Teenage acne

[ALT1975]

Just that really.
My teenage daughters skin is a struggle (she’s 14 years old) and I know it makes me very self conscious.
Can anyone recommend products that work?
Thanks (from us both!)

@brightertimes123 That’s not a bad treatment, in-vitro the acne bacteria dies pretty quickly when the antibiotics go in but in patients it takes a much longer time. Dr should have given you an idea of how long to give it to work too.

[quote Fluffycloudland77]@brightertimes123 That’s not a bad treatment, in-vitro the acne bacteria dies pretty quickly when the antibiotics go in but in patients it takes a much longer time. Dr should have given you an idea of how long to give it to work too.[/quote]
The GP said it would take a couple of weeks for any improvement to be visible. If it work DD could then continue the antibiotic longer term

If it’s bothering her then go. What else are they there for if not easily treated conditions like acne?
It certainly bothers her but she finds the thought of going to talk to the GP about it excruciatingly embarrassing so I find it difficult to judge whether (a) it's at the level where I should really try to persuade her to over come that and (b) whether the Dr is likely to say it's not bad enough to worry about. I've bought an acnecide cream which we are going to try for a month and I've suggested we try the GP if that doesn't work.

I think some GPs understand and others think dc have to put up with it and “it will go”. My view is that if DC is unhappy and it can be cured then the GP should help. I think ours wanted to shift the cost of the drugs to me rather than use their budget. They refused to deal with a skin problem I had recently too. Just referred me on to a private consultant. Months ago now and I’ve heard nothing. The cost of holiday malaria tabs from our GP has been eye watering too.

My older son had bad comedonal acne from around 12. He had a variety of treatments prescribed by the GP, including creams, daily antibiotics and other medication. There can be conflicting advice, for example, our GP recommended daily scrubs for blackheads, the dermatologist didn't as she thought they were too harsh on the skin and could make it worse.

In the end, after a couple of years on the various treatment options, he was prescribed Roaccutane as his acne was starting to leave scars. We saw a dermatologist privately who recommended that but ended up being referred on the NHS. It wasn't something to be taken lightly, you need blood tests, he had very dry lips and a propensity to some epic nose bleeds. But it worked miracles for him, after 6 months or so, the acne was almost gone and it hasn't come back.

My youngest son has a similar problem but the GP has prescribed a cream which seems to be making some difference. I'd definitely recommend seeing your GP, and also to take photos of bad days, good days and before/after various treatments as it's helpful for the GP/specialist to review.

By seeing, I mean talking to your GP, not face to face (given current restrictions)!

I spent 18 months buying products for my DD age 13 - 14. She didn't have cystic acne but those raised bump type spots. I thought our products were keeping them at bay but they got worse last spring/summer. I had a phone consultation with a nurse prescriber, sent him some photos and he prescribed zineryt for 8 weeks as a first course of action. They cleared within a week. Fortunately they haven't come back, although she keeps up the good skin care routine.

Like @WirKindervomBahnhofZoo roaccutane is the only thing that worked for my 12 year old. However 4 months after finishing the course, acne came back.

Now we are back on oral antibiotics and differin and it isn’t working. In my experience real acne can only be cured by roaccutane