Acne Problem

LegacyUser

Hello everyone... I have some acne on my face, quite mild doesn't bother me too much though I would like to see it cleared up. My main problem is Acne on my back. It's there quite a while now and really annoys and upsets me. There's boils and everything it's disgusting. I really don't know what to do to get rid off it and I'd never show anyone it so going to a GP is out of the question. So is there any over the counter medicines/creams that would clear it up or any advice that you could give on clearing it up would be appreciated. Thank You.

Kain

I don't think that there's anything that you can do about the acne on your back, other then wash everyday with clearasil or something. Another thing that may help is some high stength zinc tablets, they always seem to help for me.
As for the acne on your face, the only real advise i an give you is to keep your hair short, so that it doesn't produce as much sweat.

Stark

If you use hair conditioner, stop using it. It clogs your pores and this is most noticeable on your forehead and back.

fizzy

if your acne is very bad and it's really getting to you, you should go to a dermatologist. they're the experts and they can get it cleared up fast.

like any other complaint, if yours is not a mild case then over the counter stuff ain't going to sort it...

i know you must feel very self conscious about it and don't want to show someone but they see this sort of thing every day of the week and are normally very understanding. i got very bad acne on my face a few months ago. i went to the dermatologist and within a couple of months the improvement has been miraculous.

i highly recommend gillian murphy (beaumount or her house in rathmines on a saturday morning). of course specialists are not cheap - she costs 160 for initial visit and 130 thereafter but u won't need a gp's referral and when gps are 40 euro plus these days it's no wonder u have to pay so much for someone who actually knows what they're on about she is exceptionally nice and includes lots of options on your prescription so that you can try out the different treatments without needing to pay for another visit!

good luck

Battlesnake

If its that bad then over the counter stuff is going to be useless and could actually make it worse as it won't be tailored to your individual needs.
If you can't afford to go and see someone privately then your gp is a good option as they would be able to get you a referal if necessary.
Doctors see much worse than what you've got every day and don't blink an eyelid.
Nothing to be embarrassed about. . . .
What you've got to ask yourself is would you like to have this bothering you for the rest of your life or suffer ten minutes of embarrassment to be free of it in 6 months?

cormie

read my post in the acne getting me down thread. Dermos aint always the answer. I went to one and he told me it has nothing to do with diet. Which in my case is bull cuz it definitely is. He just wanted to put me on medication and get my 50 bucks. Read my post in the other acne thread. I'm fresh clean now, luckily no scars on face, a few on my back tho.

LegacyUser

Dermatologist.

littlemiss

I understand how you feel, not sure if you are male or female but regardless you shouldn't feel embarassed about showing your GP. I would suggest going to your GP first if you don't want to go to a dermatologist. I had acne and my back was worse than my face, I went to my GP and eventually to a dermatologist and now my skin is perfectly clear. The earlier you tackle the problem the likelihood of scarring decreases. Don't be afraid of showing someone, chances are they suffered through it too.

cormie

Don't be ashamed to go to a doc with these things. Docs are so used to these things, they see testicles, breasts, a-holes on a daily basis, think about it, breast check piles and all. Spots are like a shining light (especially pimples, haha) for doctors.

All I'm saying is that for certain people, diet is a major factor for their skin condition. I kinda binged on chocolate, twixes etc the other night and now I have a spot that I Know wouldn't be there if I didnt.

We all have diff reactions to diff things, just go check it out on an individual basis.

cruiserweight

Originally posted by cormie

We all have diff reactions to diff things, just go check it out on an individual basis.

I would agree, I tried altering my diet etc but unlike cormie that did not work unfortunately. I had to go see a dermatologist to sort out my problem!

I would also say that the longer you leave it the worse the problem may get, like you I was to embarassed to go to the doctor and as a result I have some slight scarring on my face.

But do not worry about going to the doctor, like other people said they see a lot of stuff that is really bad! They have to help anyway it is in the hippopatomous oath:D

LegacyUser

Originally posted by cruiserweight
I would agree, I tried altering my diet etc but unlike cormie that did not work unfortunately. I had to go see a dermatologist to sort out my problem!

