Acne treatment advise

[exhausted]

difficult children face/back looks horrid and there are red scars (she is very fair), and not clear. We have tried doxycyclene for 2 years (constant yeast infections as a side affect), and retin-A. Retina -A was too harsh. Went to a sulpha-based wash with duac topical gel and birth-control pills. Still did not stop the breakouts. Have tried many natural remedies and otc. Can't get into dermotologist for 3 weeks!

What else can they do? I read they still use that antibiotic that yellows teeth (can't think of name-does it start with at T?) for teens. No one else in the family has had this issue. Can't help but wonder if hormones are out of wack causing this?

 

[DaisyFace]

Exhausted--

Yes, I would guess at a hormone imbalance...

Are there any other signs of hormone issues? Excessive hair (or hair on chin, upper lip, chest) ? Extremely painful periods? Irregular periods?

If so - that's definitely something to investigate.

 

[HaoZi]

Tricyline or something like that?

Which birth control was she on? Some of those cause acne, others can help.

Did you ask for a more diluted version of Retin-A? There's a lot of OTC remedies with a smaller dose. Alpha and beta-hydroxies are good, too. If alphas are too much for her skin, find a beta. Try the Elizabeth Arden line of skin stuff, I had good results with that. The red and blue light things are worth looking into as well (find a reputable brand).

ETA: Could it be an allergic reaction to something?

I also had good luck using Noxema as a nightly face mask. It messes up the pillowcases but it helps.

 

[Mamaof5]

This is what I do for my cystic acne:

You will need these three items:

Baking soda
Castor Oil
"Real Lemon" (in the baking aisle, it looks like an actual lemon, lemon juice will do too)

Take the castor oil and dab it on either a cosmetic sponge or cotton ball (I don't use cotton balls, I have a phobia of cotton), Cover entire face then remove with a new cosmetic sponge. What happens is the castor oil bonds with dirts and oils in the pores and pulls it out.

The baking soda scrub is easy, a little water and baking soda, finger tips and massage in circular motion. Rinse with cool water.

Lemon juice toner - do this one at night, never mix with the other two you'll end up with a red face and a burning sensation. Swipe with cotton ball or cosmetic sponge and leave on over night. Let dry before going to bed though.

All natural and works well!

 

[exhausted]

She takes a b-control prescribed by the dermotoligist called Avian. The Residential Treatment Center (RTC) tried another that did make it worse and had more cardiovascular side effect-I made them stop that ASAP (can't remember name-Ginko B time for me!)

She has always had heavy periods though seldom cramps. Pills have basically stopped her periods-hardly spots. No funny hair growth. I do think it is a miracle she never got pregnant when she was using the pills irregularly and even when she wasn't on any. This could be a hormone thing??

We have never tried the baking soda,lemon think. It is worth a try-we have it all in the house.

I use the alpha and beta hydroxies in my daily moisturizer and have had great luck though I never had an acne issue, I would get a zit or two. Never tried with her as her face seemed pretty bad maybe this worth a try as well. Have tried the less potent retin A to no avail. Thanks for ideas.

 

[svengandhi]

It's tetracycline and I think the issue of yellowed teeth is only when either a pregnant woman or a child with baby teeth takes it but I would check.

Years ago, we had a neighbor boy who had such horrible acne it was sad to look at him. He took Accutane for a few months and his face cleared up. I saw him recently, he is now an extremely good-looking man in his 30's with great skin. I know people don't like Accutane but this boy's whole personality and demeanor changed. He was on his way to serious gfgdom - now he's a successful lawyer. I really believe his whole outlook changed when his skin cleared up.

 

[HaoZi]

That's the one! Couldn't quite put my finger on the name.

When she's older and her acne has healed, I will vouch for (properly done) microdermabrasion as being great for erasing mild to moderate acne scars and red marks that aren't quite scars (great for sun spots, too!).

 

[DammitJanet]

There is a new acne medicine I have seen advertised on tv where a boy is sitting in an isle in the grocery store in a tent. I cant remember the name of it though. It is prescription. Of course they also say that prosomething or other that all the famous people advertise at night on infomercials works wonders too. I do know someone who used that and it worked. What is it called. Procure, procleanse pro....

