Anyone got any ideas how my 13yo gets rid of spots??

[LostinLondon]

My 13yo son has suddenly developed bad spots around his nose which just never seem to go away. He's washing his face twice a day, has tried anti-bac face washes and spot creams but nothing seems to work. I feel desperate for him because he's a lovely lad and this is beginning to affect his self-confidence at such an early age. I know it's probably hormones but anyone got any ideas how we can control these spots and make my son's life a bit happier?

After a year of trying a good routine using over the counter remedies, we made no progress with my DS (15) and he is getting spots on his back and chest now.

My GP has given him oxytetracycline tablets to take for a month, maybe two and a week later, we are already noticing an improvement. Not my ideal solution but as you say, it affects self esteem and my DS also has braces at the moment so it's all a bit much for him.

Ditto re the braces. And he's probably going to have to start wearing glasses in class soon too! He's so gorgeous but teenage life is really conspiring against him at the moment!
I will take him to GP as a last resort as I don't see why he should have to put up with bad skin if he doesn't need to. But as he's still only 13, I was hoping we could try something less full on than medication - but thanks for the tip.

Avon do a face scrub for spots, my daughter has been using it for a few months now and it has worked wonders, it's in a grey bottle so not too girls either!!

Think it called Avon professional scrub

The topical antibiotic Zynerit worked wonders for my 13 year old dds skin. Really good. They have to put it on once a day (it smells horrible). Cleared hers in 3 weeks, 6 weeks after we stopped using it she still only has a couple of tiny ones. Also, using a moisturiser in the morning seems to have helped too, I think when skin is too dry it can really inflame the skin. Change pillowcases/towels daily also!!

Is Zynerit an over the counter cream or do I have to get it from a GP?
Thanks for tips everyone.

From a gp, but I didn't take dd in, I just asked him for it when I was there for something else. He was fine about prescribing it.

He said it was important to try and avoid spots if you can because of scarring, so was happy to prescribe.

OK Thanks. I'm going to my GP next week so I'll ask about it.

See your GP LostinLondon.

They will probably start by offering him Panoxyl wash before wheeling out the big guns.

You could ask for Zynerit - it's prescription only as far as I know. It may make things better initially but not clear it completely, in which case you may want to think about adding in some low-grade long-term antibiotics too. Sometimes it takes a combination of things and you will only find out through trial and error what works for your DS.

My DD found that a combination of Zynerit, the pill (obviously not an option for your DS) and the antibiotics worked for her. We're a few years down the line now and she was able to drop the antibiotics a while ago. She is still on the pill (for contraceptive reasons as well as her skin) but she's sticking with the Zynerit on a long-term basis. Her skin has been mostly flawless for ages now but it's obviously all still going on in the background because if we've ever let her Zineryt run out, she gets spots and she also gets spots in the pill-free week every month.

Don't let him suffer though - there is so much the GP can do.

A hard one but try and discourage him touching his face too much. And yes to moisturise.

I also found using soap (something like pears or dove which isn't drying) mixed with a face scrub every day used to keep my skim very clear (I have oily skin). I used to use the body shop clay face scrub, pop on face at start of shower then gently scrub using wet hands lathered with said soap.

Def think he touches his face too much which I'm sure doesn't help. But thanks for all the advice. Think a visit to the GP is best option. x

Believe it or not, my DD has had the best results with good old Sudocreme.

I still suffer with my skin now, I have done since I was about 14.. One thing I find amazing, better than creams doctors have provided is sudocrem apply a thin layer before bed for a few nights or every night and you should see a good improvement, I'm training as a beauty therapist and have heard so many people swear by sudocream for spots! X

We only discovered Sudocreme by accident when one morning my daughter had had a bit of an outbreak and it was all we could find in the house!

Quinoderm

Agree about sudocreme. It is dd(16) and her friends spot treatment of choice!

Amazing, isn't it, you can buy a little 'travel size' (i.e. pocket size) pot of Sudocreme for under a quid that seems to last forever.

Most of the products marketed at teens are really expensive.

Seriously, nothing that you can buy over the counter will work (sorry Sudocreme lovers!) if he has acne. Sudocreme is just an antiseptic and it is very drying, so yes, would possibly work at shrinking an existing spot, but it won't prevent new spots forming. Panoxyl is incredibly drying although benzoyl peroxide is probably the best over the counter remedy you can buy.

Try l'Occitane rice foaming cleanser and toner. I bought some last year for dd13 and it cleared up any spots immediately. Noticed in the last couple of months her face was breaking out again although she was still using the same stuff (it had lasted a year). Bought her some more and within a week her face is clear again. The kids at school have noticed and one male friend used some on his huge spot (she decanted some for him after he asked her what she had started to use) and after 3 days it had completely gone! Not cheap but if it lasts for 9 months at full strength the it has to be worth it. Dd is so happy again.

DS1 has acne, mainly on his back, all over it. Sudocreme helped in the early stages but is hopeless now. We tried zineryt but it's very hard to apply to such a large area and we are now back to benzoyl peroxide but it's not doing much good.
Agree with obladi that moisturisers/ cleansers are no use for proper acne. I had hoped to avoid oral meds but we are getting nowhere.

I would definitely agree that if there are signs of or worries about acne - get a GP involved asap.

Liz Earle is good too, you can get trial packs to try out without shelling out too much.

Take a look at acne.org It's an American site but the products can be found in the UK or online. Basically the method encourages gentle treatment of the skin, use of gentle cleansers, use of benzoyl peroxide 2.5% (no higher to prevent over-irritation) strength topical anti-acne gel or cream, non-comedogenic moisturiser.

Better for slight to moderate acne. Roaccutane is just about the only treatment that can handle serious acne afaik.

You could try using tea tree oil on spots.
A drop on a cotton bud or cotton wool ball, not dab on with finger as fingers have oils on no matter how much we wash hands.
My dd 16yrs old says it works.
Tea tree oil has many uses in our household, from using in the nappy pail to added in shampoo as deterrent for nits.

We find benzoyl peroxide wipes followed by a little jojoba oil works well. The oil makes your face shiny so don't do it right before leaving.