Acne - - - Anybody got any magical cures????

[Michele in New Zealand]

My 12yo daughter has bad acne. It is very painful and embarrassing for her. We have tried natural remedies and face washes from the supermarket.

Does anybody have any suggestions on how to minimise the appearance and the pain of this awful skin problem.
:confused:

Michele~

[hpymomof3]

It really helped my dd's skin problem. We didn't buy any of their products but followed their advice. It's amazing how simple it is but it worked. We use Nutragena On the Spot acne medication. She puts a good size on the area and lets it really soak in. This is followed 5 minutes later by a good moisturizer (this seemed to be an important part). It helped the skin not to be so irritated.

[Valerie in Chicago]

Can you get ProActive there? It worked well for me. My sister used it also, and it worked well for her. My sister has VERY acne-prone skin that is set off my nearly everything. As a 35-year-old, she finally took herself to a dermatologist, who was also very helpful.

[Begonia]

I second the ProActive. I bought it originally for my 13yo dd. Now my college-aged dd also swears by it, as do I! The three of us share one monthly order.

[Claire]

My dd is 17yo. Many of the over-the-counter remedies didn't work or had bad side effects, such as drying out her skin too much. We had the best results from the Cosmetics Cop acne kit. Here is a link (http://www.cosmeticscop.com/learn/art.asp?ID=138) to her very good explanation of acne-fighting medications. My dd has an allergic reaction to benzoyl peroxide, so she cannot put it all over her face. The cosmetics cop version of BP is the only one my dd can tolerate at all.

I would *strongly* recommend getting her in to a dermatologist right away, especially if the acne is already bad at 12yo. Dermatologists can prescribe topical products you can't get over-the-counter, including topical antibiotics. It can take quite a few appointments, scheduled several months apart, to get acne completely under control. It's just not worth fooling around with it on your own for too long. If a dermatologist can't get the acne under control with topical treatments, then she becomes a candidate for Accutane. My dd's friend recently did the Accutane (after three years of working with a dermatologist), and she is ecstatic about finally having clear skin.

[Michele in New Zealand]

Thank you! I am going right over to the acne websites. We do have Pro-active here, so I will give that a whirl and I will book her into our family doctor as well.

I would never of thought to put moisturiser on her face as it is so oily, but I can see how it could reduce some inflammation.

I have been so hesitant to use any chemicals as we are a chemical free home, but when she begged for something stronger, I bought nearly everything of the shelves! She has such an incredibly healthy diet so It's really hard to believe her skin is so bad.

Thanks everyone for your help! :) :)

[Miss Peregrine]

I know people who swear by dandruff shampoo as a face wash.

[Cadam]

ProActive is spendy but worth it.

[Audrey]

Don't feel bad! It really isn't related to her diet. I'll also chime in on Pro-Active. I haven't used it but one of my SILs does. In the year she's used it she's had ASTOUNDING results. Poor thing had terrible cyst-like acne all over her jaw and chin. You wouldn't believe how gorgeous her skin is now. To look at her now, you would never, ever have guessed what she'd had to suffer before. I keep telling her she needs to send in photos and a testimonial to that company.

[kRenee]

I think sometimes diet can be a factor. I've always given my kids a fish oil supplement until I recently realized it was making my dd's acne much worse. Milk has also been found to be a factor although we haven't tried that elimination yet.

[OC Mom]

Michele, if you are taking her to the doctor...I'd recommend going directly to a dermatologist. They know so much more about what's available today than a family practitioner would.

My dd has to use prescription meds to control her acne. We tried acne.org with a little success, but she's doing much better with what the doctor has prescribed. (rosaderm cleanser - used with a washcloth; a retinoid at night; Duac during the day; a clay mask several times a week)

[Claire]

Michele, if you are taking her to the doctor...I'd recommend going directly to a dermatologist. They know so much more about what's available today than a family practitioner would.

My dd has to use prescription meds to control her acne. We tried acne.org with a little success, but she's doing much better with what the doctor has prescribed. (rosaderm cleanser - used with a washcloth; a retinoid at night; Duac during the day; a clay mask several times a week)

I think this is very good advice. In our case, we had to see our GP in order to get the referral to the dermatologist.

My dd is doing better with a retinoid at night, CeraVe cleanser, and something else she uses in the morning. She tried Duac but had an allergic reaction to it (probably the benzoyl peroxide). She also had an allergic reaction to Differin.

[Chris in VA]

My sons use Dove Sensitive as a wash--it's gentle and cheap. Then they use a prescription product that is a combination of benzoyal (spelling?) peroxide (that's in ProActiv, and many other otc products) AND erithromyacin (again, sorry about the spelling). It's a gel they keep in the fridge, and dot on the acne. Our insurance covers it, so our copay is only $8 a month for it. It REALLY works well. We couldn't get a dermatologist appt soon enough, and the copay was $25 more than our general practitioner, so we tried her first. She's great, and always is on top of the latest treatment. She wanted to start with the least "intrusive" medication.

[Michele in New Zealand]

Thank you so much! :)

In NZ, we have to see a GP to get a referral to a specialist. It's unfortunate because our GP is very arrogant. I am wondering if it's best to see him first or try Proactive first??

What is a retinoid? :D :confused:

Thanks again!
Michele~

[OC Mom]

I forgot that many people have to get a referral for a dermatologist. We are very lucky that we don't.

Here's a good description I found of retinoids at Yahoo health (http://health.yahoo.com/skinconditions-medications/topical-retinoid-medications-for-acne/healthwise--te7462.html).

Retin-A is the most common; my dd has used Differin and Tazorac. These are really expensive and next time we go to the dermatologist I'm going to ask if the original Retin-A is any cheaper.

[Plaid Dad]

I know a lot of people are very hesitant to use Accutane - it's a very strong prescription drug - but it is the only thing that has any effect on my cystic acne. I used it for 7 months in my mid-20's and it cured my acne entirely. It may be overkill for your dd and I'm not sure if it's even available in NZ, but I thought I'd mention it in case you want to ask your dermatologist about it.

[hmsch4me]

I had cystic acne as a child and nothing would touch it. It's large bumps that are very painful. The only thing that helped me was Accutane. I was on it for 3 months in 9th grade - after years of trying other things - and it worked wonders. I don't know if 12 is too young or not, but I would really consider going to the dermatologist. Delaying this type of thing can lead to acne scars she'll have the rest of her life - I know! Unless someone has dealt with cystic acne, they really don't have an appreciation for the fact that most acne medications out there just don't work.

[mcconnellboys]

We all use a cold cream like product by Derma E called Tea Tree and E cream. I am also finding that soaking in Dead Sea Salts helps my skin tremendously in a multitude of ways (acne, psoriasis, eczema), but I don't think you're supposed to get it in your eyes, so perhaps a washcloth soaked in the water and used as a compress would work?

Regena