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Original poster

Teenage cystic acne out of control

38 replies

KingofQueens · 21/04/2026 22:47

My poor son is 15, and has had acne that has been getting worse and worse since being under the GP.
They say he has to persevere with oral antibiotics and Acnecide, but his skin has got so much since starting with them. We're desperate now. I'm so worried about his mental health and long term scarring.
Has anyone had a child with skin like this who has had anything work for them?
He's such a lovely boy, never complains, but I can see him becoming a shadow of himself.

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OP posts:

AAAAYY · 21/04/2026 22:51

My daughter had terrible acne when she was younger and we were referred by NHS to a dermatologist who then referred us to the local hospital for Accutane. It cleared within a couple of months and has pretty much stayed away since then. I wish we’d gone down that route earlier as she was so much happier once her skin had cleared up.

Original poster

KingofQueens · 21/04/2026 23:04

Thank you so much. @AAAAYY . I really appreciate your response. I'm just heartbroken for him. I'll go back to the GP, but last time they gave him a phone appointment which was useless for an issue where they really need to see him.

OP posts:

JenniferJupiterr · 21/04/2026 23:08

He needs Accutane asap. That will sort it. Your doctor is completely wrong to insist on persevering as is

can you go private? It’ll be worth it and sorted much quicker for him. It isn’t without side effects but they’ll be manageable and it’s important for a 15 year old that this is sorted as soon as you can get booked in with a private dermatologist

Don’t bother seeing the gp again. Just move quickly and go private

shivermetimbers77 · 21/04/2026 23:10

Yes, he needs a referral for a dermatologist and to be put on Roaccutane , aka Accutane. It does have side effects but it is really the only thing that works. They usually have to cycle through all the other options first (antibiotics etc) but keep persisting and emphasise the impact it’s having on him. If you don’t get any luck from the nhs you can try a private dermatologist. I would say do it sooner rather than later. Good luck! Former teen acne sufferer here and I remember it very well. Hope he gets some relief soon.

Pacificsunshine · 21/04/2026 23:16

The NHS will give roacutane. Demand it if you have to, mention his mental health. It’s what will help. He deserves proper care. It will take about 4 months to improve, and it’s very drying and he will have to be careful in the sun.

JoanCallamezzo · 21/04/2026 23:30

I’m so sorry, I know how awful this feels as a
parent. My son (18) has just started on roaccutane after about 4 years of trying various combinations of antibiotics/topical treatments. A few weeks in and I am already seeing a huge improvement and feel very hopeful that this will finally sort it. I feel like we were fobbed off quite a bit by our gps and it took over a year on the waiting list to get into the specialist dermatology service. In the end I found that DS emphasising the effect the acne was having on his mental health and self esteem finally made the doctors take notice and things got moving.

I wish we had managed to get this treatment earlier as DS has suffered for years and now has quite a bit of scarring. I was nervous about it as it has some unpleasant side effects and has been linked to mood/mental health but I feel that DS is being well monitored and so far it’s not been too bad, beyond dry skin and lips.

I hope you manage to get it sorted, you may need to be really pushy.

LightDrizzle · 21/04/2026 23:43

That looks so sore too! I had much, much milder acne and I remember the pain in gym if I had to do anything involving my head being below my body like head or hand stands.

Definitely voice heavily your concerns about its effect on his mental health. Poor lamb!

AimInCup · 21/04/2026 23:45

The winner of this year's Apprentice UK 2026 business was all about her Cold Pressed Rosehip Seed Oil helping her own severe acne..maybe worth a look..was what her pitch in the final was all about.. Karishma Vijay won it/aired on TV last week.. Kishkin kishkin.com/products/cold-pressed-rosehip-seed-oil-50ml-pure-organic-rose-hip-rescue-oil-for-smooth-nourished-skin

Original poster

KingofQueens · 22/04/2026 00:00

Thank you so so much everyone, for your lovely, kind and helpful replies. I've just emailed a private dermatologist near to us. I'm nervous about Accutane as we have quite serious mental health problems in the family, including suicides, so it is a worry.

Strangely enough @AimInCup , my son is an avid Apprentice fan and he really warmed to Krishna, however we already tried a similar product to hers.

OP posts:

Ilovecheeseyah · 22/04/2026 00:02

I had it too - for me it was provoked by stress and in particular anger. I managed to exorcise it by working on my anger, therapy and literally running it out or working out. I was probably also working too hard.

all the best and let us know how you go xx

Strangerthanfictions · 22/04/2026 00:03

KingofQueens · 21/04/2026 23:04

You sound like such a lovely mum, I feel heartbroken for him and I don't even know him. A friend's boy also got accutane and it worked wonders. He sounds like a great kid and like he's coping well, that's what a Secure base does for young people x7

mathanxiety · 22/04/2026 00:05

One of my DCs had acne like this and the only thing that worked was accutane.

Go to a private dermatologist if the NHS is insisting on futzing around with antibiotics.

