Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

General health

Mumsnet doesn't verify the qualifications of users. If you have medical concerns, please consult a healthcare professional.

Back Acne

24 replies

Angel2702 · 08/06/2021 08:55

Could anyone recommend a treatment for severe back acne for a 14yr old boy?

He is in a lot of pain and discomfort. He is autistic so already severely sensitive to clothes touching him and this is making it unbearable.

His back is so bad but the Dr won’t even see him and have advised they no longer treat acne on prescription.

This is a severe case so I’m really not sure what I can buy over the counter that will work. The usual cleansers etc don’t help.

OP posts:
Mamabear12 · 08/06/2021 13:05

He has an intolerance to something he is eating. The problem is figuring out what it is. Peanuts and peanut butter causes me to get bacne. I figured this out 20 years ago. Line seeds cause me to break out as well. And if I have too much chocolate and avocado. I think perhaps it’s the fats? As other nuts and seeds also cause me to break out. And too much coffee.

It took me two years to figure out what it was breaking me out and have had clear skin since. Sometimes I’ll eat nuts (I can handle say once a month or so). But if I start getting greedy and having it too much; break outs will happen.

Other culprits could be dairy, wheat or eggs (in fine w these, but loads of others are sensitive to them)

What does he eat a lot of? Most likely it’s something he is having daily.

SoddingWeddings · 08/06/2021 13:12

Wear cotton, viscose, bamboo, linen clothing - less sweaty.

Regular showers, ideally before bed so he's clean for the hours he's sleeping, especially if he's a back sleeper. Maybe no PJ top?
Cotton, linen bedding, not polycotton

Could he cope with a skin spray? I use a salicylic acid spray, and it works brilliantly on my skin, no touching involved but it would still be a cold spray feeling.

Body washing - proper soap not gels.

All these have made a big difference to my DHs bacne as well.

Medievalist · 08/06/2021 13:14

He has an intolerance to something he is eating

You absolutely don't know that.

GPs are generally rubbish at dealing with acne. From my experience the only thing to do is see a specialist. Could you ask your GP for a referral? You should stress the impact it's having on him psychologically as well as the physical pain it causes. I suffered with bad acne (face, neck, back and chest) and it made me feel suicidal at times - so I have every sympathy. My specialist assured me it was nothing to do with diet.

JingleCatJingle · 08/06/2021 21:04

My teen has this and he’s been prescribed antibiotics by the GP. We are in the UK.
You need another GP or a referral to a dermatologist.

Angel2702 · 08/06/2021 22:14

@SoddingWeddings

Wear cotton, viscose, bamboo, linen clothing - less sweaty.

Regular showers, ideally before bed so he's clean for the hours he's sleeping, especially if he's a back sleeper. Maybe no PJ top?
Cotton, linen bedding, not polycotton

Could he cope with a skin spray? I use a salicylic acid spray, and it works brilliantly on my skin, no touching involved but it would still be a cold spray feeling.

Body washing - proper soap not gels.

All these have made a big difference to my DHs bacne as well.

Thanks, he doesn’t really wear any clothes other than a pair of shorts in the house so he never wears pjs in bed.

I think he would cope better with a spray actually, I will ask the pharmacist.

OP posts:
Teessider · 08/06/2021 23:25

@Mamabear12 what a load of shit. Acne is generally speaking hormonal and regardless, how the hell do you know?

OP - could you see a private dermatologist and obtain a prescription that way?

Catworrier · 08/06/2021 23:34

I have back acne and no medication ever worked for me. I now use glycolic acid spray from the ordinary. It's the "men's" one as it's stronger (in a dark bottle). I pour it into a spray bottle so I can spray it on my back and leave it to dry before getting dressed. My back has cleared up. Took about a week after first using it.

Catworrier · 08/06/2021 23:35

Not the ordinary sorry, it's nip fab. www.nipandfab.com/skincare/range/glycolic-fix/glycolic-fix-liquid-glow

mrwalkensir · 08/06/2021 23:37

mine and my childrens' bacne was lactose intolerance, so don't discount it. Acne can have many causes. It's become much more common in China since cows milk entered the diet...