I would also say that the longer you leave it the worse the problem may get, like you I was to embarassed to go to the doctor and as a result I have some slight scarring on my face.

But do not worry about going to the doctor, like other people said they see a lot of stuff that is really bad! They have to help anyway it is in the hippopatomous oath:D

The dermatologist I went for acne charged e75 per for his "professional services" which consisted of a 15 minute consultation, he decreased it to e50, after a few visits when it became obvious that nothing was working on my "moderate/severe acne", he then suggested accutane, which I didn't want, and so the only thing he could do was write a long prescription for the stuff that didnt work.
on that rip-off and forked out for about 20 tubes of 10% benzyl peroxide from the US which is OTC there but not here at all (only 3 & 5% concs are available here) this worked ok, or perhaps it was going away anyway.

littlemiss

I would be reluctant to try any medication on my skin with out prior recommendation. It is possible to try loads of stuff before you get a result, I know I did. Each treatment takes time, I finally ended up on Roaccutane which did the trick but that was a last resort. Your best bet is to get a professional opinion, don't try anything til you do or you could cause even more damage to your skin.

vector

Originally posted by littlemiss
I would be reluctant to try any medication on my skin with out prior recommendation. It is possible to try loads of stuff before you get a result, I know I did. Each treatment takes time, I finally ended up on Roaccutane which did the trick but that was a last resort. Your best bet is to get a professional opinion, don't try anything til you do or you could cause even more damage to your skin.

I was considering (Ro)accutane for a while, I coul dhave gone for it, but my dermatlogist said I would need a blood test (needle > suck blood out > lab) every 30 days... no

I have been exercising this summer every day, to the maximum, until sweat was pouring down, and then having a shower, this seems to "flush out" my skin and make it clearer, but the results only last for a day.

Hello Kitty

The best thing is to go to a dermatologist, they know what kind of products to give you. I went and its really helped. Whatever you do dont use anything on your face it only makes it worse.......except for the dermatologist products!:D

JohnnyBravo

Originally posted by littlemiss
I would be reluctant to try any medication on my skin with out prior recommendation. It is possible to try loads of stuff before you get a result, I know I did. Each treatment takes time, I finally ended up on Roaccutane which did the trick but that was a last resort. Your best bet is to get a professional opinion, don't try anything til you do or you could cause even more damage to your skin.

Isnt the Roaccutane the stuff that causes depression and messes with your liver

irlirishkev

I was on Roaccuatane for about a year, after everything else had failed.
I was at the end of my teather, and my doc referred me to a dermatologist. I had the same symptoms as acnesufferer.

Here's what happens:

Not much for the first few months, you might see a bit of improvement. The real improvement happens after you come off the medication. Big results, and that's no joke. This stuff works.
The specialist will explain exactly how it works, but I'm sure you can google it, and find out.

Side effects: For me, Dry lips, not a big problem, just carry some lipbalm around. Had the occasional wierd moodswing aswell. There can be more severe side effects, but only in rarer cases do they become serious. If you get the more severe ones, your doctor will tell you to stop.

I had to go for a blood test every 3 months, no big deal.
You'll have to stop drinking while you're taking the pills. The blood tests confirm if you have or haven't, and if you don't stick to this, your doctor will stop the medication.

As you can gather, this is serious stuff, but I can't stress enough, how glad I am that I went on it. I haven't looked back since.

One more thing, It's quite expensive, but I think you can get a medical card or something to cover most of it.. can't really remember, again, your doc will explain.

Kevin.

edit - Roaccutane Information Leaflet

aodh_rua

I've had pretty much the same experience as irishkev with Roaccutane. Dry lips and nose are the hardest things - and if it's sunny you can burn much easier.

As for not drinking - I've been on two courses (it's not always perfect the first time - I had a second course four years after the first) and I stayed off the sauce during the first but not the second. The docs advice is to not drink excessively but one or two are fine. I mostly kept to that - although I did notice it took longer for my blood tests to return to normal after the second attempt.

On the whole it's pretty successful although you may get the odd flare-up when you're off it, but they pass pretty quickly.

