Acne is killing me....

Puberty has been at me for a while now. I have been growing hair in certain places, having a deeper voice, and zits /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif. I dont get it. I wash all the time, and I dont touch my face that much either. Besides proactive, what other solutions work?

And dont try the 'ol toothpaste thing on me... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon8.gif

iodine. It kills the bateria beneath the skin. I have adult acne. Iodine is very effective in keeping acne at bay. You apply it on the acne at night before bed time. Iodine is cheap. It is available at pharmacy for 2-3 bucks a bottle. you can buy 500ml bottle from whole saler.

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Mags said:
Puberty has been at me for a while now. I have been growing hair in certain places, having a deeper voice,

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LOL thats just funny when you word it like that.

As far as the Acne, i dont know of much besides the daily face-washing regimine. I get a zit every now and then and im 25, but thankfully the hard-core acne stopped around my sophmore year in HS.

Shane

Hi Mags,

If possible, I recomend going to a Dermotologist. In the past I have used Accutane which theu prescribed. Mind you it can be harsh, and you even need a blood test to make sure your liver is able to handle it. Also, unless you keep your face moisturized it can crack, especially around the lips.

As for the two products I currently use, they can be purchased at almost any store. They are from Oil of Olay, and are 1) Gentle Foaming Face Wash with Aloe and 2) Complete All Day Moisture Lotion SPF 15.

I hope that helps,
John

Read here.

I'm much older than you (48), but the Regimen has worked wonders for me. I've been living with mild acne all my life, but not anymore.

I had terrible cystic acne in the 1950s. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif All the dermatologist would do is to squeeze out the cysts, and burn my face with a C type UV lamp weekly.
It lasted until '68 after Vietnam.
-Left lotsa scars, which had to be dermo-planed off. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif

I sure hope that they can do better these days-maybe with the Accutane and benzoyl peroxide.

i use benzoyl peroxide gel 5%-10% concentration. apply to pimples daily. you should be able to get it at any drug store such as cvs or walgreens

I treat approx. 150 kids for acne.

Mild acne can often be treated with over-the-counter Benzoyl peroxide, and some moderate acne even responds well to this regimen.

Moderate acne may need a combination of Benzoyl peroxide and an antibiotic. If that is the case, a visit to your doctor or a dermatologist may help. There is a very effective combination cream of Benzoyl peroxide and an antibiotic called Benzaclin which is available by prescription. Retin-A can also be used, as can topical creams or gels like Erygel and so on.

In addition, oral antibiotics such as erythromicin, minocycline, and others can be effective. They all require prescriptions.

Finally for severe acne and acne not otherwise responsive to the above, Accutane is available. It is a vitamin A derivative, like Retin-A, though Accutane is taken orally. Vitamin A and it's derivatives are toxic to the liver in high doses, so oral medicines derived from Vitamin A require close monitoring. However, in my years of practice, I have only had a single patient who did not tolerate Accutane due to liver problems, and her tests all returned to normal within 1 month.

Accutane is the most effective medication yet for treating acne, and in my experience 70-80% of teenagers treated with it have a cure or near cure.

That said, it has significant side effect potential, apart from the liver issues, and should be discussed at length with your doctor.

Good luck, in todays world there is little reason to NOT have control of acne.

Bill

My brother (adult) claims that he gets acne when he eats any fatty, greasy, or oily foods. Mayonaise, for instance.

Wonder if it would help, if you went on a low fat diet?

Hey Mags,

I had moderate Acne a few years ago. Dermatologist hooked me up with a variety of pills and cremes. Used all that for about a year and got sick of having to call and beg for refills, etc. so I switched over to Proactive and it's been working just as good. I don't know how well it would have worked if I hadn't started with more "heavy duty" stuff, but it's working great to maintain. There are cheaper things around which are basically the same, but I'm lazy -- so for me, being able to just order 1 thing and have everything I need means the difference between using it all or not -- which is critical.

Were I you I would A - relax, as this is a completely manageable problem many many people deal with (as displayed in this thread) and B - Try some of the things in this thread and see if they work. You've got to be persistent with acne and remember that even if something is starting to work, it might take 3 or 4 weeks before you start to see a difference. If nothing here seems to help than I'd see about seeing a dermatologist. If you were sick you'd see a doctor, so if your skin is sick why make it suffer?

Mags, I feel for you. I used to have bad acne as a teenager and I still get an occasional zit many years later. I've stumbled on hydrogen peroxide solution as a quick fix. It doesn't prevent it from happening, but whenever I get a zit I apply a dab of peroxide on it with a paper towel or tissue and it seems to be able to soak down below the surface and dissolve the bad stuff! Within 24 hours I usually see a dramatic reduction when other topical solutions fail to put a dent in it.

It's cheap and available OTC at the drugstore in the first aid section, usually packaged in dark brown bottles. Just be careful not to get it in your eyes.

Unfortunately, I haven't heard of a solution that works on everybody. Seeing a dermatologist would be the best choice if you really want to get rid of it quickly.
Otherwise, a few simple advices are to wash your face with soap as often as possible, drinking more water and getting better nights of sleep.
Plus, just remember that it'll go away soon enough.

