Desperate help for chest/back acne

[DrEmilleShofhousen]

Hi

can anyone recommend help for my young adult son (21yo). We have tried everything for the last 5 years to clear his acne. Currently, he takes isotretinoin 60mg x 2 , plus a prescribed antibiotic (name escapes me) daily. These have been prescribed since February and there is very little difference. Previous to this we tried several medications on the NHS through his GP, to no avail.

He’s returned to the private clinic twice and had doses increased, but the cystic lumps (no heads to them) on his back and chest remain really angry and painful, though his face is improved.

it’s really getting him down now , we’ve spent hundreds of pounds, and I’m just lost what could actually help! Any ideas gratefully received x

Keep going back to the doctor's until he finds something that worka. It took me ages to find the right medication for me

My sister was advised by the GP around thirty years ago to get her acned back in the sun as much as possible and it worked wonders.

I find a loofah good may help,?

For literally years he hasn’t wanted to show his torso in public, so it’s hard to convince him to do this, even in our own garden. However, will show him some if these posts to convince him to try it. Thanks x

*of these posts

Two things that helped me with a horrible back acne in the past:

1. making sure that I wash my body after using hair conditioner - never allow conditioner to remain on the body as it creates an oily ‘coat’ on the skin
2. neutrogena body clear body wash - ordered on Amazon

I’d also ensure that a clean towel is used daily and pyjama top/ bedding changed daily if required.

I second using a loofah and not washing using hands only- the dead skin cells need to be scrubbed off.
then clean the loofah with some soap and hot water after shower and hang to dry properly so it’s not harbouring bacteria

Even exposing his back to sun through glass would probably help, if he felt confident enough to sit with his back to the window in the sunlight.

For looking at body washes etc try cereve with the blue tops - contains salicylic acid which is great for acne, provides gentle exfoliation.

Definitely regularly change bedding and clothing. I needed meds for acne but during a period of burnout and high stress at work I stopped changing my bedsheets weekly and acne got worse, within 2 weeks of going back to weekly washes (regardless of how clean pillowcases looked) acne improved so this does have a bearing.

Re sunlight. It's the blue and red wavelengths that's effect for acne. Using an led light therapy mask helps a lot for facial acne, you'll have to hunt about for something that can be used on the torso but you can buy handheld blue light devices which may help (time consuming for a large area though I think). Depending on where you live, you might be able to find salons/cosmetic clinics that offer light therapy treatments though and its worth trying these.

Infrared saunas might help too - though again you'd need to hunt for one near you and he'd need to be comfortable with it. Might be worth looking at infrared lamps - I can't remember how effective they are on acne (do check that they're safe to use) but infrared light is proven to be healing for tissues so again is a therapy that may assist healing.

Keep pushing for derm referral though or go elsewhere if not being taken seriously by private derm.

Obviously check light therapy etc ok with any meds he's on etc!

@TabithaTittlemouse She did 3 per week for around a month. Started at 5 minute sessions as she’s very fair and burns easily and then built up to 10 by the end of it

For me what works is cutting out all diary and processed foods. And sitting with my spots in the sun as long as I can. I sit in a private area of my house where the sun shines through and letting the sun hit my back.
Every summer it clears up so much when I do this.

Please wash bedding at 60 kills bugs and mites

If he's taking isotretinoin then sunlight exposure can be more harmful than usual. Please speak with his consultant first. I'm taking roaccutane and my consultant is very strict that spf50 must be applied every two hours and absolutely no sun beds/laser treatment/laser hair removal whilst I'm on it. There can be scarring otherwise.

Also, acne should never be scrubbed with a loofah! You need to treat the skin very gently, especially when taking isotretinoin, and don't use harsh oil-stripping chemicals or physical abrasives.

salicylic acid soap, I get mine from Amazon. Has definitely helped mine!

Oh god yes, don’t sit in the sun whilst he is taking the Isotretoin (sp?)

Thanks @clipclop5

Allergy can absolutely cause bad acne. I would cut all dairy (and hidden dairy in biscuits etc) for 2 weeks as it's easy to do and requires no medical support. See if things improve.

Absolutely don’t use subbed or natural sunlight exposure if he’s taking isotretinoin. It makes them more sensitive to UV. My son had bad facial and chest back acne and it took longer than we thought for the isotretinoin to be effective. I’d persist with that for a bit longer.

Interesting. Mine was helped a lot by sun but what finally cleared it (almost completely) was the strong intravenous antibiotics given during the spinal surgery I had (probably vancomycin). So years of really unpleasant acne was probably exacerbated by it being a deep skin infection of some kind. I'd had lots of treatments before that which had made no difference (including other antibiotics).

A raw vegan diet for 2 weeks would almost certainly make massive inroads. (Add a portion of cooked oily fish per day to this for nutrition's sake). Piles of green salad dressed with lemon and olive oil, green juices, sprinkled seaweed, hummus made from sprouted chickpeas, other sprouted beans and grains, berries, nuts etc. You'd need to be on holiday, because you are with food the entire day to get enough calories in!