To consider spraying my own face with iodine?

[LadyWellian]

Or specifically, with the spray-on Savlon that contains povidone iodine.

Three days until my 40th birthday and I am in the teeth of a massive acne outbreak. I can literally feel the bacteria multiplying under my skin, and once the spots that have started on the right-hand side of my nose make it across the middle, my left cheek will go the way of my right and then my whole face will be at it.

I've run out of the antibiotic cream from the doctors and TCP, Freederm, Effaclar (La Roche Posay) and so on are not touching it.

I've got some of this spray-on Savlon at home and am thinking very fond thoughts about a) how lovely and cool it would be and b) how it might actually arrest the bastard bacteria.

On the downside, of course, it would turn my face bright yellow and I'm not sure how easy it would be to get off.

Would appreciate any tips for a more reasonable course of action.

[worraliberty]

Can't you get a repeat prescription?

[knittedbreast]

roacutane?

[LadyWellian]

Worra yes, that would be the easiest solution but requiers me to get to the doctors, which I can't do until Wednesday.

Knitted been there, done that.

[3Of1And1OfTheOther]

something with benzoyl peroxide in-oxy 10 or quinoderm?

[rogersmellyonthetelly]

Witch hazel is very good, astringent, antiseptic and won't turn your face orange. It will sting like a bugger though.

[knittedbreast]

does roaccutane not mean that it never ever comes back?

[LadyWellian]

Knitted sadly, like most wonder drugs, Roaccutane doesn't seem to work for everyone, and in my case it only cleared it up for about 6mths (this was 10 years ago, it's been quite intermittent and often have months on end when I have no more than the odd spot), which in hindsight didn't seem worth it for the risk of liver damage and suicidal thoughts.

I'm off to Boots now and will probably come back with various things, possibly including both benzoyl peroxide and witch hazel [wincing emoticon]

I think my ideal thing would be some kind of plaster that you could stick all over your face when no-one was looking and it would suck all the bacteria out from under your skin and nuke them to kingdom come.

[HuntForGalaxyHazelnut]

Have you tried taking cod liver oil tablets? After a couple of days taking them they always seem to calm my acne outbreaks down.

(I currently have a huge acne spot on my chin that seems to have its own heartbeat)

[purplepidjin]

Tea tree oil and Q10 moisturiser. Adult acne is often cause by dry skin, so teenage acne treatments will do precisely fuck all

I use Dermol 500 lotion, which is a rosacea treatment, but is only available on prescription (worth a try when you see the doc next)

Happy Birthday btw

[NolaDarling]

I've had the most awful fight with adult acne since the and of 38 (am 42 now). In the states, the doctors told me that I had acne rosacea. I was put on a long-term low dosage of antibiotics and was told to apply some kind of cream to my face. It didn't work. The acne would come and go. Fast forward six months. I move to France. I suffered mightily with attacks of the acne. After a a couple of years I went to the dermatologist in France. She tells me that adult women can have problems with getting enough zinc. She proscribe 30mg of zinc gloconate (sp?) per day for 3 months. I got better (plus my hair stopped shedding). Just prior to seeing the French dermatologist, I began taking Zyrtec each night to calm down the itching of my acne. I literally could feel an outbreak coming on by itchiness on my face! The Zyrtec helped a lot. Finally, having read an article about how the hormones in milk can activate acne, I switched to soy. THAT has helped the most. In fact, each time I have milk I get a mini-outbreak. When I have a mini-outbreak, I actually resort to a steroid cream to halt the acceleration of the many small bumps that seem to multiply within an hour and can disappear overnight (if treated with the cream). It's been a nightmare. Would be so thrilled if you can use any tidbit of information from my saga to help your plight.

[LadyWellian]

HuntforGalaxy are they actual tablets or capsules? I have to say I've always shied away from cod liver oil because it just doesn't sound very appetising.

Pidj thanks

[SummerRain]

tea tree oil.

Not recommended for long term use but great for emergencies.

I have used savlon in the past though (white cream, not spray stuff) and it's done the job

[NolaDarling]

Op, I would also like to say: don't do anything to aggravate your face (like using iodine). The acne is just a manifestation of other conditions and not anything to do with dirt or bacteria on the face. For me, the acne appears to be triggered by external conditions (like heat, allergens, etc) and internal bodily conditions (stress, or a low-grade infection somewhere in the body, or hormonal issue).

[JsOtherHalf]

Colloidal silver could help, it did wonders on some of my hormonal spots. www.highernature.co.uk/Products/Colloidal-Silver-Spray?AgentID=422276&gclid=CI365q6--akCFUoc4QodWQs0Xw

[LadyWellian]

xpost Nola - not ignoring you! Thanks for your experiences.

Am wondering whether a combination of fish oil and zinc will clear me up in time for my party on Saturday, or if I should institute a dress code of 'masks and balaclavas'

[LadyWellian]

And I might try some of the tube type Savlon (actually it might be Dettol that we've got) too. I wondered about Sudocrem as that dioes wonders for all kinds of things, but I'm not sure we've got any and even if we do, it's likley to be 10 years old!

Nola the triggers you mention - stress, hormones, low-grade infections - are very often the same for me. Just occasionally though - every 18 months or so - I get the mother of all breakouts like this one, that doesn't seem to be triggered by anything in particular.

[LadyWellian]

Js I might check that out too. After 18 or so years I thought I'd tried everything, but I've never tried that!

[HuntForGalaxyHazelnut]

Sorry, yes the cod liver oil is in capsules.

They don't taste of anything though, they're coated with plastic, you just swallow them with water and they really do help. Just check the size of the capsules before you buy them, some of them are literally an inch long and really hard to get down! I read that the oil stabilises your hormones, which cause adult acne, they really work for me, i forgot to take any last week and now have a second head growing out of my chin! Lesson learnt! Good luck!!

[purplepidjin]

Sorry, just realised I didn't explain properly! The dermol 500 is a rosacea treatment - it's a facewash that calms redness which is why it works on my skin. I've never met anyone else who uses it for acne (apart from the first doctor to prescribe it when i was 15) and it hasn't cure it. However, it's gentle and moisturising, takes the redness and itchiness down, and makes the spots themselves less noticeable.

Will be testing the cod liver oil idea, after 20 years of spots (I'm not quite 30) I'm heartily sick of the damn things!

[missfifibelle]

I have had great skin my whole life apart from an odd spot before my period. Had my DD 14 months ago and gave up bf in March. Since my periods have returned I have had horrendous adult acne. Nothing OTC worked so went to my practice nurse who gave me Zineryt. Have been using it for a month and it has zapped the acne. Brilliant stuff! Give it a go. X

[SarahStratton]

Duac killed Red Ted stone dead.

[WhiteTrash]

Lol @ Red Ted. Mate gets one on his nose who he names Big Dave.

Oxy 10 is very very good for even sever acne. Warning - use moisturiser afterwards it dries your skin out but does the job!

[SquirtedPerfumeUpNoseInBoots]

Noladarling I had a sudden and unexpected issue with adult acne in my late thirties. I tried everything and no real improvements.

Then, I gave up all dairy. Cut it out of my diet entirely. Within 3 months I was spot free. And glad to say I still am! I have reintroduced dairy to my diet, but I'm not eating as much cheese as I used to.

[stepawayfromtheecclescakes]

make a mask of the paste you can buy at chemist magnesium sulphate i think, leave it on while you have a soak in the bath, resist the urge to pick any spots, and slather on some quinoderm overnight. dont scrub or overstimulate as it will make things worse and drink lots of water.