Is this normal acne for an 18 year old [pic!] ?

[cytoplasmcell]

Hi . She's had this for 2 years . Am wondering if it's normal ? She's been on Lyme cycline for 2 weeks and it looks slightly worse . Thank you

It's hard to tell if they are superficial or deep. If deep I'd see a dermatologist (privately if you have to, it's absolutely worth the money from a mental health point of view as well as to prevent scarring) and ask for roaccutane. It gets a bad rep but it really saved me. Turned my hideous skin around permanently in about two months with first improvements visible within a week.

Lymecycline takes a while to work, my son is on month 3 and still has a way to go. Dr reviewed at 2 months and represcribed but also referred to dermatology.

It's normal, but there are things that can help.

Have you tried Duac?

Also diet and exercise can help to balance hormones and clear things up a bit.

@Jellyofftheplate when you stopped the roccutanr did it come back ? How long did you take it for in the end ?

My ds found lymecycline didn't work so is trying a different antibiotic plus epiduo face wash. As a teen and adult none of the antibiotics have worked for me and I ended up on the pill but specificly Dianette because it was the most effective one for acne....until I wasn't allowed to be any more as it has a higher thrombosis risk apparently. Had a spell of dreadful skin throughout the pregnancy and baby years but post 40 the actual acne seems to have calmed down. Rosacea flares have been easier to manage.

I had roaccutane 25 years ago for cystic acne. It never came back.

Nope. I spent years of my life depressed with acne and two back to back courses (total time three months) completely cleared it. It's a wonder drug.

Another one who had roaccutane -at 30 - wish so much I’d had it at 14. Life changing. DS is on lymecycline & in the words of our gp - that’s brilliant it’s clearly the right one for you.

I’d stick with this a bit longer yet but also think about skincare. Differin gel is also a life changer ime x

Your poor poor daughter!
Noone today has to suffer anymore from acne.
Take her to the dermatologist asap and get a prescription for roaccutane.
It is life changing.
Share this with other unknowing parents. Your children will be so grateful.

I paid for my daughter privately to see a dermatologist. She asked for roaccutane but wouldn’t prescribe as not severe enough. Another antibiotic prescribed though - took 6 months to clear but all good now. Nothing from GP worked, agreed a referral to dermatology but at least a 9 month wait. Private £250 for consultation & prescription - went twice.

It will take a while to get an appointment to see someone.
In the meantime I would suggest that they try giving up dairy for a month to see what happens.

I was in my 30s before I tried, and within 10 days people were asking me what I was doing. The difference it made was night and day. If it doesn’t make a difference you don’t lose anything.

DD was on lymecycline but she didn’t wait 2 years for it. It worked but not permanently. After a couple of years We went privately in the end for Accutane which cleared it up. It all takes ages on the NHS because they try everything else first before even referring to a dermatologist for Accutane and even then it’s a long wait. DD acne came and went then came back with vengeance so private Accutane was the only solution and even then the purging was awful. But she came out the other end eventually

I agree with @Jellyofftheplate and others about Roaccutane. I was eventually referred to a dermatologist, who prescribed it when I was 21 and in my last few months at university. It wasn’t until I went to university I saw others around my age, who were still experiencing acne. It seemed I was the last person in my year group at school/college to still be suffering with it.
My facial acne had seemed to go away when I was 17 but then came back with a vengeance but only on my forehead when I was at uni. It had never stopped on my back though.

Thankfully I’ve never had a relapse since I stopped taking it and that was in 2008. It really was a night and day difference within weeks.

@Jellyofftheplate thank you