mentioned in a previous post) which really helped clear up his shoulder and back acne, and for his face, a gel called Differin. It has worked WONDERS and I am so happy for my DS because he was so, so sad and embarrassed about his acne. He also uses the clear Neutrogena soap for his face, twice a day.</p>
<p>mafool: if you are looking for a non-prescription all natural product, try Lerosett from Gunilla of Sweden…approx. $32/tube available at spas or from Amazon. Read the reviews there. It’s a clay mask that pulls oil from the pores and works extremely well on cystic outbreaks.</p>
<p>It may not be as common but some have the complication of shaving. Christmas break is a good time for some guys to take a break from shaving for a couple of weeks. I have know two guys that have shown improvement this way as they were making their faces bleed with the constant shaving.</p>
<p>I really do think that part of it cam be the fact that even when they do wash/use meeds appropriately, they still have acne. Taking my son to a pediatric dermatologist really made a difference in both his skin and his attitude because that protocol worked. I only wish I’d skipped the regular dermatologists and taken him straight to a pediatric one.</p>
<p>Mafool, My son does not use accutane. Although we would have put him on it if it came to that.</p>