Lastly - on the cost issue - it is expensive, but if you sign up for the drug refund scheme you'll not have to pay more than €70 per month (the max under the scheme). It also means that any other prescription medications you have to take at the same time are free.

Sinner_Rez

I had serious Acne on my back too and I saw all the doctors and dermatologists withing driving distance and they all said the same things. The main problem was that I play rugby and they all said that I'd have to give up for a year in order to make it clear up. Which I wasn't willing to do. Then when I was 17 i started on Roaccuatane and I stopped playing rugby for 6 months through injury. It cleared right up, although the Roaccuatane did play silly buggers with my head for a while. It can affect some people pretty bad and there are recorded cases of suicide caused by depressions as a result of taking it, so you have to be very careful.

You have to go and see a GP so he can refer you to a dermatologist though. It might be embarresing for you, but remember, these people stick their fingers up other peoples bums for a living so I'm pretty sure they have seen it all before.

Besides, thats why they get paid the good cash.

yawnstretch

I had the very worst acne from about 12 to 19 and I tried everything and the day I was about to go for an appointment with a hormone specialist (thank God i didnt go for that - acne is bad but mood altering crap isnt my cuppa cocoa) my father and I bumped into a person who gave me the following recipe:

(Its the only thing that has ever worked - clearasil and all that sh1*€ will make your skin worse).

Get bread soda (very cheap also known as baking soda - its a white powder that tastes kinda salty) and some ordinary milk (a friend of mine used butter milk and it seemed to work better for her, but plain milk works the same in my opinion)

Wash your face and your hands (can be good after a shower and especially before bed & I think its easier if your clean shaven personally) and get about 2 tablespoons (or however much you need depending on whether its your back or your face) of baking soda in a bowl and mix in a small amount of milk - you want the mixture like ice-cream or paste- not liquid and not dry.

Apply the cold mixture to your face - I used to use a brush until a friend who I passed it on to said it was much easier if you just slopped it up in your hands and applied it with your fingers. (on your newley cleaned face I sometimes found it to be stingy for a second - especially if my acne was a wound)

If its for your back youll have to get someone to apply it obviously.

The thing about this is that its awkward and messy - you really need plenty of it on your face to form a mask - and it will want to slide off so you may need to tilt your head back a bit.

Then lie down for 30 minutes until it has dried and then very gently use water (not hot) to clean it from your face - it will be like icing so be slow and gentle - I found the nozzle of a shower to be easy when turned on low power for my face.

Then pat your face dry - do not rub and go to bed
(btw, for people who wake up with most of their acne you could also consider getting a different type of pillow case - a t-shirt type material does wonders and keep it clean regularly).

Do this once every evening (I personally am a bit lazy so I did it about every second or third night for the 2 months or so that it took to fix up my acne completely) but let me tell you this - you will notice much better skin even after the first night and it healed up a lot of my scars and boil-like acne.

I am NOT a physician/Doctor and I used this for about 2-3months and on a number of occasions over the years when i had a bad attack or needed to look good for something. Like I said - I am not a doctor so if someone comes in here freakin out saying that this might be bad for your skin well then scuse me - but ive never had a problem - neither have the three people ive shared it with and its simple, cheap and it worked very well (with the person who originally told me - that makes a total of five people I know who used this succesfully). One of the guys i know said it was great but it was a pain in the a4se so whatever - but if your face seemed molten lava like as mine did please try it out.

jimmyok

had it for years , the best bet is to stay off any thing your doctor prescribes , anything i took just seemed to make it worse , you should consider seeing acupuncture and also watching what you eat , although it is meant to be bacteria and so on , i definetly notice that if i eat a lot of dairy products it really comes out ...

LegacyUser

Hey what's the difference between acne and spots? like I get spots some times and I know acne is sorta loadsa spots together? but when is it just spots and not acne? Also, what exactly are ance scars like? ... don't say scars....

Sarky

A spot is a once off thing, either from clogged pores or infection.

Acne is constant spots.

Sort of.

And most acne scars are blemishes on the skin, but it depends on how sever the acne was, really. Some can be just downright nasty.