Mykittensaremyfriends · 09/06/2021 06:34

Superdrug do a tea tree range with a back spray and a back wash specifically for back acne which you could start off with whilst you have chance to investigate other treatments if necessary.

roguetomato · 09/06/2021 06:41

I had bad acne as a teen. Washing with brush and soap was only thing that worked and cured.

ChairOnToast · 09/06/2021 06:42

This reply has been deleted

Withdrawn at the user's request

Mamabear12 · 09/06/2021 08:03

Teessider No need to be so rude. It’s not just hormonal. And it’s ignorant people like you that cause others to doubt the truth. Seriously, don’t understand nasty people that come on just to be mean when I’m only trying to help. You are probably one of those people who would just pile on the medications and believe whatever the doctor tells you. One doctor gave me steroids for my daughter eczema. She never mentioned anything about diet or explained how steroids can actually ruin her skin. My daughter was two at the time! I put the cream once and then did research. Decided not to use it again and look at her diet. We realised it was oranges that caused her eczema. Stopped the oranges and bye bye eczema. My friend daughter had eczema on her arm. We figured out it was tomato’s (she had a love for ketchup and would also eat tomatoes regularly).

Many doctors do not want to discuss diet because it’s complicated, takes too much time, they don’t always know or understand the correlation. Far more easier to prescribe pills.

Anyway, do research and you will find MANY who have cured acne through minor diet changes. I have done so much research on diet and acne because I was miserable for two years w cystic acne covering my face and some acne on my back. The face was far worse as people can see it even with make up. I spent hours DAILY looking online, reading books on health and diet etc. That was 20 years ago and after I figured out the culprits I was acne free by the time I was 22. However, I can easily bring back my acne by eating nuts. So yea - diet plays a huge role. The problem is everyone is different. What causes one person to break out doesn’t for another.

Many people aren’t taught how foods effect them, when really they should be. It’s amazing actually.

I’m sure you most don’t know this - you can actually reverse serious heart disease with diet instead of doing surgery - whole foods plant oil free diet. But most people don’t know or want to cha get their eating habits.

Anyway to the other poster - look at the hat your son is eating. It’s probably something daily. Either diary, nuts, wheat or too much sugar etc. If you have a hunch about the culprit. Take out the food for two weeks. You will see an improvement with that time. If it improves a little, but still some spots, it means there might be more then one. Some people are so lucky and figure out it’s one thing like soda or dairy and don’t have to go through cutting and adding things.

For me I would cut things and then add something, but would accidentally add another culprit. Like the line seeds! Bc those are supposed to be good for your skin! It broke me out like crazy in small spots. Did the same for my sister (she had clear skin and started eating them the same time as me because I bought them). And then when I started having rice milk daily I started getting spots on my chest (cut the rice milk and gone went the spots).

Anyway, I always post when someone mentions acne in the hopes it will help them realise there is a cure - you just need to figure out what it is that causes it and stop eating it. The odd spot here and there is hormonal. If you are covered in acne, that is inflammation and the body reacting to something you are intolerant or allergic to. I use to spend hours reading online and searching for real life success stories. It helped me continue with my search for what my offending foods were. And now that I am clear, I can have the offending foods here and there. I’m fine. But if I had for example nuts every day I’ll start breaking out. Or if I have a huge bar of chocolate daily I’ll break out. But if I have chocolate twice a week that is fine. Anyway, I hope this helps someone.

Mamabear12 · 09/06/2021 08:15

Medievalist Most say that because they either don’t know or they rather prescribe pills and creams that work short term, but cause you to break out more when you stop.! I went to a dermatologist and took antibiotics for a year! When I stopped, my skin exploded and was even worse! I went from having a lot of small spots to cystic acne. The creams didn’t help. I realised I can’t take antibiotics for life so had to try something else. With research I realised it was something in my diet.

For example if you eat loads of junk, your skin won’t look as nice. If you eat a lot of processed foods, do a little experiment. Cut it all out and eat healthy whole foods for one week - you will see a change in complexion tone, under eye circles etc. I always ate dairy bc it didn’t cause problems with my skin. No reactions. But when I did an intolerance test, it said I have an intolerance to dairy. I stopped having dairy just to see if I would feel differently or notice any benefits. (This is recently btw). And to my great surprise gone went my under eye circles. And my bad breath. I was always prone to bad breath, even after flossing, brushing etc. Had to carry gum w me always.

