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Acne for life?


Night Elf
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Ds19 has had acne for years. He has red scars clustered on his cheeks and forehead. He has active acne all over his face. He isn't interested in using medicine anymore because his face looks bad no matter how much skin care he does. He hates the idea that he may be like this for the rest of his life. Is his acne ever going to go away as he gets older or is he truly doomed to this fate? He feels it makes him unattractive and it's really messing with how he views his appearance.

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Ds19 has had acne for years. He has red scars clustered on his cheeks and forehead. He has active acne all over his face. He isn't interested in using medicine anymore because his face looks bad no matter how much skin care he does. He hates the idea that he may be like this for the rest of his life. Is his acne ever going to go away as he gets older or is he truly doomed to this fate? He feels it makes him unattractive and it's really messing with how he views his appearance.

 

Bless his heart. :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

 

Some people have acne because of their diet, especially dairy. *Especially* dairy. Has he tried eliminating it?

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Has he seen a dermatologist? They can work with him through different levels of treatment. Accutane may be an option for him. It has a lot of side effects (moreso for women, most doctors won't prescribe it for women of child bearing age, I don't think), but they may be worth it for him. 

 

 

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I second the idea of going to a dermatologist, if he hasn't done so already.   My daughter responded well to oral and then topical antibiotics. Her skin is wonderful now. My son did a course of accutane, which cleared him up, but unfortunately he is one of the minority for whom the effect does not last.  However, he is having some success with a new topical prescription. 

 

Accutane is a pain because of the monthly blood tests and watching for side effects.  But when it works, it works. It is not for all types of acne though, so it may not be an option, depending. 

 

I'm glad we stopped messing around with OTC things that didn't work, dietary changes that didn't make a difference, etc.   I know those things help some people, so worth trying, but we reached the point where we were done with all that.

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DH had severe acne until he went to college and took Accutane. At that time, Accutane was an experimental medicine and it cleared up his acne within three months and it never came back. So if your DS has been on medication and still has the same problems, then the medication is not effective and you need to find a better dermatologist. DD also had acne, and we tried all of the over-the-counter medications and none worked. One trip to a dermatologist changed that; she needed an oral antibiotic, and that was all it took and she never needed to go the Accutane route. I urge you to find a good dermatologist, or switch dermatologists if you're not getting what you need, because effective treatments are available and will make a world of difference; you just have to find one that works for you. I second what other posters have said - if your DS has tried over-the-counter remedies and they don't work, they are not going to work and are not worth the money. Just See the dermatologist; it will be life-changing.

Edited by reefgazer
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Going completely sugar and starch free has cleared mine, I've had years of acne. I have to be careful with b vitamins too, as some break me out. Too much dairy does as well.

 

Cystic acne that is intractable and doesn't respond to 6-12 months of hose dietary changes I'd be treating with accutane, even knowing the links with things like IBS later in life. It's that debilitating.

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I view acne as a medical issue & not a cosmetic issue.  Just like with many other medical issues, mild cases can be treated by yourself with otc products. If it's not responding, seek a medical professional. It is treatable but when it's severe it should be handled by a dermatologist. 

Once it's under control, if his scarring is bad & he still feels bad, he could save up for cosmetic correction (dermabrasion or laser etc.) 

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He has taken antibiotics and other medications? Edit: I mean, for the acne, not that I'm suggesting acne is caused by antibiotics--quite the contrary in my experience.

 

Seen the dermatologist?

 

If not he needs to see one. There is no reason he should live with scarring even if it does eventually go away.

 

Good luck to him.

Edited by Tsuga
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I view acne as a medical issue & not a cosmetic issue.  Just like with many other medical issues, mild cases can be treated by yourself with otc products. If it's not responding, seek a medical professional. It is treatable but when it's severe it should be handled by a dermatologist. 

 

Once it's under control, if his scarring is bad & he still feels bad, he could save up for cosmetic correction (dermabrasion or laser etc.) 

This. Plus with age and/or tretinoin to help treat acne or prevent it after a course of accutane helps smooth away some of the scars. I had acne return in my late 20s which was mild cystic acne but I still got 1 or 2 new cysts every day and a short course of low dose accutane cured it. This doctor prescribed 1/4 of the normal dose with great success for me. Now of course if you have severe cystic acne then you might need full dose.

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He saw a dermatologist a couple of years ago. I don't remember the medications but he had an oral med and a topical cream that was a combination of an antibiotic and benzoyl peroxide. I'll ask him if he wants to go back. He just feels so hopeless.

