Acne

lukin

Did anyone here have it in their teens or later years? I had it in my late teens and most of my twenties (I am in my forties now). It came into my head there recently because I saw a couple of lads out on their lunch break from school and they had it pretty bad. I felt sorry for them, it reminded me of what I suffered myself when I had it. I would have thought medications had improved so much by now that there is definite permanent cure for it? Maybe those lads parents couldn't afford it, I dunno.

When I had it my parents (well mostly my mother) sent me to the doctor and put me on every medication there was (tablets and creams) but nothing really cleared it. I did go through stages where it went away (usually in the summer) and I though "Great, it's finally gone" but it always came back. I remember one time it was so bad that my mother said "You're a disgrace". I brought that up to her a few years ago and she said she regretted it. I'm not bitter about it, you must move on. Not a great thing to hear your mother say to you though 😂😂.

I found it hard to face people. I remember sitting in the car in the car park of the supermarket once for ten minutes trying to work up the courage to go in. When I finally went in I scurried around inside with my head down and got what I needed and bolted out (making no eye contact with the cashier of course).

Girlfriends were complete out of the question of course. It did affect my confidence, I was very shy anyway so that didn't help. I could have posted this in the Personal Issues forum but it isn't really a personal issue, I can't change the past anyway.

Sunny Disposition

Yeah, I had acne too. Had it for about ten years before Roaccutane cleared it up.

it is tough going, serious acne, it does mess with your confidence for sure.

if anyone has a kid with serious acne I’d strongly recommend getting medical help at an early stage.

SuperBowserWorld

Sunshine, vitimin d, fresh air, fruit n veg, healthy diet, sleep. All things teenagers don't get much of. And of course there are those who are prone to the problem, regardless of the above. Then medication. Tough time for kids.

KaneToad

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121614880#Comment_121614880

This attitude is part of the problem.

Real acne, not the occasional skin blemish, can not be gotten rid of by diet or lifestyle. This idea blames the sufferer for things beyond their control. The myth persists that acne is due to eating greasy foods or not being very hygienic. Very unhelpful.

Pauliedragon

I had it pretty bad mid to late teens (40s now also) tried all the creams like clearisel nothing worked. Some chemist recommended some nasty stuff think it had some chemical called benzoil peroxide iirc but it was like putting a blow torch on my face the pain from it. I was a bit self conscious but never mocked or anything. If you look closely at my skin you can see scarring probably from the peroxide. It just cleared up overnight when I was about 17. I get complimented now on how good my skin is.

Gusser09

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058331229/acne

I have adult acne. Started when i was 30. 40 now. Medication is the only thing that helps. Minocycline. Its not a pleasent drug either. I now suffer from oral thrush. The benefits outweigh the side effects though.

Never had a spot in my teens.

Gusser09

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121614880#Comment_121614880

Thats bollix. Proper acne is nothing to do with lifestyle. Its purely hormonal.

lukin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121615022#Comment_121615022

Sorry for you buddy, hope it is clearing up. Someone mentioned Clearasil, I used that when I had it, it was useless. There was one cream called Topex that seemed to work but it was taken off the market.

Gusser09

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121615081#Comment_121615081

Is what it is. I suffered for year until i went to a dermatologist.

As i say the antibiotic totally clears it for about 2 years and then i need another course. Its not pleasemt when youve never had previous skin problems.

Alkers

Had it also in my late teens, starting to shave with terrible face acne still haunts me.

Roaccutane did the job for me after years of other meds not doing anything, nasty side effects though, I got so many nose bleeds often woke with a soaked pillow

SuperBowserWorld

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121614952#Comment_121614952

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121615028#Comment_121615028

What I was trying to say is that a healthy lifestyle is an important base, and teenagers generally don't have that. I did say medication, but it may not work, or you may not have a good specialist, and may has side effects.

KaneToad

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121615468#Comment_121615468

You're still wrong though. A "healthy lifestyle" and "important base" has nothing to do with acne. This is a thread about acne.

You're implying that the sufferer is responsible for getting their condition. It's a nonsense argument and harmful misinformation spreading that stigmatises those with the condition.

Mister Vain

I had it from my early teens right up to my late 20's. It wasn't dreadfully bad but it was bad enough to affect my confidence. No skin problems now thankfully.

Baseball72

I had severe acne as a teenager, lasting through to my mid-twenties. During secondary school, it was pretty awful and my confidence was truly shattered for several years. I isolated as much as possible for a few more years. When I was about 18 or so, my sister arranged for me to see a dermatologist. He prescribed meds and gave me some injections, it did help and gave me hope. It would be another 2 -3 years before I began to get some confidence back.

Then, in my late forties /early fifties, I got Rosacea, affecting my nose in particular.

