Teenage DS on antibiotics for acne - anyone else done this?

[Merguez]

He's just started a course of Tetralysal. He's 14. 8-week course.

Asked GP leads of questions but forgot to ask:

If his skin improves after the 8-week course, does this mean he will need to keep take the drugs indefinitely?

Should I give him a course of pro-biotics to balance out the effect of the anti-biotics on his digestive system? We have some leftover from a trip last year to India, so it would be quite easy. And normally after a course of anti-biotics I would take pro-biotics.

Grateful for any shared experience or insight.

I had Tetralysal for acne and there was some improvement. BUt it's usually a first step in teratment. If there is not a significant improvement then the doctor will prescribe something else.

Can I suggest that yes...you do take the probiotics...I was advised to take very high strength propbiotics by a herbalistt...she said she'd seen so many skin troubles resolved by probiotics but STRONG ones.

However I also think you should ask the pharmasist if it's ok first.

See a herbalist and think about some of the strong stuff they sell...it's not cheap....about 25 pounds.

Another line of thought recently is dietary intervention....have him tested for food allergies and sensitivities....then if there are any red flags, eliminate those.

Yes another line of thought is something called demodex mite which is a usually harmless skin mite that everyone has....but some people have an allergy to their poo...so their skin breaks out in protest. There's a lot of research going on at the moment into how to eliminate demodex safely....most of the things that kill demodex can also hurt the skin.

Pure tea tree oil zaps them but pure tea tree is too strong for the skin and burns it....it can blind you if it goes in the eyes...look here for some conversation about demodex and acne as well as treating it yourself.

Some people have seen huge improvements after using salt washes teamed with oil and teatree....look into it and good luck.