Teenage son with acne

[sherann]

My son is 17 and has had acne for 3 years. I would consider it fairly severe. varies but has from 5 to 20 pimples at a time. they are not the huge boil looking type, but are also not tiny ones.  has lot of pink scars (not deep pock marks)that take long time to fade.  He also has it on his shoulders and he scars easily and has alot of scars on his back.  I had adult acne and was on antibiotics for years. One was minocycline and caused me to get drug-induced lupus.  finally went to a dermatologist who gave me brevoxyl wash and ointment and cleared me up completely with no antibiotics.  I took my son there about 3 yrs ago when he first had problems.  He put him on the same medication topicals and told him for teens it may require antibiotics also so he gave Rx for doxycyline.  For quite awhile, Ryan only used topicals.  Acne did improve some, but still had a lot of breakouts.  As it got worse, he  did finally start taking the docycycline but not regularly at all.  Nest time when he needed new Rx's, we went to a doctor who was closer to us.  (we live in rural area and first one was 2 hours away, this one only 1.)  She was big on ACcutaine and talked to us about the that, but we opted to TRY antibtiotics first as the ACcutaine scares me.  She did not seem familiar with Brevoxyl, but refilled the Rx and the doxycycline.  Ryan started taking the doxycycline regularly then.  he has never really been cleared up in all the time he has been treated.  When we went to the dermatologist in May, he was not doing too badly.  still had some but not alot.  He had been going to a tanning bed as he had heard that would help  and did seem to some.  She asked if he was happy and he said yes and she gave him same medicine.  I asked her to look at his back and he had a lot on there.  She said it didn't look very good.  I asked about a different antibiotic.  she gave us a different Rx but my son insisted on the old doxycycline so she wrote for the doxycycline.  He did try the Proactive treatment advertised but only for less than 2 wks as he ran out of the cleanser.  Did not seem to help at all.  Went back on Brevoxyl.  Has a lot of acne now.  He seems to go through a lot of the brevoxyl wash as he did the Proactive.  Can you use it too much?  1st doctor wrote use 1-2 times a day, this dr. when I asked simply asks Ryan if what he is doing is working.  He says yes and she says OK.  Not sure how many times a day he uses it.  Cannot get him to go see the first dermatologist to see what options he has.  He thinks there is nothing else they can do or thinks this is as good as it can get.  He is tanning again to try to help again.  Please let me know if there ARE other options that the dermatologist could give him that WOULD help and what they are.  Isn't it true that it may take a couple of tries at things but that he SHOULD be able to have his face acne-free most of the time? I need a professional's opinion to show him. He gets depressed about it but can't get him to get help

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

Acne requires a lot of diligence and perseverance, and sometimes people get discouraged.  This is understandable but unfortunate.  There are many options--different topicals, different oral antibiotics, and if the condition doesn't respond well enough to these, you needn't be afraid of Accutane, which has been around for 23 years and has an excellent safety record despite negative publicity.  You should talk this through with your son and get a sense of his level of ambition to clear this up.  If he works with whichever dermatologist is most convenient, I'm sure he will do fine.

Best.

Dr. Rockoff

[peachesncreme]

I know that this site is restricted for people over the age of 18, but i need some answers. I am a 13 year old girl and I've had facial acne since the 5th grade (I am now in 8th). I tried almost every drugstore product available, and some home-made remedies, but I didn't have any luck. About 5 months ago, I said something to my mother after seeing multiple ads in magazines and on TV like Differin or Benzaclin, and we went to my pediatrician. He wrote me a prescription for a Topical Gel called Erythromycin and Benzoyl Peroxide Topical Gel, USP. It has to be refrigerated, like most prescription creams I would assume. I use it once every night after washing my face, and then apply a Neutrogena moisturizer for Sensative Skinm although my skin isn't very sensative. I get some teen magazines in the mail, and I read some things in it about High- Tech Treatments for acne. It says some stuff about Cortisone Shots, Microdermabrasion, Chemical Peels, and Laser or Light Therapy, as well as what it's good for, how it works, and an estimated price for each. I haven't yet shown my mother the article yet, but I plan on it when she gets home from work today. I don't know what her reaction will be, and I don't have another appointment to see my doctor for another couple of months or so. So I was just wondering if I would be able to get a professional opinion on any of these treatments. Thanks!

[mla410]

Hello
I have moderate acne on my face, chest and back and I recently found a soap called FaceDoctor. It is a natural soap that you can buy online or in Health food stores. It has claimed to kill the Human Demodex parasite, now found to be a cause of acne. I have used the soap only for four days, and I have found that there are less bumps under the skin on my forehead, and I haven't had any new pimples there since I started using the soap. (I have gotten a prescription for Doxycycline, but have opted to try the soap for a few weeks first.) The skin may break out from the soap at first, but that is because the parasites are being killed off. They live in the hair follicles and once they die, they are excreted and cause acne. Everyone has these parasites, but on some people they cause acne. Also, has your son noticed that the more he eats sugar or yeast, the worst his acne gets. I have read that the parasites feed on this. Try doing a search on the parasites and on FaceDoctor, and definitely at least read more about it. I suggest trying this soap, I have already noticed a difference.