13 year old spots a tried and tested advice

[Hellsbellsy]

My 13 year old has had bad spots now for a year or so and only getting worse.

We have tried various creams otc and face washes with no improvement.

We have a dr appointment but have to wait 3 weeks and it's really getting him down.

I've researched lots of posts on here, and it's seems these have been recommended .

• zinc supplements
• carbon theory charcoal
•tea tree soap
•Dead Sea the miraculous source soap

Then prescribed Duac or Differin.

ive attached a photo and am so wary of fake reviews and paid adverts on other sites, so would be so grateful for any advice here.

Glad to be of service @minipie… that tip is courtesy of my now-retired GP who told me about using them 27 years ago.

When pimple patches first went mainstream a few years ago and products like Star Face came onto the market, I was keen to try them… until I realised that they’re just hydrocolloid plasters under a different badge and I had already been using them for years.

I recommend these from Amazon. You get 40 pieces in various sizes for a tenner, as opposed to something like Dots for Spots that come in at £7 for 24 smaller hydrocolloid plasters. Or if you really are using loads of them you can get ten of these big buggers for £11 and cut them down, or a 5m roll of the stuff for £15. I have experience of all the various versions of these hydrocolloid platers for spots and they all do a good job.

You could look at an LED mask. Blue and red light are good for acne and redness. It’s non invasive but quite costly (although lasts for years ). I’ve struggled with acne all my life. Dianette and Yasmin contraceptive pills were fantastic. Too old for those now so I take Spironolactone. I have also used Duac on and off which has been great.
There are also laser treatments which are great but again, costly.

My DGD's skin was like this and her GP prescribed antibiotics, sorry I don't know which ones. She has to take them for a few weeks but her skin has cleared really well.

I agree and use a clean face flannel ,not just splashing water on the face.

Dd tried all the various face washes, creams etc. Duac was prescribed but didn’t work. She now uses simple facewash and has differin gel. The difference was incredible and we are no longer spending a fortune on lotions and potions! ( and no more bleached bedding and towels! )

Sorry I’ve only just seen this. I find the acnecide tends to kick in after a few days. He pairs this with clean and clear that he uses as like a cleanser. He is uses both morning and night. I’ve also heard the acnecide gel is even better.

Even cheaper is to buy a whole role of hydrocolliod from Amazon !! Just cut to size !

Thanks everyone, all very interesting and lots to think about
one person mentioned it above, and I’ve very wary due to their aggressive advertising, but has anyone actually tried Norse Organics with success? A very different approach and I’m sceptical!

Haven’t tried Norse -
we tried 47 skin - rubbish ! Got loads worse -
you right, it is so varied as to what skin responds to - I’d recommend getting a proper dermatologist to look
we were under GP for around 4 years - eventually saw a dermatologist private who said what had been prescribed was not working and should have seen a dermatologist much sooner to minimise scarring -

Ageee that the Acnecide gel is good and easy to buy where it doesn’t require a prescription. Bleaches pillow cases and towels because of the benzoyl peroxide as pp have mentioned, the face wash version does too if not rinsed off properly! We found the wash wasn’t strong enough for dd.

Just to add the gel can cause some irritation at first like dryness and redness, so start with very small amounts and build up gradually. We were told to use a mild salicylic acid face wash like the Cerave and Cetaphil anti blemish ones, though Boots and Superdrug do their own similar versions that are much cheaper. Acnecide wasn’t enough on it’s own for my dd though so the GP prescribed Differin which is Adapalene, a retinoid. That helped, but what helped the most for her face was Epiduo, it’s a combination of both Adapalene and benzoyl peroxide which is in Acnecide. It’s pretty strong though so the skin needs to get used to it and we were told to build up the amount very gradually over several weeks. It can be very drying and irritating if you use too much too soon. Letting it dry for a few minutes then a light moisturiser afterwards helps. Not one with actives in though, we were told not to put actives on top of actives so just a plain moisturiser.