 

[slsh]

Tea tree oil. Reduces redness in about 1-2 days, and cleared up my boys' skin within a few more days. We used it straight out of the bottle, on a q-tip. It's an oil so doesn't dry skin up, but it also didn't oil it up more. Very strong odor (which I like, but... boys not so much, LOL).

 

[1905]

Definately tea tree oil!!!!! My one easy child has that retin-a precription medicine, but he never uses it because it dries out his skin. I had heard tea tree oil worked so I went to a health food store, got some, and he uses it all the time. It works better than the prescription stuff....which was a total waste of money for me, he never even uses the prescription face wash. I also bought him tea tree oil face wash from The Body Shop that he uses and has used for about a year now. He sometimes takes a precription called minocyclene. The dr. gives him enough for about 3 months at atime, then he takes a break from it for about 6 months. Try tea tree oil. Just dab it on before bed.

 

[LittleDudesMom]

Thanks for the suggestion of tea tree oil, and this thread! difficult child has a system that works for his face and keeps his breakouts to a minimum, but he has some old scaring on his arms, along with a few fresh breakouts. Can he rub the tea tree oil on his whole upper arm?

 

[HaoZi]

You have to be careful using large amounts of tea tree oil, and some people do react to it. Best to start with a dab and see how it goes first. Wal-Mart carries bottles of it near the vitamins. I tried it for my psoriasis but found Amlactin lotion worked better for it.

 

[Hound dog]

I've not read the other post. But one of THE best treatments for acne is cheap as anything. Zinc Oxide, as in diaper rash cream. Seriously. Learned it in nursing school. A dot on each zit until they clear up. (preferably at night so the kid doesn't have to tell people they have diaper cream on their face lol) Works pretty fast.

 

[exhausted]

So glad for all this info. Have done tea tree oil-does heal things just doesn't stop the breakouts. Diaper rash cream-ok. Yes accutane-I have heard it is the last resort and we may be there. Ok, microdermabrasion-I have wondered when and if on that one. We have a nearby school that has a lovely salon and they do it for much less. Oh man I hope we get this cleared up. Seems we can't find anything that is 100% after a few months.

 

[AnnieO]

Onyxx used to have HORRIBLE acne on her face. husband and I worried as she would scratch until the pimples bled.

And then... I found Stridex pads, sensitive skin... She'd clean her face with that, then a water-only warm washcloth, then a tiny bit of aloe gel.

She barely has any these days, and no scarring.

As for me, I used the extra-strength Stridex pads in the evening, Noxema in my morning shower, and Clean & Clear oil free moisturizer (still use that). Don't forget that dry/chapped/cracked skin will zit right up, too.

 

[flutterby]

difficult child takes Yasmin (not to be confused with Yaz) for acne. I have cystic acne, and I take Spironolactone. I didn't start with acne until my mid-twenties, and nothing else has worked - none of the Proactiv stuff or anything else. None of that stuff works for difficult child, either. The Yasmin has worked really well for her - and is FDA approved for acne.

 

[susiestar]

You MAy think this sounds whacked, but trust me, it works better than ANYTHING I have ever seen. In the first aid area of walmart they sell a bottle called Burn Jel Plus. It is designed for burns but is the BEST acne help we have EVER found and that includes a LOT of rx medications.

BurnJel Plus has lidocaine, which makes them not hurt so they get picked less. I don't give a hoot if YOUR acne didn't hurt, mind DID and my bro's and my kdis all DID.

Burn Jel Plus ALSO has tea tree oil and aloe in it. Those work AMAZINGLY to clear up acne. Jess gets a LOT of white/green looking zits and this is the ONLY things that gets them to go away FAST and keep her hands off them.

I figure everyone has Walgreens, so here is the listing from there so you can see the bottle, etc..... It has lasted a LONG time, was great to have when a kid burned a finger on a hot pan, and has been awesome for acne though it isn't "made" for that - the company told me they can't put that on the bottle because they would have to do FDA testing, but they sent me a free bottle for teh review I wrote. I don't write companies often, but this helped heal the horrid acne that Jess had so fast and so painlessly that it really amazed me.

Here is the Walgreens page:Water-Jel Burn Jel Plus External Analgesic Gel | Walgreens