Arghhh!! the dreaded Acne...ds1 is getting it....me and exdh were plagued by it.

[Curiousmama]

Does anyone know of a rememdy that works on acne? DS1 is only 11 but has started with spots around his nose. I know he's starting puberty and am so afraid he'll end up like exdh and me. I, at 40 still get a few spots and as a youth up until mid 20's had acne. I had to go on an extreme treatment Roacuttane (sp?) and I don't want ds1 or ds2 to go through that.

Maybe it'd be worth a trip to the GP to see if she can prescribe something? Or is there an over the counter lotion that can help? Or does anyone know natural rememdies that work?

I can spell remedy honest

Well we bought a smoothie maker for ds. He doesn't eat a lot of fruit as a rule but now enjoys a fruit smoothie every day. He includes a lot of apples (which are supposed to be good for acne). He's making a point of drinking lots of water too. Also, he got a bit of a tan last week which has helped a bit. I know you have to be careful with sunbathing but a little bit's good for the skin imho

Don't know if it's the fruit for sure but he's got rid of most of the spots after 3/4 weeks of this "regime".

My cousin (many years ago now) was also told to eat as many apples as poss...his acne was cured within a few months. (but he was quite strict with it and not sure how many he had a day). hth...it's a bugger isn't it?

Thanks for that Kayteee, ds1 eats a lot of fruit and veg but I'll try this as we have a smoothie maker or I can get him to use the hand blender. DS1 has a slight tan too as we've been to Majorca. I've just been reading on an acne helpsite that sun lotion can aggravate it so maybe this is what's happened? DS1 doesn't eat many apples so I'll try to encourage him to do so. DS2 eats tons of them though but he's only 8 so doesn't need to worry for a few years.

Any more tips?

I've suffered from acne since I was 10 (I'm now 38) and my beauty therapist has told me to make sure I suse a sun cream that's made especially for the face (rather than slapping on the usual stuff). That seems to help.

Other than that, washing twice a day with a mildy medicated face wash, easting fruit and veg and drinking plenty of water may help. nothing different to anyone else.

My big piece of advice would be to tell him NOT to pick. I have bad scarring now from picking and squeezing as a teen and I ouldn't wish that on anyone. HTH.

I also took Roaccutane and so I know how hideous that was. Dry bogies. Eugh.

okay we have tried the medicated stuff etc.. but then I read on here about oil cleansing.. so we gave it a bash.. and ds1 skin has really improved.. it seems that he is now not over producing oil.. his pores are a lot clearer too.

he has also cut down on his milk..upped the water and fruit and raw veg.

on really bad deep spots he uses sudocreme over night on them

when he doesn't oil clease he just uses water
HTH

thanks for those tips. I didn't think of the oil cleansing but I tried it myself and it's excellent, just have to get him to do it. He lives at his dad's too and daddy isn't very hygenic In fact they come back to me in desperate need of a bath. I told ex today about ds1's skin and as I expected he didn't seem concerned. I can tell him until I'm blue in the face. I just have to try to get ds1 to care more as he isn't that worried. I just know what can happen though.

AC yes the dry nose, cracked lips etc... were awful. I also got terrible ligament pain and could hardly walk. My job was hairstylist so you can imagine how hard it was to work? It did the trick though, helped a lot, but I think it's the last resort.

I developed terrible skin in my late 20's due to switching contraceptive pills, it was dreadful, killed my self confidence. The thing that finally got me acne-free was something called Glytone Step Up (pretty sure that's the name) from a Sk:n clinic. I only stopped using it because I got pg and will go back to it when I am no longer bf. I used the purple anti-aging one not the harsher one for acne. Loved it, got so many compliments on my smooth, line free spot free skin .

Well, as he's only 11 maybe its a tad early to start panicking. He could end up with a complex over something which may clear up on its own account over the next couple of years. Is this his problem or yours. IMOH as a mumof4 (boys), this is not going to really worry him for a couple of years yet unless YOU let it.

Hi,

I used roaccutane three times when I was in my teens years. I can't remember the exact age the first time but it was about 14. Maybe visit dermatologist and get opinion.

There is plant/flower, Viola Tricolor, latin name, which you can buy bulk at any herbalist. Prepare an infusion with 2 spoons, leave 10 min, and drink it every evening. It's hideous but incredible effective against acne. I swear.
Give it a try for 3 weeks. And it is really cheap as well!

Curiousmama - I too suffered badly from acne and took roaccutane 3 times in my thirties. After each course it would come back, but less each time. What finally nailed mine was getting pregnant, but that's not going to work on my 14 year old DS1! He's been getting spots for about a year and because of the horror of my own experience I know I'm going OTT about his skin, but just can't help myself. My mood is starting to fluctuate according to the state of his skin just as it used to with my own skin! For so many years the first thing I would do when I woke up was feel my face to see if there had been any painful eruptions overnight. I now wake up and think, please don't let that spot on DS's chin have developed! I'm always struggling not to scrutinise his face when I'm talking to him - poor kid is going to get a real complex.

It's not actually too bad at the moment - greasy skin, few blackheads/small pimples around nose and gets pimples, plus the a few acne-style big spots on his chin. But that's what mine was like at his age and the proper acne kicked in at 16.

My acne was hereditary - my sister suffered well into her 40s and my dad had it too. I'm just hoping none of my kids have inherited the gene, but I bet they have.

I buy DS1 all sorts of products, but of course he never uses them unless I'm standing over him. The long hair falling onto his face doesn't help either! Herbal and over-the-counter remedies and diet might work on ordinary spots, but I never found anything that made a difference to proper acne - apart from antibiotics (for a while) and roaccutane and, as I mentioned, being pregnant.

I also found that strong sun helped - and my skin would always clear up completely if I went abroad for my summer holiday. However, I felt that moderate sunshine (ie UK style) made it worse.

I'll be monitoring this thread with interest!