Acne -at what point do you take them to the doctors?

[Emochild]

Dd2 will be 12 in September and has acne bad enough to bother her and she's worrying about 'being the spotty one' when she starts high school

She has a mixture of lumps under her skin and big red spots which will form quite big yellow heads

We've tried face wash and hot cloth treatment with little to no effect

If I took her to the GP would they do anything or are there more over the counter treatments we should try first?

[makeminea6x]

The most important factor is her perception of how it's affecting her life. If it can't be managed to a level acceptable to her with OTC treatments she should definitely see her GP.

It is worth speaking with a chemist about good otc treatments first. An independent chemist is usually your best bet if you have one. Personally I would avoid Boots as it is my opinion that they push branded products over non branded due to profit margins.

Hope she finds something that suits her.

[Back2Two]

Have you tried La Roche posay face wash and Efflaclar duo?

[Emochild]

The only thing we've tried is the superdrug teen range

I'm limited money wise so didn't want to try loads of things that don't work ????

[Back2Two]

Well, I know that these products have been very successful for other teens from reports on some skincare threads, though of course I don't know the severity of their problem in the first place.

I have had adult acne though which has cleared up (after years of being a depressing problem) after using simple enough products all from the chemist and advice from skincare threads.

If she wears make-up she should cleanse twice in the evening if possible. And not use a foaming cleanser apparently.

However, that said.....If you just don't have the money then I think maybe you should just try the GP. They should be able to prescribe topical treatments like tretinoin Retin-A which has great results.

All I know from my own experince now is that it is not something she has to put up with.....there are treatments that work (and quickly too)

[JustDanceAddict]

Def take to GP as there are loads of products that can help. My Dd's are on her back so it's harder with washes, etc. We were prescribed Duac, and they do look better, although she seems to have more on her face now (she doesn't mind as much as she thinks having them on her back is abnormal!!).
You can only use it for a few weeks and we will stop before our sunny holiday.

[Trizelda]

My son had antibiotics for several months. The GP said he would refer him to a dermatologist if no quick improvement as he has a low tolerance for scarring risk and refers sooner rather than later. My friend is a dermatologist and she said they would not do anything until several courses of antibiotics had been tried. He is clear now and not taking anything but he is nearly 18 so maybe coming out the other side anyway.

[YeOldeTrout]

Salicilic acid & benzoyl peroxide are the main OTC active ingredients. There isn't much point in seeing a GP unless you've given both of those a good try, and that means at least a month of daily application according to directions. The kids have to take prescription medicine regularly according to directions for it to work, too.

DS is 15 & we finally cracked & took him to GP. He had fairly red acne although not as bad as I used to commonly see in the 1970s-80s. He didn't really try hard with the OTC products until the 4-6 weeks before I took him. He now has an antibiotic ointment.

[headinhands]

Hi OP, I say take her to the GP. I wouldn't hesitate to go if it was me that had spots that I couldn't control. Two of my dd's have had prescribed treatment, one had regular antibiotics. We never had any luck with shop bought soaps.

[Cassimin]

Take her to drs. There are lots of treatments to try. We tried everything and were eventually referred to dermatologist who prescribed roaccutane. This is very strong but cleared skin in a couple of months. Don't just let her suffer it's not worth it. The quicker it's sorted out the better. Other daughter has been using raw homey as she's not too bad and this seems to be working.

[scatterthenuns]

At what point? When they are unhappy.

Take her asap.

[Lullington]

None of the over the counter stuff works. Take her to the gps because if she needs roaccutane you have to have spent at leaSt a year on antibiotics and have tried 2 types.

Dd is currently 2 months into roaccutane and her skin is beginning to improve. My 12 year old has a spotty back and I am taking her to the gp next week for antibs in prep for accutane in 2 years if necessary.

Acne destroyed dd1s confidence. She had spots from 9 by 12 they were very noticeable and by 15 she was covered. Wish we'd started roaccutane a year ago.