Is there any point approaching dr about dd’s bad skin?

[Handsnotwands]

She’s 12

terrible spots / blackheads. She’s got a few scars already although she doesn’t squeeze / pick

we've tried lots of different skin care things. Nothing seems to have an effect

it gets her down.

our surgery is massively overwhelmed, difficult to get an appointment. Still only doing phone calls initially. Wholly dismissive of most things unless your head is hanging off, I’ve got psoriasis, as an example, and they could not be less interested But poor dd 😢

Yes. Also have you tried tea tree wipes, spot pads etc?
My daughter went through similar, but luckily only lasted about 9 months.
Definitely worth booking an appointment

I would take her. It's awful for young people suffering with bad skin. It affects their confidence and their whole life, it really does. My granddaughter often stayed off school because she was so embarrassed about her skin and other children can be vile.

Definitely take her. They won't refer to dermatology later done the line until other options have been exhausted, e.g. Zineryt, Duac, low dose antibiotics, contraceptive pill etc. If none of that clears it over a long period of time then Roaccutane can be prescribed via the dermatologist. Waiting lists are long so you need to get started on the gentler stuff sooner rather than later. In an ideal world that will solve it anyway and no need to pursue it beyond topical treatments.

Yes please do - for the reasons mentioned above plus you need to get it treated to avoid scarring which will last a lifetime x

Roaccuttane literally changed my life wish I hadn't had to wait until I was 30 x

I presume you’ve tried Acnecide? That’s the last step before the GP I’d say. If so, yes do try the GP.

Definitely take her. Everyone is different, so it might take a while to find what works, DD was bad from a similar age, eventually saw a dermatologist, but Covid probably effected the time it took for that, and the prescribed Duac which worked slightly for DD, but ultimately it was only when the she went on the pill at 17 that her skin cleared up (dianette for 6 months then onto regular pill)

My DS had Roaccutane at 13. I'd get another GP who is interested in their patients tbh

Yes, my (older, male) GP was pretty supportive when I went there at 13. I started with Zineryt (don't recommend- my skin was flawless while using it but my acne came back worse than ever and settled to the same as before when it stopped, it's an antibiotic so not long term). Then when I was 15 I moved to Dianette which worked well for years before the blood clot controversy. At that point he had referred me for tests and I was diagnosed with PCOS at 15 which was much much earlier than most of my peers with the same condition. After the blood clot concerns I was moved on to tretinoin which was a good long term solution and has the benefit of being anti-aging. You need suncream 365 days a year with tretinoin but I'm Irish and prone to sunburn so that wasn't a burden.

Do you have econsult where you can email a picture to them at its worst? Definitely mention the scarring.

Back when DB was a teen circa 2001 ish, he had shocking skin.
He was on some tablets, several different creams and face washes. The creams took the dye out of fabric so all his bed pillows lost their colour but it definitely worked.

He has a few scars now but largely his skin has recovered and looks quite nice.

I think drs is definitely the way to go

Poor thing, I had bad skin but when I was older for some reason. The contraceptive pill called Dianette was the only thing that totally fixed it.

What is her diet like?

My GP friend once told me that teenage skin problems were massively responsive to treatments and that she wished more people would come to see her as spots can have such an impact on children. Sadly she said people rarely do as they assume nothing can be done. I would definitely go and seek treatment.

This did work for my dd who is 13 so would recommend trying if you haven't so far.

Definitely book an appointment I suffered for years at 18 I did my degree part time and had a full time job which gave me access to private healthcare. I went to see a dermatologist initially because of my rosacea as the redness bothered me. I'd dismissed the giant feckin under skin spots and cysts I had thinking I would "grow out of it"'/ it was hormonal. Turns out yes I had rosacea but also had cystic acne which when treated with antibiotics disappeared- life changing. If you don't have private healthcare have a look at a one off appointment gp's will usually then put any medication on repeat with review. Good luck.

I had fairly spotty skin as a teen- mum took me to the GP and a course of antibiotics made things a million times better.

Two lads from my year had to use Roaccutane, which was the nuclear option but in fairness it worked amazingly well.

any chance that she's lactose intolerant? Might being worth trying lactose-free milk too. (Might be a contributing factor)

My dd has bad spots and I get her duac from the doctor and she quite often doesn't use it. I am worried they're going to get worse and worse but I don't want to initiate the conversation. When she does say something I say we could go back to the doctor and try the pill or something but she just shrugs. She gets really stressed about doing well in her work and puts a lot of pressure on herself.
DS also had spots but these seem to have cleared up a lot since he finished his a levels so I keep thinking it is linked to stress.

I took DD when she was sobbing over her face and chest in the mirror and refusing to go to school.

GP immediately gave her a prescription for Zineryt on repeat. Cleared it up lovely.

@Karwomannghia ugh, duac was the absolute pits for me. My skin was so sore and not especially clear. Difficult to initiate the conversation but as soon as it happens, suggest going back for something else. Tretinoin is quite nuclear but wasn't anywhere near as sore. It turns out I have an allergy to benzoyl peroxide but it was only a couple of treatments later, when I was explaining previous treatments, that a dermatologist explained the allergy was common. My face wasn't just "mild irritation" it was a burning pain with tiny blisters that had been brushed off.

Thank you all so much. You’ve helped more than you can imagine

dd is…difficult.. she’s on the road (2 yrs and counting 🙄) for an assessment for ASD. her diet is appalling, probably connected to that. But she is very very difficult to talk to about all these things. All tangled up. She’s so low and confused by life in general and this is “just another thing” but her confidence is already so so low

i’d not heard of acnecide so that’s something to look at, thank you

i’d love a new dr but we live rurally and it’s the only one we can access.

she’s not yet started her periods so I don’t think the pill is an option

For context, DD had tried Salicylic acid (clean and clear, nip and fab) etc and we asked the pharmacist what they suggested next. They said Acnecide. It’s benzoyl peroxide and has totally cleared her skin. It does bleach fabric though, so be careful. It made a slight difference in two days and then after three weeks her skin was clear. She had to use it just once a day to get used to it and and then moved on to twice a day.

I’ll attach a photo of the before. The after is 100% clear.

Retinoid cream bought privately. £20. Worked amazingly for my acne and cystic acne. Years later it's still not returned. Amazing.

I used isotrexin but it's no longer sold. Differin is the new alternative

www.cloudpharmacy.co.uk/online-doctor/acne-treatments/differin-cream/

thank you @rigamortiz I will be more proactive next time. She says it hurts her skin too but it does help a bit when she uses it consistently but if there is another less painful option that would be good!

Not much to add that hasn't been said- but please make sure she uses a high SPF if using acids/retinols, and make sure she double cleanses (oily cleanser to break up spf, followed by a skin cleanser to actually clean her face) on an evening to remove it (SPF can make acne worse, but is CRUCIAL because those ingredients will put her more at risk of skin damage (aging/cancer) down the line due to sensitivity.