feeling low due to acne!!!!

LegacyUser

For the last ten or so years i have suffered from acne and still to this day, am 26 now and would have whats considered mild acne.Have been to countless doctors and dermotologists and have tried such treatments as N-Lite,Clearlight, the dread roaccutane and countless more but nothing seems to shift my acne.In all this time my confidence has fizzled down to a low number.I would be now considered a social outcast only for my girlfriend who has been great.Im going to make another apointment to a GP to get me a referral to a dermotologist and a conseller buts its like a vicious loop.Has anyone any useful advice as i would really appreciate it.Strangely in all this i met someone last xmas and she has been great and loves me for who i am but thats not enough for me, i want to help rid myself of the acne.And please ppl dont reply if u dont have any usefull comments to make.Thanx in advance.

Sindy

Potters skin clear ointment - ya can get it in health food stores

Clean & Clear cream wash - any Chemist

Any products with Salicylic acid are good..look out for them!

Good Luck!:)

T

I got the same problem, I'm told I have mild acne too, its a real bitch cause it totally screws with your confidence and stuff when going out and stuff. But mine has been clearing up over the last 6 months or so, I've changed some stuff in my diet, it worked for me anyway, try the following:

Eating and Drinking:
1) If you drink alot of milk, especially full fat, cut it down, since I started drinking less milk and more water, i started to notice a difference pretty quickly actually.
2) Also eat loads of fresh fruit, i know everyone keeps saying it, but eat laods of it, its good for u, helps clean up everything.
3) Lay of the junk food, if u eat alot of it, i hav found that helps.

Oinments and Creams:
The only real recommendation I have is Sudocream, yes sudocream, a girl i live with told me to use and its good, just use a thin spread of it on the infected area, usually at night, before u go to bed, it draws all the crap out, work a treat actualy.

Shaving:
1) I recommend using K's shaving oil and K's shaving products, u get them in any good chemist, tesco's etc. The hav an ASC2 (i think thats it) range of shaving oils, face washes, shaving foam etc, there really good.

Try the stuff i said and see what happens, especially the sudocream and K's shaving stuff (less irritation).

Also the acne is prob not as bad as u think, I always thought mine was the worst in the world, then started to notice its actually not that bad when i started asking people for advice, and they were like its not that bad, relax about it etc, eventaully got my confideence back, all is good.

Well thats all the advice I have, good luck
T

Sarky

I suppose it's unlikely, but perhaps you're trying too hard to get rid of it? You're supposed to have bacteria on your skin, and oversterilising your skin could leave plenty of uninhabited space for acne bacteria to grow. Try switching the type of antibacterial stuff you use to wash your face, or perhaps use less to wash with.

It's unlikely, but not impossible.

vibrant

Have you tried Skinoren cream? Its available on presciption only. I've been using it for a couple of months and it improved my skin so much, I don't *have* to wear makeup every day anymore! I had been wearing it out of embarrassment because the spots were so bad (which of course is a vicious cycle of course).

Anyway - Skinoren twice a day.


And if you're considered a social outcast because of a few pimples: time to find a new circle of friends! (Preferably less shallow ones...)

munkeehaven

ive heard there is a new laser treatment that is supposed to be very effective, saw it in the rte guide one day.

Saruman

Im assuming you are talking about ACNE and not spots right? Most people get them confused when in fact there is a HUGE difference. Spots are easy to keep away, Acne is Hormonal and very little to do with your skin.

The main thing is Detox!!! Drink loads of water, if you want some flavor squeeze a lemon into it especially in the morning. Hell use a bloody lemon on your face if you like.. might help.

Anyway as for what to use on your face?? NOTHING!!! Thats right.. stop using crap to get rid of it, NONE of it will work for acne.. not one of the products you are likely using are designed for Acne, they are designed for spots and pimples. On acne all you do is make it worse. Firstly i suggest NOT washing your face for a few days.. Shower if you like but try and avoid your face if you can. Wait till your face starts getting a little grubby then start using plain warm water to start with followed by freezing cold water. Why? Because warm water opens the pores and cold water closes it. There is noting wirse for you than washing in warm water then drying then putting crap on your face as your pores are open and it gets indside and irritates you. If you want to add something to the water.. just use salt!! It will kill any bacteria.

Also try liver tables.. you can get them from Tony Quinn (just dont get suckered into anything else). Exercise more if you dont now.

I had to use Ro-accutane to get rid of mine.. now i have good skin and only the odd pimple etc like anyone else.

