<p>My 13-year-old son has beautiful smooth, clear baby skin. This morning I noticed the first pimple on his nose. I told him to start washing his face with Dove soap at night (he takes a shower every night but I suspect that it’s more of a rinse than anything else). What can I have him use to head off full-blown acne? I notice that these days most teenagers have clear skin. I don’t see nearly as many cases of acne as I used to years ago.</p>
<p>I’m also looking for advice for my niece. She has very bad acne and my sister is very unhappy with their dermatologist, who suggested Accutane as the first treatment. My sister refused this, and my niece has been on several protocols involving various antibiotics, but nothing has helped. She had heard good things about something called Pro-active (?) that is ordered over the internet. Any experience with this? My sister has managed to get her an appointment with another dermatologist, but it’s not for several weeks.</p>
<p>Re: your son, I read your thread on orthodontia and this could be related. Acne is basically a skin infection. We are more prone to get skin infections when we are stressed. Growing kids are stressed just because they are growing. Throw in all the issues adolescents have and the fact that, at that age, their levels of Vitamin A are low, and you have a recipe for stress-related issues like more colds, susceptibility to disease (such as strep and mono) and acne. The stress of your son’s orthodontia could be the straw that broke the camel’s back, making acne more likely.</p>
<p>The cure? In general - more sleep, healthier food, laugh, relax and moderate exercise. For a quicker fix, some advertised products work quite well. I don’t think the CC rules permit me to mention product names but one I’ve seen that works is well-known and uses Jessica Simpson in its ads.</p>
<p>^ that would be the proactiv solution. I don’t use it but have heard good things, however, it’s expensive.</p>
<p>a gentle face wash (like neutrogena oil free acne wash) will go a long way towards heading things off, but a great (and cheap) quick fix is a product that can be found for about $2 at target called queen helene mint julep mask. A dot on the offending spot left overnight will usually kill it right off almost overnight.</p>
<p>remeber, no picking, keep your hands away from your face, and wash twice a day.</p>
<p>Have had two kids go through dermatology treatments for acne, thankfully neither one with a case necessitating accutane. I believe accutane is for severe acne that is likely to cause permanent scarring. I do know of some teenagers who were on accutane and they had complications while they were on it that disappeared as soon as they went off it (things like back and joint pain - not what you might expect). </p>
<p>Both of my kids have been treated with topicals - the usual things, differin was one and I forget the other. It is currently working for my d. She had been using proactive since the 8th grade and had a nice complexion. I did ask the nurse practitioner in the dermatology office what she thought of it, and she said it had a little of this and a little of that but not in the dosages that would require prescription or that would help her at this point. I think that COSTCO is carrying essentially the same thing under another name, so you might want to check that out. I don’t think Proactiv would help someone who has tried the stronger prescription topicals. </p>
<p>Re: diet and acne - as one dermatologist told me, it is of course good to get plenty of rest, exercise and eat well but diet does not cause acne. If you read anything on the causes of acne (in MDs offices, recent newspaper article in NY Times - in other words, mainstream sources) you will read that it is caused by hormones and basically infections (that’s why antibiotics sometimes work). </p>
<p>I’m sympathetic to how a teenager must feel when their face is really a mess, but Accutane is a very powerful medication. Also, check into the testing that goes along with accutance - pregnancy testing for girls, blood work for anyone on it. It’s worked for the kids I know but it was not an easy regimen to maintain and it did affect participation in sports (because of the joint/muscle pains).</p>
