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Antibiotics for Acne


Jean in Newcastle
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Any experience with this? Being someone with chronic illness, I'm a bit wary of exposing my son to something that can disrupt his gut flora. Any experience with this kind of medicine? Did it work? Did you regret it? Were you satisfied with it?

 

I'd be leery too about the antibiotics angle. Have you tried the chelated zinc - I think 90mg per day?

Or other products like Salicylic Acid or Benzoyl Peroxide?

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I took an antibiotic for years for acne when I was a teen. My dermatologist advised taking an acidophilus supplement along with it. I did and never had any trouble at all. As far as I know I've never had any side effects, short or long term, from taking it.

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One dd took it before being on Accutane. Risk wise, the antibiotic is much lower. The antibiotic cleared her up, but she would have had to stay on it forever. As soon as she quit taking it, she broke out fully again. Accutane worked too, until she had been off of it for a year. Right now, she is on bc to control it (my idea) She isn't as clear as on the antibiotic or Accu., but it puts her to a normal range. That probably isn't an option for your ds though!

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My son took antibiotics for about a year to help control his breakouts. It did seem to help, but after he was off them for several months, he did develop acne. It should be noted that acne is different than pimples. Find a good dermatologist who can explain the difference to you. Acne can be treated topically and with a low level of antibiotics to help control it, but the treatment will take several years and will probably only keep it bearable instead of actually clearing it up entirely. You run the risk of scarring if treatment is prolonged over several years. When my son actually developed acne, it was very clear that what he had before was simply pimples. The acne caused huge, oozing pimples and his entire face was swollen and inflamed. He's been on Accutane now for several months and his face is almost completely clear. I'm so glad we didn't wait to start that treatment. Warning: Accutane is VERY expensive!! Even with really good insurance we were paying over $100/month. Without insurance it would have been $1000. I don't know what I would have done if we didn't have insurance. His face went from a few pimples to red, bumpy, swollen whiteheads everywhere in just a few months, and it was painful for him.

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My son was on antibiotics for acne. He had a topical cream that was erythromycin (sp?) combined with benzoyl peroxide. He was also on an oral tablet but i can't remember the name. After a year, we didn't feel they were really doing anything more so I took him off of them. He just does a cleaning routine with salicylic acid and benzoyl peroxide now. His face is clearer than ever but it's still not all gone. He hasn't had a clear face since before he got his first pimple.

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My 17 year old has been on anti-biotics for acne for several months now. They start out at a full dose and cut back gradually until they're off completely. She's down to 1/3 of the dose of the anti-biotic and two skin creams and it's working beautifully. We also had her do a chem peel. Once she's off entirely we'll be putting the good bacteria back in with pro-biotics. We're very happy with the care she's getting at the Skin and Cancer Center of AZ.

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My 17yo has been using epiduo and doryx (antibiotic) for several months now. Both of them helped some initially, but now she is pretty much at the same level she was before. I'm planning another dermatologist appointment. She started taking this stuff back in February and I would expect to see some solid results by now, especially since both of them helped at first (she started the epiduo in February and the Doryx in March).

 

We have already tried eliminating dairy and she took 50mg zinc every night for a full year to no effect. She was using the acne.org regimen for skin care.

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My son used Minocycline, then Doxycycline; neither helped and just made his chronic nausea worse. He also used erythromycin/benzoyl peroxide cream which didn't help either. He ended up on accutane; he's been taking it for 5 months and it's made a huge difference for him. He's on his last month. But he had severe cystic acne all over his face, back, shoulders and chest - has some scarring on his shoulders. Don't know if that's what you're dealing with.

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My teen sons both went this route along with a cream and/or wash and it was very helpful in getting the serious stuff under control. Once it was cleared up they were able to back off the dosages.

 

Neither complained of any problems associated with the antibiotics.

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