LegacyUser

At the moment im using a cleanser and a rice based formula from the dermologica range, supposed to clear up my acne.Strangely when i last saw a dermotogist he said i didnt have acne just spots as i used to have very bad acne which has caused alot of mild scarring.Is their any treatment available for scarring that actually works?
y diet is pretty ok but when i work nights it goes to pot.I work 2 weeks of nights every month.I suppose im my own worse enemy as i think ppl will think less of me due to me having a few too many spots and a bit of scrring which i know is silly.Everyone i know says so.Anyways thank for the tips.What treatment do u c in the rte guide by the way? as the treatment i went to in blackrock had a big right up in the STAR, failed me miserable.
vibrant whats Skinoren cream, neve heard of it before?

cormie

You will hear everywhere that diet does not effect your skin. That chocolate and sugar doesn't cause spots. They are only talking about the majority of people. I always found it hard to believe as from experience, everytime I eat sugar I would get a rupture the next day. I would even feel like my skin is irritating after about an hour if I eat allot of junk. So now I don't eat anything like that. One of reasons I don't drink alcohol is because of it's sugar content. Cut out sugar products from your diet (you need natural sugars like fruit) but go for sugar free cereal, yogorts with more fruit then sugar etc. I read the packs of everything I buy. I feel much better now because I have clear skin. I do get the odd spot though. I don't know how similar my situation is to yours (acne) but surely they have some aspects of similarity. WATER WATER WATER!!! Go and drink 2 pints of the stuff now. Also, I hear the sun is good for bad skin. not too much of course. And shaving, if its bad, get an har clippers and go for the stubble look. It doesnt irritate your skin at all. Keep everything mentioned above up for a few months and it should go, then you can wet shave and there should be no problems. Good luck.

LegacyUser

www.acne.org

strangeloop

Totally agree with cormie and saruman. I had very, very severe acne on my face for years, not spots but more like boils. Tried everything and I mean everything to get rid of it. To be honest all the over the counter stuff I used did nothing and in some cases made the condition a lot worse. Confidence went out the window and my work and relationships suffered by it. One doctor prescribed me very strong antibiotics for nearly a year. Due to this prescription I couldn't keep awake at college.

Despite what the so called experts might say, diet is the way to go. I spent a good six months flushing out my system, drinking 2 pints of water before breakfast, lunch and dinner and just before bed. Totally avoiding junk food of all description, no chocolate, sweets, chips etc.. Obviously totally avoiding touching or fiddling with the boils. One thing I was advised by a skin specialist was to avoid mirrors as much as possible for a few months. I think it was pretty good advice. I tried a lot of Tony Quinns medicines, I don't know if any of it worked but I think zinc tablets every day helped. I washed with just warm water on my face, no medicated soaps. I think this helped a lot.

Anyway I really hope your condition improves, I know what its like.

13

i read a good book called 'skin revolution' by leslie kenton. it gives (sometimes over the top) but generally good advice on howto detox and get your skin into great condition. otherwise id go along with the advice given before me. drink lots of water, eat fruit, stay away from sugar. also ive read that vitaminB5 supplements can help,im taking them atm but only just started so i cant give you any yays or neighs:) if your acne also affects your chest/back area try not to wear cotton tshirts etc as it can irritate the skin.

my 2 cents. gluck

Terminator

The thing that made a huge difference for me was cleaning my keyboard. Most people who work with computers are typing on a minefield of ancient bacteria.

If you can my advice is to take your keyboard apart every 3 months and wash it in the sink (forget this if you have one of those fancy multimedia ones).

If you can't open your keyboard use cotton buds and spend a good hour going through every key and try to scrap the gunk out from under it.

Once all the junk was gone from underneath the keys my skin cleared up overnight almost. This also applies to phones, remote controls or anything that comes into contact with your hands / face.

Hope this helps.

vibrant

Originally posted by need_help
vibrant whats Skinoren cream, neve heard of it before?

Here is a link to all posts on alt.skincare.acne regarding Skinoren. Some differing reviews, but more a more balanced way to make up your mind!

As an aside - I had a ... (I'll be nice) blemish coming up yesterday... I put a good bit of the Skinoren on it yesterday morning and it's practically gone right now. I swear by it! As I say though, best for you to read the different reports of it on the newsgroup, more balance.

The post about cleaning the keyboard is bang on too - also a good idea to change your pillowcase every 5 or so days too.

Good luck to ya!

LegacyUser

Hey some1 said in this post that there is a difference between spots and acne and I have always known that there is, i just dont know what it is? I have a few spots the odd time and know it isn't acne but some of my friends have loads of spots sometimes together forming sorta like bigger spots.... is that acne?

combs

I got a topical antibiotic for acne once, on prescription, and it worked immediately. And I mean immediately. I wish I could remember the name of it, something like Zyg... or Zy something or other. It was strong stuff though, you could tell. Inhaling the vapour, you can feel it in your throat.

But please note. I got a different but similar brand once when the other stuff was out of stock and it was useless. You even applied it in the same way but it wasn't half as strong of effective.