****anyfulekno*** you have given me clear skin for 1st time in years!!!

[spicemonster]

I have had adult acne for years. Not really badly but just spotty on and off - on my face, my chest and my back. It's really knocked my self-confidence. I have been prescribed endless drugs/creams/lotions and been to see three different dermatologists and nothing has ever worked for long.

But I have been following the regime on the acne.org website as you recommended for the last 3 weeks and it's a bloody miracle! My skin has never looked better. I could kiss you. Am so, so grateful

hi,
I am just about to order some panoxyl of Amazon, it is £3.99 for 1 tube or £8.40 for 3, which is obviously a good saving, but will I need 3 tubes or will they go to waste?
Cheers

don't use benzoyl peroxide if you're pregnant!! its absorbed by your skin and into your blood stream and can cross placenta. not sure of concentration required before its dangerous but its best not to.

same goes for most acne products and antibitotics even those antibiotics applied to your skin.

only one thats safe is euthromycin available in pill and cream form but not always massively effective on acne or rosacea unfortunately.

also very interested. Thank you, spicemonster!

My ob/gyn said go ahead and use it during pregnancy. 2.5% is a low concentration.

The acne.org regimen is terrific. The gentleness is the key. And following the instructions. When I used it there was a support forum link too.

I will check with my midwife/doctor first then.

If not, I'll use it when DC is born. I've had euthromycin and it was rubbish.

jux Have you considered taking your DD to the GP? DD2 started getting noticeably spotty at 11. I did take her to the GP and she was prescribed a topical anti biotic. She has since been prescribed oral antibiotics and 2 different creams. None of them made any real difference and she has now just started roaccutane. (can only be prescribed for 12 and over and after periods start). My point being that if you think she is spottier than most of her peers there are things she can take and our GP has taken it all very seriously. DD does get very down about her skin and I am keeping my fingers crossed that the roaccutane is the answer.

very interesting reading :)

skandi1 are you absolutely sure that it is 'absorbed by your skin', sounds a bit unlikely to me. How could something you put on your face cross the placenta? Should one stop using foundation when pregnant?

ok skandi, after doing some quick research - yes a little of it may be asborbed by your skin. But that it a huge difference to 'crossing the placenta' and I cannot find anything that says you categorically shouldn't use it when you're pregnant. As with most medicines it would never be tested on a pregnant woman so can't 100% be proved to be safe (nor can any medicine). Your post was very alarmist and silly.

General concensus is that it's acknowledged to be safe in pregnancy (and I used it when pregnant myself). No need to panic people fgs.

pantaloons, I reckon one tube should keep you going for ages.

I have read that products that contain a high concentration of salicylic acid should not be used while pregnant, but nothing about avoiding benzoyl peroxide.

I just happened to notice this thread and it could be just the thing I need.
On holiday, I used loads and loads of suntan lotion which I assume left my skin all clogged up.
My back is now quite spotty and horrible

I think I should try this and see if it works for me.

Actually, DD has also started to get loads of spots on her forehead and some on her chin. I have read that its suitable for children too so we can try it out together.

Hi sorry was busy with DD and DH over bank hols.

I was told by dermatologist not to use even over the counter products such as Oxy (or whatever the standard acne brands are called) when pregnant as it was a risk. I believe most of them state on their packaging that you should not use if pregnant.

The only thing she was prepared to let me use was euthromycin (not particularly effective as most of you know).

I was also told be her to stay away from cosmetics and skin care products containing vitamin A (think ROC) and salicylic acid (essentially aspirin) (garnier pure A etc).

I know different dermatologists have different views (strangely my GP were completely relaxed about things applied to skin but worried about oral euthromycin which is the only antibiotic safe for the pregnant and breastfeeding). However Consultant dermatologist I saw had some worries about skin absorbsion of certain products being much greater than previously thought and she was convinced that there was a real risk. But as I said above my GP was totally relaxed.

I would have said the best place to ask is probably the maternity unit at the hospital actually.

I did ask them about the oral euthromycin I had taken and was told it is completely safe and its the one the use for infections in pregnant ladies. They (midwife and obs consultant) were a lot less comfortable with preparations applied to the skin but not as vehmently against it as the dermatologist.