We were referred to dermatology in the end as although Epiduo kept dd’s face pretty clear, she has hormonal acne which was really bad and painful on her back shoulders and chest. Antibiotics for 6 months only helped a bit, we tried all the different topicals, spironolactone helped but caused a period every 2 weeks, and the dermatologist said the only options left were the pill Dianette or Accutane. We went for Dianette and although it’s really helped it’s caused dd to experience very low mood and anxiety, so we’re now thinking of stopping it. Having done a lot of research on Accutane it’s not appropriate for dd for various reasons, so I’m looking into other options that unfortunately aren’t available on the NHS in our area, so we’d have to fund privately.

Op if the acne isn’t widespread and effecting his body, then I’d be confident that prescription topicals will be enough for your ds.

@searchforthesuncan I ask if you had any side effects with Dianette? It cleared my hormonal acne as a teen with only sore boobs as a side effect, so I hoped it would be the same for dd. The acne on her body is the issue, 6 months of antibiotics and various topicals weren’t helping much so the GP referred her to dermatology. She started Dianette a few months ago but unfortunately it’s caused her to have very low mood and anxiety, she says she feels all over the place emotionally and is constantly tearful which she never was before, it’s been a very obvious change in her since starting Dianette.

Did you have any side effects with Yasmin? I’m wondering if we should take a break from the Dianette then try Yasmin

@Screamingabdabzdid your dd’s experience any mood changes with Yasmin? Dd has been on Dianette for her body acne for a few months and it’s caused very low mood and she’s constantly tearful and emotional. We were given the option of trying Yasmin, but at the time I thought Dianette would be better. It’s really helped her acne but the low mood has been a horrible side effect.

My son uses acnecide gel and it works brilliantly. He also uses Nuetrogena face wash but this has now been discontinued and the salicylic acid one affected his skin.

We went to the GP to see what he could prescribe but he wouldn't prescribe anything until he had tried acnecide and it has made a huge difference so highly reccommend.

I had terrible acne as a teenager. Much much worse than this. I know the spots are upsetting and sort of shock when you’re used to your sweet kid with perfectly clear skin, but this isn’t severe acne of the kind that will leave scarring. Do try the benzoyl peroxide wash or the cream OTC. The Roche-Posay Effaclar range is also good. Or, for me as an adult (with mild acne) the best non-prescription option is an acidic toner applied frequently — the CosRX AHA/BHA one is good.

Unless the spots get bigger and deeper, ie more likely to leave scarring (which I think you need to treat much more aggressively), I would be cautious about trying oral medications. I took antibiotics of various kinds daily between 14 and 17. They didn’t work and gave me lifelong gut and immune problems. Then I took Roaccutane which cleared the spots completely but coincided (who knows if it was the cause) with the emergence of recurrent depression.

In retrospect, the best prescription topical medication I used was Zineryt. Topical isotretinoin and adapalene caused a huge amount of peeling and skin irritation and not that much improvement.

I would avoid sunscreen in the current weather and make sure your teen gets plenty of fresh air. A vitamin A supplement can also be helpful.

Two of my daughters both use Epiduo lotion prescribed by the GP and it’s been really effective for them, although it took between 2 and 3 months to see the effects with my eldest. It can also be really drying at first so best to use it a couple of times a week to begin with then build up to every night. It makes the skin more susceptible to sunlight so they also need to wear sunscreen on their face daily. The advantage to epiduo is if it works, it can be used indefinitely.

Witch hazel. Not skincare products with witch hazel in them, actual distilled witch hazel which is cheap as chips from the chemist, applied with cotton wool after washing face. My grandmother used to put it on our faces when we were teenagers to clear up spots.

My DH had terrible acne as a teenager which continued into adulthood and was prescribed various things for it. He’d suffered with it for over a decade. Witch hazel sorted it out in days, and it never came back. Of course, I know everyone is different, but it could be worth a try as it’s extremely cheap and quite gentle.