Acne

[Don'tcallthepolice]

So my 13 year old dd has bad acne. Face only. She started her periods a year ago and I have been waiting for it to settle. It hasn't and it's quite bad.

If I take her to the doctors what will the options be. I had hoped we could get by without resorting to medication. But then it's bad and I don't want her to loose confidence.

Thank you for any advice. 😀

I'm currently in the thick of this with my 14.5yr old DD, so happy to share what we've experienced so far.
First GP visit - I took her to the GP after we'd already tried 6 months of a careful skincare routine including using benzyl peroxide cream, (Acnecide), but had seen no improvement, (just mentioning this as your GP may ask you what you've already tried). As the Acnecide had not helped, DD was prescribed Duac cream, which is benzyl peroxide plus antibiotic. We were told to return if there was no improvement after 2 months.

Second GP visit - unfortunately the Duac did not work, so we returned after two months. DD was prescribed Lymecycline, which is an oral antibiotic. She has to take these for three months to allow them time to work. She has also resumed using the Acnecide, (having stopped whilst using the Duac). She is around six weeks in and there does seem to be some slight improvement, so fingers crossed.

As for the next steps if the Lymecycline doesn't work; our GP has mentioned trying the contraceptive pill. He doesn't think DD's skin is bad enough to warrant Roaccutane and I would be very reluctant to put her on that at the moment as her MH is not great and I'm nervous of the possible side effects.
Hope all that helps and good luck!

Thank you this is really helpful. Will you keep me updated as we will be a few months behind y. Let you know how we're getting on.

Didn't think she was that bothered but we're on holiday and just noticed how her skin care routine is taking over everything.

Sounds like my DD - she is really fussy about her routine and about trying masks etc. Will let you know how we get on. I had it myself so know exactly what she's going through - I've always felt that it's so deeply unfair that acne has to rear it's ugly head at the exact time they're already feeling insecure and confused.

Have a look at 'Thyme out ' face wash and spray. My DS has been using it for about a month and the difference has been amazing. It's been shown to be more effective than benzoyl peroxide.

Tackle now. See a derm.

I'm 41 and still have acne now. It's highly unlikely to "settle", even if it does improve after her teens

Have you tried Clearasil Ultra? I started using it when I was 21 due to terrible acne and it’s still the only thing that works for me. I use the scrub in the shower then the toner. I used to get lots of white head and lumpy cysts under the skin and this cleared it up a treat.

My DS had very bad acne and it really got him down. Acnecide did help a bit. However during the school holidays it would improve and I realised that it was related to school , him touching his face and him squeezing his spots and spreading them.

I got him to use the acnecide face wash with a fresh face cloth each time for both cleansing/removal and a clean one for drying. We used muslin cloths. If he squeezed a spot he smothered it in sudocreme. Ok they can't do this at school but if you can stop the ones that are caused by bacteria/spreading they have less spots.

His spots eventually pretty much cleared up but it took a very strict routine. It really is horrible for them :-(

He now uses bioderma sebium kerato+

What have you tried so far for her skin? Maybe her skincare just isn’t right for her, it makes a massive difference. At that age they have a tendency to use too many products when in reality consistently using 2 or 3 really good ones is far better. Once DD did that apart from hormonal breakouts once a month her skin has been clear

My DD15 had awful acne and it really affected her mood / self esteem etc
we went through all the shop bought acne products
no improvement
GP prescribed Difflam
Duac
no improvement

the regime that has worked is :
contraceptive pill, lymecycline, Cervase cleanser - clear skin !

We are in Australia so probably easier access to specialists privately but my now 15 year old DD ended up on roaccutane after trialling topicals and then doxycycline. The non accutane options seemed to work but then didn’t.

I was terrified about adverse mood side effects but as her skin improved so did her mood. It was miraculous - low dose to start with and took 5 months to work but when it did it was amazing. She has perfect skin now, no scarring at all.

don’t write it off, it’s generally lower dose (but for longer) and better tolerated. DD for terribly dry lips but no other side effects.

Could you try an LED face mask. It needs to have a red and blue light and be used everyday for 10 minutes. The blue light is antibacterial and the red will take down inflammation.
I've also used Zinerat on my daughter which worked well

If it's that bad the doctor might prescribe accutane. Best thing I ever used! Also acnecide face wash and spot treatment, just make sure to have a good moisturiser

@Don'tcallthepolice
Hi op just searching posts and this one came up, my dd is also just 13 so quite young for acne as it started when she was 11 and got worse over the last year since her periods started.

I just wondered how you got on with treatment in the end?

We've had various topicals, then 6 months of lymecycline and that stopped working, the only thing that's helped is Epiduo but that's on her face. Her acne on her body has got much worse recently, it's now extending down her upper arms, whole chest are and shoulders, her whole back and it's really getting her down. The dermatologist prescribed the stronger version topical called Epiduo Forte that's 0.3% retinoid, we're giving that a go on her body at the moment but they're tiny bottles and don't last long applying every night over such a widespread area, it takes ages, bleaches her pj tops as has benzoyl peroxide in as well, and it just feels like we've tried everything.

The dermatologist said she wouldn't prescribe things like the bcp or Spironolactone to a 13 year old because it could mess with her puberty process?? She basically said to put up with it for another 2 years til she was 15 and puberty was more advanced before she'd prescribe the hormonal type treatments. We're wondering about seeing another derm for a second opinion? We paid privately for the consultations as the GP said the NHS waiting times were so long. Dh isn't happy about getting a second opinion privately because of the cost, but we could take it out of our savings. It just seems so strange to say she has to put up with it for another couple of years? She actually seemed more keen on roaccutane than the bcp or Spironolactone! I had Dianette myself as a teen for acne and it was so helpful. I don't really want my 13 year old on the pill but what do other 13-14 year old girls do if their acne is that bad and nothing else has worked?

@Ivyy both my younger brother and I suffered badly from acne throughout teenhood (and as a young adult myself).

I tried all sorts as a teen - Erythromicin, lymecycline, spironolactone, topicals (clindamycin, differin, duac)... nothing worked for me until roaccutane. At that point I was in my early 20s so out of puberty and ready to try roaccutane.

The reason I point out my age is because roaccutane was super effective but came with lots of side effects which were easier for me to manage as a young adult. You HAVE to be on birth control, even if you are not sexually active (that was the rule at the time), your skin seriously dries up and you are super sensitive to the sun, my skin definitely got worse before it got better. At that point in my life I was confident to not wear makeup and not feel judged by people clearly looking at my spots/scabby skin. It can also give you mood swings/is linked to low moods which as we know can peak during puberty

After my trial and error, when my brother hit 16 and also had no luck, my mum was keen to pop him on Roaccutane and it worked a treat for him.

I think if she can wait a few more years I would encourage her to given the strength of Roaccutane and it's side effects. There is a high chance that after she goes through the main puberty changes it could clear up. If she is struggling with her appearance, there's an app called 'we are luna' I highly recommend for her to look at, there's lots of stuff on there around body positivity and teen skincare but also she can read what other teens are asking about acne etc to medics to see she isn't alone in her acne journey.

I still live by Cetaphil (the cleanser my dermatologist put me onto whilst on Roaccutane) - it was the only product that gave me relief but also stopped me from breaking out further.

On the bright side, my acne has mainly stayed at bay and never come back in full force, so it was definitely a one and done solution!