 

He has a couple of bowls of cereal a day. I can guess he'll refuse to give those up. He's an Aspie and a picky eater. Cereal is one thing he'll eat.

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He saw a dermatologist a couple of years ago. I don't remember the medications but he had an oral med and a topical cream that was a combination of an antibiotic and benzoyl peroxide. I'll ask him if he wants to go back. He just feels so hopeless.

 

He has a couple of bowls of cereal a day. I can guess he'll refuse to give those up. He's an Aspie and a picky eater. Cereal is one thing he'll eat.

 

I think going back is a good idea. There are a wide variety of options. Diet helps, but if it's severe changing diet isn't going to enough.

 

 

He is still young, 19 is still in crazy hormone stage.

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Yes, that was the topical cream. I don't remember it helping.

 

In my experience, that is the starting point. There are several other treatments available. I really think another visit to the dermatologist is in order, along with follow up visits so that the treatment can be evaluated and changed if needed. 

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He saw a dermatologist a couple of years ago. I don't remember the medications but he had an oral med and a topical cream that was a combination of an antibiotic and benzoyl peroxide.  

 

He really should go back; there are so many things to try. Some people luck into success with the first go-round, but others need to try various things. 

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In my experience, that is the starting point. There are several other treatments available. I really think another visit to the dermatologist is in order, along with follow up visits so that the treatment can be evaluated and changed if needed. 

 

Yes, going once is not going to do anything, except for those lucky few who find the right thing immediately.  Didn't the doctor ask for a followup?  (Maybe I'm misunderstanding and there were followups.)  

 

It can be a slow process, with a lot of trial and error. 

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My understanding is that male acne does eventually go away, because eventually male hormones stabilize in adulthood.  I have never seen an adult (post-college age) male with serious acne.  Women's acne can be a much tougher bear, due to our regularly fluctuating hormones and various hormonal disorders women can have.  

 

It will, eventually, go away.  But it may be a few more years.  A boyfriend of mine in high school had horrible acne, even on acetone.  His brother was a mess as well.  I mean really, truly, painful open sore acne everywhere.  Their father had clearly "survived" a similar adolescence, as he had extensive scarring though his acne was done.  Despite the scarring, he was a very handsome man. Men can pull off scars way better than women.  lol.  

 

All that to say, acne really, really sucks (says the adult sufferer of acne).  But for men, it does seem to eventually go away.  

 

If he is done with meds, he might consider looking into anti-inflammatory diets for some relief.  

 

:grouphug:  :grouphug:  :grouphug:

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My understanding is that male acne does eventually go away, because eventually male hormones stabilize in adulthood.  I have never seen an adult (post-college age) male with serious acne.  Women's acne can be a much tougher bear, due to our regularly fluctuating hormones and various hormonal disorders women can have.  

 

It will, eventually, go away.  But it may be a few more years.  A boyfriend of mine in high school had horrible acne, even on acetone.  His brother was a mess as well.  I mean really, truly, painful open sore acne everywhere.  Their father had clearly "survived" a similar adolescence, as he had extensive scarring though his acne was done.  Despite the scarring, he was a very handsome man. Men can pull off scars way better than women.  lol.  

 

All that to say, acne really, really sucks (says the adult sufferer of acne).  But for men, it does seem to eventually go away.  

 

If he is done with meds, he might consider looking into anti-inflammatory diets for some relief.  

 

:grouphug:  :grouphug:  :grouphug:

 

My friend's dh's nickname was "Red," because his face was so red from acne. It had been that way since high school. She changed their diet, eliminating dairy, and his skin cleared up, such that people who had known him since high school did not recognize him.

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My 17yo had a lot of issues with this. We tried a dermatologist and none of the treatments she offered helped at all. Several made it worst.

 

My dd is super-reactive to medications, both oral and topical.

 

We finally stopped all treatments of any type and she just used water to clean her face and kept from touching her face to anything. We bought multiple pillow cases so she could change pillow cases every day or two. And then we switched to more gentle products (mostly from Lush). This helped tremendously. She still has a lot of skin issues (and always will because skin issues are part of her medical condition) and she will probably always have scars because another part of it is that scars just never go away, but her skin is in much better shape.

 

My 22yo is going through a big flare-up, but she is more difficult to work with. She also has highly reactive skin and has scars that will probably never go away. She can't keep her hands away from her face and that makes things worst.

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My stepson still had bad acne like your ds at that age, but was finally put on a daily oral antibiotic (for the acne). The difference was amazing! I don't remember the name of it, but it was the only thing that worked after years of trying. Don't let him give up yet if he hasn't tried that.

