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What helped your teen son's acne?
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amother
OP


 

Post Fri, Feb 24 2023, 6:23 am
My son is 15, he has terrible acne. Very red, and puss filled, sorry for the tmi. It's mainly on his lower part of his face. He washes it with a face wash every morning and evening.

I want to take him to the doctor, what should I know in advance please?
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amother
Foxglove


 

Post Fri, Feb 24 2023, 6:24 am
Drink water

Got to wash the hormones away
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Highstrung




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Feb 24 2023, 6:44 am
I don’t bother with the doctor . I had acne and went to the doc as a teen. All the treatments aggravated my skin even more .
I believe in letting it be, unless he has infections. Don’t touch them .
It’s hormonal and often genetic.
It will go away. All my DS had at 15. The older ones barely have any anymore. The 16/17 yr old struggles with it the most now . But it too shall pass.
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amother
Ghostwhite


 

Post Fri, Feb 24 2023, 6:55 am
My teens wash their face with cleanser each night. I also made them a homemade vitamin c serum and they apply niacinimide by ordinary. Seems to be working well for them but their acne is mild
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amother
Gladiolus


 

Post Fri, Feb 24 2023, 7:00 am
Go to a dermatologist asap. It can really cause a lot of self esteem issue if not dealt with right away.
Lots of bad advice in this thread. Drinking water is great but won’t wash the hormones away. If you let the acne run it’s course you are allowing scarring to happen and emotional issues. Good luck!
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amother
Pearl


 

Post Fri, Feb 24 2023, 7:02 am
Very important to treat acne, especially when it's severe. Acne leaves permanent scarring. It is much easier to prevent scarring than to treat it. Besides for the fact that acne can be painful and can affect self esteem. There are so many treatments, sometimes you need to try several. You can't give up after 1 visit to the doctor. It definitely take some time and effort and commitment to really get it under control. Depending on how bad it is can be treated with just topical medications, oral medications, or isotretinoin.
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amother
Amethyst


 

Post Fri, Feb 24 2023, 7:02 am
We all go on accutaine. Girls and boys.

I think closer to 18tho. My mom wants to feel we are mature enough to handle responsibility.
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amother
OP


 

Post Fri, Feb 24 2023, 7:06 am
amother Amethyst wrote:
We all go on accutaine. Girls and boys.

I think closer to 18tho. My mom wants to feel we are mature enough to handle responsibility.


Doesn't it have bad side effects?
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amother
OP


 

Post Fri, Feb 24 2023, 7:07 am
amother Gladiolus wrote:
Go to a dermatologist asap. It can really cause a lot of self esteem issue if not dealt with right away.
Lots of bad advice in this thread. Drinking water is great but won’t wash the hormones away. If you let the acne run it’s course you are allowing scarring to happen and emotional issues. Good luck!


Right, and he already has low self esteem, I know I need to do something asap. I doubt the Dr will refer him right away before trying other things first.
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amother
Amethyst


 

Post Fri, Feb 24 2023, 7:09 am
amother OP wrote:
Doesn't it have bad side effects?


Very dry skin and lips while you are on it.
Take him to a dermatologist and ask for the details
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Highstrung




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Feb 24 2023, 7:30 am
Based on my own personal experience I truly didn’t find seeing a dermatologist helpful. I went many times.
My DH had to go a few times to take care of cyst like acne.
Otherwise the doctors were against treating with accutane (maybe things have changed over the years)
Honestly , I think the low self esteem comes from parents who make a huge deal about it , rushing to doctors like there is something “wrong” with their child. There is nothing wrong with them. There is nothing wrong with having acne. I think the attitude towards the acne is what may cause a child to feel like something is “wrong” with them and that causes low self esteem. This is my opinion . Take it or leave it.
If my child requests that we see a derm. I will definitely take him but so far all they’ve asked for were different types of cleansers . And eventually their acne cleared up as they entered their 20s.
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amother
Brown


 

Post Fri, Feb 24 2023, 7:33 am
Saw palmetto and vitex
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amother
Gladiolus


 

Post Fri, Feb 24 2023, 7:50 am
amother OP wrote:
Right, and he already has low self esteem, I know I need to do something asap. I doubt the Dr will refer him right away before trying other things first.

just book an appointment with a dermatologist. Don’t waste time going to a regular doctor unless you need a referral for insurance.
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amother
Gladiolus


 

Post Fri, Feb 24 2023, 7:53 am
Highstrung wrote:
Based on my own personal experience I truly didn’t find seeing a dermatologist helpful. I went many times.
My DH had to go a few times to take care of cyst like acne.
Otherwise the doctors were against treating with accutane (maybe things have changed over the years)
Honestly , I think the low self esteem comes from parents who make a huge deal about it , rushing to doctors like there is something “wrong” with their child. There is nothing wrong with them. There is nothing wrong with having acne. I think the attitude towards the acne is what may cause a child to feel like something is “wrong” with them and that causes low self esteem. This is my opinion . Take it or leave it.
If my child requests that we see a derm. I will definitely take him but so far all they’ve asked for were different types of cleansers . And eventually their acne cleared up as they entered their 20s.