<p>Now, this is something I’ve had some experience with! Both of my sons have used Proactiv, which has been very effective. One of my kids, though, seemed to get a worse case of acne - naturally, it’s the lighter complected kid, who I’ve taken to a dermatologist. I found the info on this website to be helpful, mostly about how to really follow a regimen and how much benzoyl peroxide to use. <a href=“http://www.acne.org/regimen.html[/url]”>http://www.acne.org/regimen.html</a>
I’ve ordered the benzoyl peroxide from this site, and it works well, although the proactiv has a nicer feel. The trick is to use a gentle cleanser, then LOTS of BP, and then a moisturizer. The one recommended on the website above is Eucerin Skin Renewal and it works well. The problem for many kids is that they don’t use enough BP to prevent breakouts, because it can be so drying. That’s where the moisturizer comes in. In any case, I’d strongly recommend trying the Proactive and setting the regimen in place, to prevent serious problems. You might refer your niece to the acne.org website – I’d really hesitate about accutane, but there are many links online regarding the emotional impact of acne – especially depression among teenagers. Good luck!</p>
<p>I wonder if it isn’t better to take Accutane (which apparently is usually a 6 month treatment plan, after which most kids are done with it forever ) than be on antibiotics for years and years.</p>
<p>I only know one kid who used Accutane. He had no problems at all. He was on it 6 months. Now, about 2 years (?) later, his skin still looks really good.</p>
<p>I’ve heard a lot of good things about Proactiv. I personally have not used it, but my acne is extremely mild (good genes, no red meat/fast food, wash/moisturize often) so I can make do with a dab of aloe cream when I do break out.</p>
<p>Thanks, everyone, for the suggestion. I looked at the acne.org site and will recommend it to my sister, and if my son’s skin gets worse I’ll have him try that regimen first. It’s hard to imagine him doing it, though - he’s completely devoid of vanity and doesn’t even comb his hair. (Fortunately, it’s fairly straight and falls into place naturally.) I hope that if acne starts he’ll be motivated enough to do something before it gets really bad.</p>
<p>My son used Accutane and still has good results one year after the discontinuation of treatment. The only side effect was one that the doctor told him to expect – chapped lips, which needed to be treated with some product that appears to be Chapstick On Steroids. Even now, he has lip issues and uses that product frequently. He is pleased with the results of treatment, however, and regards the lip symptoms as a minor nuisance.</p>
<p>His younger sister, on the other hand, wouldn’t be willing to take Accutane even if her head turned into one big zit – because of the lip issues. She plays a wind instrument, so for her the lip symptoms would be a serious problem.</p>
<p>If anybody out there is considering Accutane, it may be best to get the treatment completed before college. It requires monthly doctor visits (even for guys), which may be a problem for those who are away at college. (My son, who goes to school an hour from home, came home for those doctor visits.) Also, college health center pharmacies may not be willing to fill Accutane prescriptions. My son had to go to a pharmacy in the community – which in his case is only a block off campus, but it might be more inconvenient for other kids.</p>
<p>“If anybody out there is considering Accutane, it may be best to get the treatment completed before college.”</p>
<p>Excellent advice. Not only does it require monthly doctor visits, you have blood work done monthly too. And you absolutely cannot miss a doctor’s appointment.</p>
<p>Son never experienced joint pain, however the dry skin and swollen, dry lips killed. Through trail and error, we found that Jojoba helped with the dry skin and didn’t clog pores and Mooselips lip balm saved his kisser.</p>
<p>Hmmm well when I got pimples I did one of two things:</p>
<p>If it’s really just red and you want it to go away quicker, put rubbing alcohol on it. It’ll dry up very fast and my face is always clear b/c of it.</p>
<p>If it’s a nasty pimple where you can tell there is “stuff” in it, I pop that ****!