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My 17yo had a lot of issues with this. We tried a dermatologist and none of the treatments she offered helped at all. Several made it worst.

 

My dd is super-reactive to medications, both oral and topical.

 

We finally stopped all treatments of any type and she just used water to clean her face and kept from touching her face to anything. We bought multiple pillow cases so she could change pillow cases every day or two. And then we switched to more gentle products (mostly from Lush). This helped tremendously. She still has a lot of skin issues (and always will because skin issues are part of her medical condition) and she will probably always have scars because another part of it is that scars just never go away, but her skin is in much better shape.

 

My 22yo is going through a big flare-up, but she is more difficult to work with. She also has highly reactive skin and has scars that will probably never go away. She can't keep her hands away from her face and that makes things worst.

Our doctor told us to expect the acne to get worse in the first 8 weeks or so and then a clearing after that give or take a month or so. I also thought the treatment was not working but that was not so in our case. he just had the worsening of his acne and then the clearing.

 

This is what happened with our son who uses tretinoin in am and a 50/50 mix of adapalene and 2.5% benzoyl peroxide at night. He also use Stridex with aloe vera or grapefruit wipes several time s a day. We have to be very persistent and we apply for him for succes. If this didn't work I would not hesitate to get accutane for ds which worked like a miracle for me, Now obviously what may work for one may not work for another but I definitely think a dermatologist is worth it.

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Has he used oral medications, or only topical? My son had much better results with oral antibiotics than with topical medication. It did take a few weeks to really work. Then he was clear for many months, and is just now starting to break out again. 

 

He also found that only using cold water on his face, rather than warm or hot, helped almost as much as topical medication. 

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We didn't do any follow ups. We followed the regimen for about 4 months and he gave up saying it was useless. I don't know anyone in my family or DH's family with acne like this. I don't know why it's happening to him.

 

Then he needs different medication. They have a lot of different options. 

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We didn't do any follow ups. We followed the regimen for about 4 months and he gave up saying it was useless. I don't know anyone in my family or DH's family with acne like this. I don't know why it's happening to him.

 

No one in my family or my husband's family had acne as bad as my son's.   It just happens to some people.  Maybe it's diet, body chemistry... there's no way to know.

 

Please take him back to the dermatologist, or a new one.  (I'd be inclined to try someone new if the first one did not tell you to come back after a time to see how the regimen was working.)  We all have our stories of what did or did not work for us or our children, spouses, friends.  All of our stories are true, but you can't know what will be true for your son. 

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He saw a dermatologist a couple of years ago. I don't remember the medications but he had an oral med and a topical cream that was a combination of an antibiotic and benzoyl peroxide. I'll ask him if he wants to go back. He just feels so hopeless.

 

He has a couple of bowls of cereal a day. I can guess he'll refuse to give those up. He's an Aspie and a picky eater. Cereal is one thing he'll eat.

 

My son started with a dermatologist for acne about 3 months ago. They had us schedule a 3 month follow up appointment which is coming up. (Ds had good response from the topical meds. It took a month or so to clear up, but now his acne is vastly (90%) improved.) My impression was that rechecks every few months were routine to assess if the current medications are enough or if they need to be stepped up.

 

I'd suggest taking your son to the dermatologist and going ahead and scheduling a follow up visit 2-3 months later unless you are instructed to come back sooner. 

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My understanding is that male acne does eventually go away, because eventually male hormones stabilize in adulthood.  I have never seen an adult (post-college age) male with serious acne.  

 

I have. Dated a guy in his late 20s to early 30s and he had the worst acne I've ever seen. Saw him 10 years later and acne had not improved. 

Edited by Mom-ninja.
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I have. Dated a guy in his late 20s to early 30s and he had the worst acne I've ever seen. Saw him 10 years later and acne had not improved. 

 

The other thing is that some types of acne leave a lot of scarring.  I knew a guy who had terrible scarring all over his face, shoulders, and back.  The acne wasn't active at that point, but the scarring wasn't going anywhere.  

 

He was an unusual case, I believe, probably untreated cystic acne (the kind accutane is used for - just a guess based on what I know about acne now).  

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My dd has severe cystic acne.  It began so young, at around 10 or so!  It just go worse and worse.  We finally went to the dermatologist.  She kept trying different things, with the meds getting a little stronger each time.  It took forever for her skin to turn around.  The doctor was at the point of prescribing her Accutane, but I did want to wait with her current medication a little longer.   It took about 5 months before we noticed any change at all, but that seemed to be the magic number for her.  Once it began improving, it kept on.  Now her skin is beautiful and clear!  At one point in high school, she went off of it because she thought she didn't need it anymore.  It was fine for about six months, and then it all came back in about a week!  Very strange and very awful.  It took another 5 months or so of meds again to get it to clear up.  She's still on it at 21.  She's on 3 different prescription creams and birth control.  She was on the oral antibiotics for awhile, but the doctor felt she didn't need it anymore once she added birth control pills to her routine.  