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Otherwise, a few simple advices are to wash your face with soap as often as possible

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Actually, once or twice a day is fine. Washing too often irritates and dries out your skin forcing it to compensate with...oil

As an adult with an occasional spot here or there...the best product for myself (without spending a zillion dollars) was made by Neutrogena. It was called "Acne Drying Gel" and it's main ingredient was witch hazel. I dabbed it on the "area" at night and it proceeded to dry out the oils in that area and reduce the acne fast.

I can't seem to find it anymore and Neutrogena did not answer my emails. Are there any complications from witch hazel? Perhaps that why it was pulled from the market? Maybe the benzoyl peroxide has replaced it as a more efficient ingredient?

Anyone know where I can get Neutrogena's Acne Drying Gel?

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oldgrandpajack said:
My brother (adult) claims that he gets acne when he eats any fatty, greasy, or oily foods. Mayonaise, for instance.

Wonder if it would help, if you went on a low fat diet?


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That used to happen to me also. I could actually feel the oil collecting under my skin. I don't eat fatty foods any more.

KFC is correct. Having more than 30 years experience with varying degrees of acne I've acquired some info on the subject and had professional care. Everyone is different. I could tell you what worked for me but it would be better, if you can afford it, to see a specialist, if the family MD. can't cure you.

Bwaites has good suggestions. The treatments he uses have come a long way from the 1970's when tetracycline was the most effective.

I too suffered from it. THe best solution is to suffer through it til you can grow a beard. Just trim it once a month and use shampoo to wash it and your head. One soap for all areas. Funny I only get pimples in the beard area, not the rest of my face.

Ok, til then, wash your face and DONT TOUCH IT UNLESS YOU ARE WASHING IT AGAIN.

kongfuchicken sorry to say I have to agree not one thing works for everyone, if it really bothers you please see a dermatologist.

I'm pushing 60 now and I still remember my face and the scaring across my back. I have scars on top of scars across my back. I was to embarassed to take my shirt off at a beach, pool etc. I just stayed away. No fun at all.

I can tell you what worked for me. First off the cysts formed around hair folicles. When a cyct formed it would not clear until all hairs are out of it. Hairs grow in in groups of 2-3 hairs. Ingrowns were my problem. Clean the cyst out and disinfect with hydrogen peroxide solution. I agree on this one it worked for me.

The other thing I found that really worked. Go down to the beach and get some UV from the sun, you will need to wear some sun tan lotion the Coppertone sport worked for me. Towards the end of summer my ache was greatly reduced a combination of UV, salt water, sweat-pore cleansing and showers seem to really help.

That's what worked for me, also age will lessen the problem.

Good luck =D~~ Kilted

Mags,

When I was a teenager I also had really acne pretty bad. The little fat kid across the street used to call me "pizza face". He eventually grew into the name himself. I tried all kinds of stuff, even prescription retin-A, and nothing worked. Anyway, one of my best friends (who used to have acne) had a girlfriend (who, later on, became my girlfriend) and she turned him on to this facial cleanser call "Sea Breeze". It worked on him and one day told me how his acne cleared up after he started using it. I tried it, and it worked! Retin-A didn't work, Benzoil Peroxide didn't work, those facial cleaning pads didn't work, but this did! You can buy it in most markets and drug stores.

After that girl had moved on, we both agreed that "Sea Breeze" was the one good thing that came from her.

Hope this helps!

been there done that.
found out some over the counter stuff while it took away some, it ADDED to the problem , what a scam that was.

for me normal hormone acne it was effected most when the stress was gone, for me it was like all the bad stuff trying to get out. bad food, bad people, bad school , bad situations (different subject).

didnt matter how many treatments of stuff, and some of them made it far worse, it wasnt till the stress left. (left on my own) that has to be said carefully

there is even some guy selling oil on the web who says best thing you can do is take a towel and scrub your face with it, i would have thought that would be the WORST possible thing you could do. but then i aint selling cures.

but indeed the worst thing you can do is Bust it back under your skin, by trying to "pop" them, did that trick till i had the worst case in the school, and i even knew that it was just breaking the skin underneath and spreading the worst of it into the worst place to have it.

i was happy to learn (for me):
that it wasnt CHOCKOLATE /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
Sex helps
Fat foods might not help it, cool i dont like them much anyways
stress is not related to the use of your brain, in other words you can learn without having stress, and it doesnt increase it.
the quantity of food, drugs, and alcohol didnt seem to effect it, although adding stress to the rest of your existance by using them might not help.
The highest end supermodel still get One or 2 every once in a while.
i was not alergic to anything
high consumptions of vegtables and fruits , didnt change it.

the rest i dont know about, there seems to be some new over the counter stuff that is NICER to the skin, but the dermatoligist that has no repeat customers , would be a great place to start.
the dermatoligist that has people stacked in the waiting room, uses a paint scraper and a lazer , and has a room full of pizza faces might be one to avoid.