I had a strange rash/spots on my belly which started just before I got pregnant. Hence anitbiotics etc. It looked like acne but wasn't (skin biopsy done in the end - don't even ask...) and didn't respond to anything but went away by itself in the end after 2 years. Obs and midwives were worried as it was worst over liver area (thinking problem with liver) but it was nothing in the end not even acne.

Really! I have never heard of any advice where pregnant women are to avoid certain beauty products.

Isn't it going a bit OTT? I don't know anyone who is or has been pregnant that has avoided beauty products and they have never had problems.

Sounds really OTT to me.

Hi again,

As I said the dermatologist was extremely cautious. I sort of took her word over that of the GP and maternity staff on the basis she was the skin specialist and if she said they could be absorbed and potentially harmful, I thought she'd be more likely to know. She could just have been ultra-cautious and way over the top.

However my GP was totally relaxed about anything applied to skin even if it was my belly and I was pregnant.

Maternity unit staff um'd and ah'd about applying stuff but mostly were fairly unconcerned with over the counter products. Although their advice way to try and avoid it. Their main concern was with the disgusting looking spots on my belly and their cause.

Btw having what looks like really severe acne on your tummy when pregnant is just gross. No lovely blooming bump for me. Was just embarrassed about it. It was really bad.

Hence all the attention to products and what to apply when pregnant.

MissAnneElk, I hadn't thought of taking her to the doc. TBH I just thought she was ahead of her peers in the hormone stakes; she did start developing a bit earlier than they. So far, I've got her clearasil (biactol) wipes and cream, and told her that she's lucky as she'll be over the spotty stage by the time she and her friends are seriously trying to impress boys, while her friends will be right in the throes of it! Trying to put a positive slant on it.

So far, the spots aren't too bad, and I hope that it will encourage her into a really good regime re skin care. Until now, she's been a bit slapdash!

I was really asking about this in case they did get awful, which they aren't yet, so I could be armed and ready if the need arose. I'm not sure she needs more atm, especially as she's happy with what she's got right now.

I can see, though, that this regime is really good; I will introduce her to it at some point, but right now, just going up to secondary school and all that that entails, she's got a lot on her plate.

Thanks to all for your advice. It's been really interesting reading this thread.

Thanks for this thread - my acne has really flaired up again badly so my cetaphil and pan oxyl gel have just arrived. Definitely worth a go - sounds sensible, gentle cleaning and using a product I was prescribed many years ago (pan oxyl) and then moisturising!

Clearasil products tend to contain myristyl myristate or isopropyl palmitate which can aggravate acne -- read the labels to see if they still do. I was warned off Clearasil and all its works and promises by a dermatologist.

Jux, hope your DD is using a very mild moisturising facial cleanser Cetaphil is often recommended and not scrubbing or touching her spots too much. She's lucky to have a concerned mum; mine responded to my teenage acne with "I never got a single spot in my life" and that was pretty much the end of it. I would say that the acne.org regimen would be a really good thing for her to start asap so she can feel she is making some headway on the spot front, as spots can make you feel really miserable and it's nice to believe you're going to be able to cure them.

Mine was just the same "I took far too much care of my skin to get spots".

She's using a mild moisturiser, something like Pure & Simple (can't remember atm, exhausted as just back from town).

So many of us on this thread! I wonder if a proper support thread might be in order?

Could be worth it I reckon.

I always assumed I would grow out of it after my teens, sadly not.

Doesn't help on the rare occasion that I go out without make up and my step grandad looks at me funny and asks what all that on my face is. I lived with him for 15 years, he should know what it is by now.

It did get worse in my first trimester, then seemed to ease but I am 17 weeks pregnant and its looking awful again.

I was advised by my OB/GYN to take a vitamin B6 supplement to help with pregnancy acne -- mine flared up horribly in the first trimester every time. I think I took 100mgs once a day or whenever I remembered. The doc wasn't very specific about the dosage when I asked him; he said 'Oh 50 to 100 mgs should be fine, see how you do,' so I don't think there's a problem for the baby. I discovered acne.org after my last pregnancy so I don't have any personal knowledge of how it works for pg related flare-ups.

I've taken B6 for flare-ups since then too, but the acne.org regimen has meant I've had very few, and usually when I'm run down or about to get strep, or the flu.

AnyFuelKno, I think a support thread would be great!

Anyfulekno asked "So many of us on this thread! I wonder if a proper support thread might be in order?"

Think that's a great idea, you have my vote!