 

I have two nephews who finally used Accutane.  It really made a difference for them.  Their mother didn't want them using it until everything else had been tried, but in the end, it's the only that worked, and it did work.  

 

Also, I've heard of skin polishing that is done now.  It's some cosmetic procedure where they smooth over skin that has been blemished by acne and other things.  I don't know too much about it, but perhaps that's something to look into down the road.

 

It's so unfair but other people sometimes do view you differently when you have terrible acne.  I hope you can encourage him to give prescription meds a try again.

Edited by J-rap
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People do view you differently when you have skin issues.  Cutting dairy and other dietary attempts were not enough here. 

 

Oldest DS took a couple of different rounds of antibiotics before they found the one that works.  DD22 and DS20 both inherited DH's skin and had to have multiple courses of Accutane as antibiotics were not enough.  DD22 unfortunately has scarring on her face that she has to cover with makeup as we waited a bit too long before starting her treatment.

 

However, I will say that the dermatologist has more tools in his toolbelt now than he did even 10 years ago when he started with DS24.   There are more antibiotics available, both topical and oral, plus some creams like the retin-A that have been effective for DD14. 

 

 

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My second son had severe cystic acne. Nothing worked and he did not want to go on accutane. He got fed up and stopped using soap and any other products. He had been using dove sensitive skin or ivory. Now he uses only warm water and a wash cloth. The cysts began to clear up within a week. It seems that the soap aggravated it somehow. After that he just got regular zits. He quit eating cheese and other fatty dairy products and saw a tremendous improvement. Currently, he only gets a pimple now and then, usually when he caves in to cheese or ice cream.

Edited by Onceuponatime
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Ds19 has had acne for years. He has red scars clustered on his cheeks and forehead. He has active acne all over his face. He isn't interested in using medicine anymore because his face looks bad no matter how much skin care he does. He hates the idea that he may be like this for the rest of his life. Is his acne ever going to go away as he gets older or is he truly doomed to this fate? He feels it makes him unattractive and it's really messing with how he views his appearance.

Is this your son who has other struggles?

 

A close friend struggled with severe acne for years.  The dermatologist tried everything under the sun and nothing touched it.  She finally found a cure when she admitted that her anxiety was out of control and started taking meds.  After a few months her skin was beautiful!  I was absolutely amazed when I saw her.  We recently talked and she mentioned that she tried to go off her meds, but her skin told her that she still needed them.  I thought that was so interesting - she felt okay, but her body was obviously reacting to the stress in negative ways.  

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My youngest son had horrible acne - I took him to the dermatologist and she put him on Accutane. Yes, it was a pain in the patootie to go back every month for the blood test, etc. but after 6 months his skin cleared up and he looks and feels SO MUCH BETTER. It has been a year since he finished taking the meds and he is still clear and looks great.

 

My 17yo daughter has been on Accutane for the past 4 months and it is working really well for her, too.

 

Please take your son back to the derm - it is totally worth it! Good luck!

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Ds19 has had acne for years. He has red scars clustered on his cheeks and forehead. He has active acne all over his face. He isn't interested in using medicine anymore because his face looks bad no matter how much skin care he does. He hates the idea that he may be like this for the rest of his life. Is his acne ever going to go away as he gets older or is he truly doomed to this fate? He feels it makes him unattractive and it's really messing with how he views his appearance.

 

I haven't read the other post.

 

We have had two children with acne problems.  We put both of them on Accutane and has worked miracles.  I would suggest talking with your dermatologist.  There are options.

 

:grouphug: .  

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Is this your son who has other struggles?

 

A close friend struggled with severe acne for years.  The dermatologist tried everything under the sun and nothing touched it.  She finally found a cure when she admitted that her anxiety was out of control and started taking meds.  After a few months her skin was beautiful!  I was absolutely amazed when I saw her.  We recently talked and she mentioned that she tried to go off her meds, but her skin told her that she still needed them.  I thought that was so interesting - she felt okay, but her body was obviously reacting to the stress in negative ways.  

 

This is my ds19 who has Aspergers. That seems to color his perceptions of everything. It makes it hard to get him to see things from other points of view. He got mad at me last week for suggesting we try benzoyl peroxide again. I'm waiting until next week to suggest the dermatologist.

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