Original poster

KingofQueens · 22/04/2026 00:18

Thank you again to everyone who has replied. I am so grateful. You've definitely made me determined to get him a private dermatologist appointment.
He's also a theatre kid and has the lead in a production in June, so it would be lovely to see at least a little improvement by then.

OP posts:

Lancrelady80 · 22/04/2026 00:25

Poor lad! That must hurt so much, not to mention massively knocking his confidence. I had awful skin as a teen and wound up on two courses of Roaccutane, then another in my mid twenties. It was like magic! But if he does go on it, he'll need to be really careful with sun as another pp said, and have plenty of lip balm and also Vaseline for inside of nostrils as it really does dry you out. If he starts soon, it's certainly possible there could be a good deal of visible improvement by the time he has his show. Good luck to him.

BerryTwister · 22/04/2026 00:35

My son had skin like that. He had months of antibiotics but nothing worked. I too was worried about accutane, because of the mental health concerns. But in the end we decided his acne was already damaging his mental health.

He saw the GP, got referred, appointment within a few weeks, accutane prescribed, and acne cleared within 3 months. And the only side effect he had was dry lips.

I regretted not doing this sooner, because it was life changing.

AAAAYY · 22/04/2026 06:46

Like others have said do keep on with the GP, mine was rubbish at first and she was on antibiotics for ages which did very little. Once we saw the dermatologist she really got the process started and then we got an appointment at the hospital about 6 weeks later and got the accutane started. If your son is getting any scarring then your GP should refer you straight away.

One thing to note with Accutane is that it can worse before it gets better but that’s totally normal and then it starts doing its thinG

Booooooooom · 22/04/2026 07:01

Ds had the same but sadly he wasn’t suitable for roaccutane. He’s now 25 and his skin is still not brilliant but a lot better than it was (it’s not as red but he still has I would say 5-10 of those nodules each side rather than being completely covered in them). He also gets this on his back. It does get better with age but it’s a long old road.

WeCantBoardYouFromACoffeeShop · 22/04/2026 07:02

Hi OP. I had acne like this in my teens and the only thing that ever worked was accutane. After about 2 weeks there was already a vast improvement and after 6 weeks it had nearly gone. Side effects were dry lips and nostrils and feeling nauseous. Plenty of lip balm and he'll be fine. Don't worry about the mental health side of things as having acne that has already impacts mental health heavily. Good luck! X

Pricelessadvice · 22/04/2026 07:25

I’d suggest Accutane OP. A friends cousin used it and it transformed his skin (and life) but I understand the concerns over mental health.
Acne is such an awful condition and it has such a huge impact on the persons life. I wish your son all the best xx

Matildatoldsuchdreadfullies · 22/04/2026 07:32

We were wary of accutane, so didn’t push for it for ds for some time. The damage to his self-esteem from the acne had a massive impact upon his mental health.

Accutane worked. And his self-esteem mended.

When dd’s skin started breaking out we pushed for accutane immediately, with the result that her skin never got that bad.

SlenderRations · 22/04/2026 07:36

Another roaccutane here. Really wished I had done it earlier too. Another with anxiety etc so I was really worried about the mental health risks but it was all fine.

sunnydisaster · 22/04/2026 07:42

My DS, who is now 22, has just finished a course of Roaccutane and it’s done its job. He waited far too long to start (you need a dermatologist referral and then there’s the long waiting list - unless you can go private).

He went through all the antibiotics, lotions and potions and in the end conceded to the big guns! I would say it started around age 14/15 - def pre-lockdown as I remember him having online consultations w the GP about it.

For him it was mainly on his back, but he did get some in his face too.

He’s also got a history of bad mental health, but they:we watched him carefully and it didn’t affect his MH over and above the regular issues.

Matildatoldsuchdreadfullies · 22/04/2026 07:44

Our experience, OP, is that because of the potential side effects, you actually have to push for accutane. They (correctly) don’t want to hand it out like smarties. But I do think that sometimes they forget the impact of acne - particularly for sensitive teenagers (and what teenager isn’t sensitive?).

However, once we pushed, it was pretty quick. And at least your ds won’t have to take monthly pregnancy tests, which my dd currently has to do.

lizzyBennet08 · 22/04/2026 11:33

Ah op. Your poor poor son. Definitely think private dermatologist is the right call. My younger sister had very similar and was miserable for years before she started treatment . While waiting for the appointment can I suggest sudocreme all over the affected area every night before bed. Hard on pillows but it does dry up the affected area really well and makes them less sore if nothing else .

nevercoffee · 22/04/2026 11:52

My son went on accutane for his acne and we went private as the waiting list for dermatology was so long , even though he was referred as urgent, the accutane cleared it up completely and hasn’t come back , we only got the nhs appt once he had completed his treatment in the end , so if you can it’s definitely worth going private for a quicker result for them , it has changed my sons life so much for the better , it was awful seeing him trying to hide away and not look people in the eye … now he’s a social butterfly !

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