Anyways, I’m sure there will be a lot of people not believing and trusting the doctors. The doctors don’t always know best. Do your own research. Or better yet, what harm can be done cutting out what you think you might be allergic to for a couple weeks? Cutting soda out for two weeks won’t kill you. Neither will cutting out dairy or sugar or wheat.

ChairOnToast · 09/06/2021 08:30

This reply has been deleted

Withdrawn at the user's request

Groovee · 09/06/2021 08:32

If you can afford it I would consider a private dermatologist.

Teessider · 09/06/2021 09:04

@Mamabear12 and I don't understand people like you who tip up on a thread to speak with authority as if you're a doctor with the patient in front of them, along with the results of food intolerance tests Hmm

Teessider · 09/06/2021 09:06

I especially don't understand coming onto a thread to advocate that a plant based diet can negate the need for heart surgery and cure heart disease

What are you, some weird quack?

Anyway OP - my advice (and sorry it's so mainstream for the quack on here handing out dangerous advice) is to consult another doctor and request a topical, antibiotic treatment in the first instance. There's lots of good acne treatments out there now and it's not right for your doctor to ignore this

Hughbert · 09/06/2021 09:10

Dd has/had terrible acne, largely on her chest, shoulders and back. The gp prescribed lymecycline tablets and also a topical gel.

Mamabear12 · 09/06/2021 09:55

mrwalkensir Yes exactly. Many cultures don’t have acne until they start eating a western diet (dairy and processed foods!).

Mamabear12 · 09/06/2021 09:56

Teessider You are the quack.

Mamabear12 · 09/06/2021 10:01

ChairOnToast My acne can come right back if I eat enough nuts etc. All it takes is for me to eat nuts every day for a week and out come the pimples.

I don’t dismiss hormonal acne. But have you thought about what you might eat during that time of the month? I know a lot who will indulge more just before their period (me included)...friends that like having more chocolate and candies at that time...just saying ;) and did you know food impacts hormones?

Also, a lot of teens start eating more junk....like sodas etc. Those things mess up the hormones.

Anyway, I won’t be commenting on this thread anymore. I hope the pp son finds a solution.

Mamabear12 · 09/06/2021 10:17

One last comment - how is dangerous suggesting someone try eating healthier? Oats, brown rice yams and potatoes (instead of wheat?). Fruits and veggies. Quality meats and fish. Beans. Instead of soda pop, crisps, candies, processed foods? Seriously. Some people rather eat the junk be covered in spots and be over weight. They rather pop some pills to take care of health issues, when all they need to do is change their diet.

After giving birth to my third dc the doctors prescribed me high blood pressure medication. Fine, I took them. I asked if I should change my diet as well. They said no need. So I took these pills a few months. My BP went down slowly. But still slightly on the high side of normal 120/85ish. Anyway, went on a diet to up my fruits and veggies and cut out wheat (never cut wheat before as it didn’t cause me acne). Anyway, 3 days later my blood pressure is 100/60. I have a machine at home to monitor. So basically, I didn’t need to take these pills as long as I did, as I could have managed my slightly elevated BP w diet. I understand some people have medical conditions and they can’t do this and they need to take pills. But you can reduce your BP a little w diet. And my BP was only slightly above. So I didn’t need the pills for 3 months. Like I said, doctors don’t want to talk diet. They just want to give pills or gels. If you are happy to take pills and more pills and more creams for the rest of your life to control acne instead of finding the root of them problem, then fair enough. But wanted to also let people out there know there are alternatives, which are healthier.

It’s actually bad for your health to take antibiotics for a year or more. It messes up your gut flora. And that is what doctors prescribe for acne. I know bc the dermo put me on antibiotics for a year! And I took them not knowing. My skin was great taking them. But I started getting side effects and had to come off. Then my face exploded, worse then before I got on antibiotics. Instead of pimples I had cysts.... Then I realised there must be some other way. What the dermatologist was prescribing didn’t work. Differen gel, retin A etc. So I researched. Do your research before you call me a quack. I bet you have not read up on the subject at all and you just pop the pills or put on the gels.

Angel2702 · 09/06/2021 15:09

My son is autistic and has a very complicated relationship with food and very restrictive so not easy to change anything at all. He is almost vegan won’t touch dairy.

OP posts:
New posts on this thread. Refresh page