My dermatologist prescribed an anti-biotic and topical treatment which controlled the condition. I then went onto Roacutane with minimal side effects and it was a significant improvement. In late 2022 I underwent a new type of laser treatment for it in a Dublin hospital. The initial recovery period took 3-4 months and with the Covid mask-wearing regime at the time, I was much less self-conscious. The treat has been a huge success thankfully and you need to allow 6- 8 months for near enough complete recovery. I still continue to see a dermatologist every six months or so. Living with severe acne at its most intense time was emotionally very tough. The rosacea was more manageable (I had a lot more medical knowledge of course by then).

All of that said, my skin, for the most part, looks amazing now and a lot of folks genuinely think I am about 8-10 years younger looking than I actually am. As others have said here, early medical intervention is important. If you are a parent of a teenager with severe acne, try to discuss the topic with them - and get them to a dermatologist (via GP referral). Since the mid-1980s I have been a salesperson, meeting people face to face, "working the room" so to speak, so with good medical support, (plus avoiding the sun, wearing factor 50 every day of the year), and a camouflage stick (very handy!), life has been good. There is hope for those who suffer.

RedXIV

I had some rough teenage years and a few in my early 20s with acne alright. I was lucky enough that it didn't hit my confidence too hard, I was at the time far more interested in playstation and sports than the fairer sex and neither of those cared if I had acne :D

To be fair though, my mam brought me to a GP and got me put on medication for it. All I remember is the GP warning me about a whole host of side effects and how to recognise some of them so I could come back if needed, but also warning me that it was a drug used to spike people so he recommended I never take it out of the house also.

I've been very lucky since I might get the odd spot or pimple but my god I'm cursed with boils especially on my legs and armpits which annoy the crap out of me

photosmart

I had pretty bad acne from age 16 until about 22. I think I was probably the worst case out of a school year of 150 or so.

I tried all of the creams/ antibiotics/topical treatments etc and they mitigated it somewhat but none cleared it up. While

I agree that it is mostly due to hormonal and other factors I also think that general healthy lifestyle has an impact. Eating,

exercise, sleeping, changing pillowcases every few days etc may not cure but can help.

For the record my Acne only cleared up when I went to America and spent 3 months there. From a dietary perspective

I can say that I was eating, Protein (Chicken), Salads, Dairy, Bread (yeast) drinking beer etc which are the suspects that are usually targeted by

diet and alternative health types. However I probably ate very little sugar, definitly reduced my carbs and the one food that I didn't eat in

American that I ate almost every day in Ireland was potatoes.

Hope this is helpful to anyone out there suffering. It's a terrible affliction but it does pass.

KaneToad

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121617594#Comment_121617594

Your diet/lifestyle has nothing to do with acne. You are spreading misinformation. You are suggesting that not eating potatoes can cure acne. This is nonsense.

It is a terrible affliction but it doesn't always pass.

photosmart

My experience may be helpful to someone, I leave it at that.

photosmart

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40257-020-00542-y

This may be informative

run_Forrest_run

I also had bad acne as a teenager. The worst part was dealing with ignorant comments from fellow classmates and even adults. Roaccutane cleared it up for me..nose bleeds, mood swings etc..it was worth it.

lukin

The facial scars heal but the mental scars remain and probably never go away for some who had it.

Baseball72

Pat Kenny interviewed a dermatologist on his programme this morning. Worth a listen. Between (9:15 - 9:40 approx).

Madd002

Never had acne as a teenager hit 30 then it started as one or 2 spots on chin to complete jawline, was told its hormonal & cystic acne the pain of them & I've been using retin A cream unlicensed on prescription for about 2 years as its only thing that works, but only when I have a flare up which last a few months, but have to wear factor 50 as it weakens skin. The oral antibiotics didn't work only got dry lips and dihorrea. I still get 3/4 on neck halfway through cycle. Pics below for not so squeamish. Last pic best its been as you can see I'm left with scarring after having perfectly smooth skin. I'm going to go and do a couple rounds of microneedling which might stimulate collagen had 2 chemical peels when spots were healed but no joy,

lukin

I'm sorry for you buddy, they look painful.

Larbre34

I had similar issues right up to my mid 20s, then I went to a Chinese herbalist and they gave me this. I never looked back.

Its light, gentle, goes on easy, is relatively cheap and has been on the market here for 30 odd years. Its feckin amazing stuff.

The Chinese principle for skin treatment is to tackle what they call heat and dampness in the body. In other words, inflammation from our food and environment. This calms the acne areas down. Face, back, chest, wherever.

I couldn't recommend it highly enough to anyone, of any age, with light to severe acne alike.

https://biohealth.ie/product/zhang-guang-101e-acne-getaway-60ml/