This is your personal experience. There is so much a dermatologist can do. It saved a few years of my life when I was brought to the dermatologist. Acne causes scarring. It’s neglectful to not bring a child to the dermatologist. You can cause long term damage to your child. No matter what the attitude of the parent is acne causes emotional harm to a child. Please take care of this asap.
Op, facials can be helpful as well in conjunction with a dermatologist. Hatzlacha
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notshanarishona




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Feb 24 2023, 8:03 am
There are several options:
Creams- various strength from otc to prescription to combination of several creams (typically only work for mild acne and many boys can’t be bothered)
Pills (something like doxycycline as a daily pill , it’s an antibiotic)
Accutane: it works well but it’s a serious medication, has a lot of side effects, you need to take blood tests throughout the treatment to make sure it doesn’t affect cholesterol/ kidneys/ liver)
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amother
Bone


 

Post Fri, Feb 24 2023, 8:08 am
I second roaccutaine. but if he hasn't tried an antibiotic Dr may want to try that first. you can argue if they are so bad no "more mild " treatment will help.hardly mega side effects with roaccutaine. yes dry lips and must stay out of sun. he can reduce to a low dose as soon as it's under control (usually 2 or 3 mths) and then stay on that for a yr or 2.
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amother
Smokey


 

Post Fri, Feb 24 2023, 8:35 am
Dermatologist

Wash face with Cetaphil nightly.

Clindamycin cream nightly (need prescription).

If doesnt work then Accutane. Better now than when older.

(Doc will explain any side effects but should be fine.)

PLEASE take care of it.

I dont at all understand those who say to leave it. No way! (And if he picks, or even if he doesnt but has it bad, it can scar and that does NOT go away)

Much hatzlacha.
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Highstrung




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Feb 24 2023, 9:08 am
amother Gladiolus wrote:
This is your personal experience. There is so much a dermatologist can do. It saved a few years of my life when I was brought to the dermatologist. Acne causes scarring. It’s neglectful to not bring a child to the dermatologist. You can cause long term damage to your child. No matter what the attitude of the parent is acne causes emotional harm to a child. Please take care of this asap.
Op, facials can be helpful as well in conjunction with a dermatologist. Hatzlacha

I don’t think I’m neglectful. But you know what , I’ll take my DS to a dermatologist and will see what he says .
The only time I’ve ever seen scarring is when people or derms popped pimples .
But I’m open to hearing other peoples opinions and will see if there is any change for the better.
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Highstrung




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Feb 24 2023, 9:23 am
amother Smokey wrote:
Dermatologist

Wash face with Cetaphil nightly.

Clindamycin cream nightly (need prescription).

If doesnt work then Accutane. Better now than when older.

(Doc will explain any side effects but should be fine.)

PLEASE take care of it.

I dont at all understand those who say to leave it. No way! (And if he picks, or even if he doesnt but has it bad, it can scar and that does NOT go away)

Much hatzlacha.


The only reason why I say to leave it is because I followed your exact protocol listed (aside for trying Accutane which my doc advised against at the time)
My skin did not do well with Clyndamycin. I have photos of my face with raw patches of skin and peeling all over . The medication and creams literally ate away at my face. It was the most painful thing and made me look 100 times worse . After that I just gave up on trying anymore topical things because it was doing more harm than good. This is why I have a hard time with going this route with my own kids and I’ve seen two of my kids outgrow it fairly quickly . All the dermatologist appointments and medications and creams were a failure for me. (My husband had a similar experience too) Now I’m not saying it doesn’t work for others . But it’s not a definite answer for all skin types. Just wanted you to be aware of that.
The only thing I’ve heard people be happy with is Accutane and it has been controversial because of possible side effects etc.
It’s not like I just don’t care that my kid has acne and ignore him if he asks me to get him help for it.
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amother
Ruby


 

Post Fri, Feb 24 2023, 9:32 am
amother OP wrote:
Doesn't it have bad side effects?

It has some side effects. Most are not to bad & it’s only while using it. But there are bad side effects from long term acne like terrible scars & emotional damage.
For girls/women getting pregnant is dangerous because there r birth defects that can happen but only while taking the medication and the month after.
Some people experience some depression with it. You need to be on the lookout for it.
Read about it & speak to a dermatologist
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