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Dermatology (Expert Forum)
Acne or not?
Answered by
Alan Rockoff, MD - dermatology, Child Skin Problems
The Rockoff Dermatology Center
Brookline - MA
This forum is for questions regarding Dermatology issues, such as: skin rashes, acne, birthmarks, skin infections, rosacea, and general skin care.
Acne or not?
by jmarcos, Jul 22, 2004 12:00AM
Hello,
I'm 41 years old, but up to 7 years ago did not have any skin problems worth mentioning. I then went thru a very stressful time in my life and started to get bad acne on my back, shoulders, etc. My dermatologist finally suggested a small dose of Accutane - 1 pill/week. That cleared things up great and everything was fine. A couple of years ago I started to see white bumps on my shoulders and upper arms. I could wake up in the morning and have whole new clusters, but they mostly seem to get more aggravated at the end of a stressful day, after a couple of drinks, or after sex. My dermatolgist keeps telling me it's keratosis Polaris and there's nothing I can do, but from what I read KP is more redish dry bumps. The strangest thing about these is if I push lightly right next to each of them with tweezers a small white plug pops out (if I push too hard they bleed a bit). Even though they're small, the scab tends to be deep and take a while to heal on it's own. I could push on a cluster of 10 with a tweezer, one at a time, and a little white plug would pop out of each, but no real puss or anything. FYI, I also occasionally get them on my sides, mostly around the oblique area. Same thing, I push a bit with tweezers and a plug pops out. I tried stopping the accutane for a couple of months but they didn't go away (some acne returned). Any suggestions? (p.s. I'm more of a mediteranean skin-type, alittle on the oily side).
I'm 41 years old, but up to 7 years ago did not have any skin problems worth mentioning. I then went thru a very stressful time in my life and started to get bad acne on my back, shoulders, etc. My dermatologist finally suggested a small dose of Accutane - 1 pill/week. That cleared things up great and everything was fine. A couple of years ago I started to see white bumps on my shoulders and upper arms. I could wake up in the morning and have whole new clusters, but they mostly seem to get more aggravated at the end of a stressful day, after a couple of drinks, or after sex. My dermatolgist keeps telling me it's keratosis Polaris and there's nothing I can do, but from what I read KP is more redish dry bumps. The strangest thing about these is if I push lightly right next to each of them with tweezers a small white plug pops out (if I push too hard they bleed a bit). Even though they're small, the scab tends to be deep and take a while to heal on it's own. I could push on a cluster of 10 with a tweezer, one at a time, and a little white plug would pop out of each, but no real puss or anything. FYI, I also occasionally get them on my sides, mostly around the oblique area. Same thing, I push a bit with tweezers and a plug pops out. I tried stopping the accutane for a couple of months but they didn't go away (some acne returned). Any suggestions? (p.s. I'm more of a mediteranean skin-type, alittle on the oily side).
Doctor's Answer
by Alan Rockoff, MD, Jul 23, 2004 12:00AM
, Jul 23, 2004 12:00AM
I can't really tell from your description whether this is acne, folliculitis, keratosis pilaris, or some combination of all three. What I am sure of is that you aren't doing yourself any good by picking them off with a tweezers. Please leave them alone and get a dermatologist's opinion. I must say I'm a little skeptical that what you first had was acne, since 1 pill of Accutane per week is too low a dose to do much of anything. But whether it was acne then or not, it isn't necessarily that now. Leave it be and check it out.
Best.
Dr. Rockoff
Best.
Dr. Rockoff
