very bad acne

My son is 14 and he has very very bad acne on his face. His entire face is covered and i would like to know what i should get him. We have tried proactive and other otc meds.

[DGrant32]

Hi,
I hope it has cleared up slightly with your son.
You cannot always trust 'quick fix' medications such as ProActive, it is always best for you to consult your GP and have him/her check the extent of the acne and suggest the best possible treatments.

All the best,
D.Grant.

[loiloi]

Hi. Over the counter remedies are of limited benefit.
See your GP for a course of oral antibiotics such as Oxytetracycline 250mg twice daily and a topical retinoid gel such as Differin.
Eloise.

[claudicakes]

Hi
I come from a long line of  Acne in the family, and as you probably know its usually a hereditary skin disorder. If neither of his parents have adult acne than its simply all due to puberty, it will like clear up on its own, but if he is having self esteem issues with it then take him to a dermatologist, Proactive is only for mild to moderate acne, severe acne might require pills, the best one out there is Accutane ask your doctor about it, my brother took it once and it cleared him up for good, and he is still a teenager..no more breakouts for him..ive tried it also..great success..

[damo14]

Your son could start on a mild antibiotic available from a gp and see how his acne responds to that. Topical antibitoics also help but some people find these messy and oral antiobiotics are much easier and generally very effective.

Unfortunately there is no quick fix for severe acne but there are options to move things in the right direction.

Accutane worked wonders for me but his GP may like to try a lesser strength antibiotic and avoid using accutane if possible, since it does come with significant side effects.

Doxycycline is a wonderful antibiotic which has very limited side effects but is quite strong, just be careful of excess sun exposure as you are more prone to getting sunburn than usual whilst on the treatment.

Acne can be so confusing, there are so many myths most of which are untrue. My doctor said that hormones are the major cause of acne which makes sense as far as I'm concerned.

Good luck, love to hear how you go, I am very knowledgeable on acne treatments!