Anything else my teen can try on his skin before we make a GP appt?

[superdeeduper]

My 16 year old is in a real mess with spots, on his face and now spreading down his back also. After some great advice here on Mumsnet we have so far tried Freederm, Simple, Cetaphil, Lush's Angels on Bare Skin and La Roche Posay Effaclar and Duo.

Nothing seems to work for him. I am admitting defeat and going to take him to the GP, again I have read here on similar threads that he may be able to get a cream or antibiotics. However, as we have to wait 2 weeks just to get an appointment I thought I would see if there was anything else we may not have tried.

Anyone got any advice?

Don't hesitate to take him to the GP. I've suffered with acne both in my teens and as an adult. Nothing topical has ever made much of a difference (including prescription-only stuff), but antibiotics worked miracles on me.

The thing is, you can have the best diet and skincare routine in the world and still suffer with acne, or you can eat rubbish and be a dirty bugger yet never have a single spot. As has already been pointed out upthread, acne is a medical issue. The odd spot is one thing, but persistent acne is unlikely to get better without treatment from a doctor, especially if it's now on his back too.

I would not give Roaccutane to a child/teenager. This medication has so many side nasty effects that there are lawsuits in the US. My SIL is on it at the moment, and admittedly she is doing very well, but I think she is one of the few.

It is much safer to look at the root cause of acne.

I don't know about medications, antibiotics and creams but one piece of advice that saved my skin was to treat my spotty and greasy skin as though it is sensitive. That means a hot cloth cleanse with a creamy cleanser twice a day, moisturiser daily, facial oil twice a week and regular exfoliation. It has been miraculous.

Acne is caused by overproduction of sebum from the sebaceous gland, and though can be helped by topical creams, scrupulous cleansing (to ensure pores are as unblocked as they can be), the only thing that will stop the production of spots is something to stop the overproduction of sebum. Hence why teenage spots are more common (when the hormones kick in), but that is slightly different from acne. The only thing that will really do the job on the root cause is either ABs or roaccutane for more severe cases. Topical creams like Quinoderm etc might help dry out spots when they emerge, but they won't tackle the cause of the acne itself.

Diet might or might not help, and as pp have said, some people might find that some foods trigger worse/more spots (fried food def caused flare ups for me when I was a teenager), but unless you have had it investigated and diagnosed, eliminating foods is not necessarily going to help.

I had pretty severe acne during my 20s and after years of creams, ABs etc, the only thing that worked was roaccutane.

Def agree with others about going to GP. It's not admitting defeat, it's getting help with a medical problem.

Oh and I did mean to say, zinc (tablets) might help though.

pure virgin coconut oil, and nothing else. Skin might appear a bit worse at first, but then it does clear up. good luck.

Agree with those saying go to the Dr. GPs can be a bit hit or miss when it comes to acne treatment - I was dismissed pretty much out of turn from the age of 12 and fobbed off with antibiotics that did nothing until I was 18 and one locum GP said "good god we need to get you referred". I could have hugged him. Antibiotics may work well in tandem with a topical solution but he might need something stronger that only a dermatologist can prescribe and the waiting lists are long so no harm in asking for a referral whilst trying the milder options in the meantime.

Acne is a medical condition and although it is the skin that is affected it is the largest organ in our bodies, it needs proper expert treatment. My dermatologist told me that being forced to accept bad skin is cruel and unfair when so much help is available.

Good luck!

I also am a big fan of coconut oil for face, it's antibacterial. I don't believe in robbing the skin of moisture with harsh cleaners and ointments that dry the skin out.

I love facial oils but coconut oil made me break out in huge spots.

arrgghh the oil cleansing method returned me to acne hell
this happens to many many people, please be aware of that and tread carefully

i was told to use a very gentle face wash or very gentle face cloth with a warm water rinse by a derm

i was told to use a bha because it works inside the skin cell and is not simply a topical cream
it works to help to reset the oil production - i was told this by the derm

I was told to use bp topically to disinfect by the derm

the way it was explained to me was that they have little understanding why exactly acne occurs - there are many many theories but what works for one person very often doesn't for the next. This is very frustrating for derms and because of that this is what he now recommends. I have seen a female derm who also agreed with this treatment plan

my derm recommended that i treat what is occurring within my pores and prevent spots blackheads whiteheads and cysts from occurring. if that could happen without the further use of antibs or v strong acne medicine i thought it made very good sense

One of the derms best theories is that over production of oil means that the dead cells are trapped within and spots form
the wash cloth is to cleanse the skin and at the same time to v gently exfoliate. I throw it away after use.

the bha is to regulate oil production within the cell
the bp is to disinfect in case there are bacteria present in the spots

within 3 weeks i saw a real difference and within a few months i was completely different
i will be honest in say that in the past i and my brother had had both abs and paint on ab lotion and was at the stage where i would have used anything. my face was raw and spotty and lumpy
this new regime was a revelation.
I am a taker of pills and I have had laser treatment on my face post acne. I am not some refusnik but I am aware that many many acne treatments don't work and have grim side effects
why not try this?

Marking place to read for 14 y o ds

Not sure if it has been suggested already but you can ask the pharmacist for Quinoderm cream, it has benzyol peroxide and is very effective at clearing up acne spots, you just apply it to the affected area. Also have a look at the regimen at acne.org which gives a lot is advice. Good luck!

Not sure if it has been suggested already but you can ask the pharmacist for Quinoderm cream, it has benzyol peroxide and is very effective at clearing up acne spots, you just apply it to the affected area. Also have a look at the regimen at acne.org which gives a lot is advice. Good luck!

DS was on various antibiotics/creams from 15 after trying every OTC/herbal remedy before being referred to a dermatologist who tried different creams before prescribing roaccutane when he was 17. We were given lots of advice and also spoke to a couple of pharmacists and he decided to try it and hoped the side effects wouldn't be too bad. Within 2 months his acne had cleared without any scarring on his face (his consultant was amazed because he'd had purple mottling on his cheeks), he has got some on his chest and back but he can live with that. The side effects were cracked lips, dry hands and dry eyes/nose but he started taking it when the pollen count was high and its the only summer he hasn't suffered with hayfever. He gets the occasional spot and still has dry hands but the change in his personality has been amazing.