Just make sure you get all of it or it’ll come back. </p>
<p>Benzoyl peroxide peels the skin right off my face, so I can’t use it. It can cause redness, itching and peeling, so spot test it before smearing it all over your face. even 2% (the dosage found in proactiv) will cause me to peel like I’ve had a nasty sunburn, so I don’t go near the stuff.</p>
<p>if your son starts now washing his face twice a day with a mild, oil free cleanser and learns to keep his hands clean and away from his face he’ll probably have little trouble unless there’s some kind of genetic predisposition. An astringent may be a good solution if he’s adverse to washing his face- and alcohol based one like seabreeze will clear out the pores and get rid of the dirt and oil pretty effectively even without a total scrubbing of the face.</p>
<p>If anybody teases your son because of acne, I recommend the following response (directly quoted from my son): “It’s called puberty. Maybe someday it will happen to you.”</p>
<p>Hey, it’s cheaper than medicines.</p>
<p>My son waited five years to see if the acne would go away on its own before deciding that it was worth going to the doctor and going through the Accutane routine.</p>
<p>After a few different antibiotics and topical medications my daughter (who was going on 15 at the time) opted to use Accutane. She did experience the dry lips which was tough on her as a flute player and some joint pain which was tough on her as an athlete. The monthly trips to the doctor and lab for monitoring were tough on both of us! The stuff worked miracles for her, though, and she’s never ever regretted it. Two plus years later her skin is still wonderful. The occasional random pimple, but nothing even close to the big, deep red blemishes that were going to eventually leave scars. Her dermatologist was very thorough during the course of treatment. </p>
<p>Many many years ago a friend of mine used Accutane, in it’s early days. It was literally a miracle drug in his opinion, his acne was quite severe. There are plenty of success stories out there, though anyone considering it should do so with full knowledge of the risks, obviously.</p>
<p>For the random pimples, we’ve found Neutrogena’s spot treatment to be quite effective. Be careful about over washing, that can be quite irritating to skin, too.</p>
<p>I remember back in the day…I had pretty bad acne, and my doctor suggested ultra violet light…I would go in and put on little eyeprotectors…</p>
<p>it worked, but to this day, I tan funny on my face</p>
<p>For me, OJ made me break out</p>
<p>Sometimes a particular food can bring about breakout, and with girls, certain times of the month</p>
<p>a thing my doctors recommened is the pillowcases- make sure they are washed often, or changed or put a clean towel on the pillow…kids sweat and their hair can make the pillowcase dirty and oily (if the kid showers in the morning) and that can get on face</p>
<p>and SUNSCREEN…kids think having a tan can hide the pimples, but the sun can actually do some damage</p>
<p>and moistirizing is also important…too dry skin makes blemishs worse and more prounced</p>
<p>my D started getting acne in 5th grade…sigh…she also had 4 teeth at 4 months…</p>
<p>I’m female and starting at around age 13, I had moderate acne. It wasn’t the worst it could have been, but I would get ugly pimples under my nose, which stood out, making me REALLY self-conscious. After a year of suffering, my mom took me to my pediatrician for a referral to a good dermatologist, but she told me to first try an over the counter face wash called Cetaphil. It’s great stuff. I love it, and six years later I still use it every day. It mainly serves as a moisterizer now, since at almost 19, my hormones have calmed down for the most part. It’s about $7/bottle at any pharmacy or drug store, but it’s not meant for kids with severe acne.</p>
<p>ridinwaves4life, you are soooo right about stress. My acne flared up a lot when I was having issues in my early teen years, and would be at it’s worst around my monthly cycle. Unfortunately, its just another hardship of the age, but it does improve with time.</p>
<p>Your niece might consider going on oral contraceptives. If she and her parents are comfortable with it, it can be a very helpful treatment for women whose acne is caused by hormones (not primarily by bacteria). It’s not cheap, but it has lots of other advantages (regulating her period, reducing cramps, plus, of course, birth control, if she’s sexually active).</p>
<p>S2 started breaking out about the same time as OP, and went through regimens of antibiotics and topicals. By his freshman year in HS, he was begging to try Accutane. I had been actively resisting – the side effects, blood tests, etc. scared me. He was miserable, very self-conscious, so I caved.</p>
<p>His six-month regimen cleared him up beautifully, no side effects except for the dry lips. HOWEVER, one month after going off, he started breaking out again. He freaked, but his dermatologist put him back on minocycline and a topical, benzamycin. It has controlled it for the past four years. She said that once the Accutane broke the cycle, he would likely respond differently to the same antibiotics that hadn’t worked before, and she was right.</p>
<p>So it’s possible to take Accutante, and still end up on long-term antibiotics. Oh, and he washes with cetaphil for oily skin.</p>
<p>I had terrible acne until my mid-20s. I still get the occasional zit (at age 51 and post-menopausal). People used to stop me on the street to give me remedies, and my mother cried when I finally cleared it up using… zinc oxide diaper rash ointment. I still put it on (a very thin layer) every night. Cheap and non-toxic.</p>