Suddenly got acne!

[AnnoyedAtEverything]

I’ll be 41 next week, I rarely get spots apart from one on my chin every now and again, but yesterday my face erupted in acne. I’ve never suffered with acne, ever, and it’s quite painful. The spots are on both of my cheeks and a few are on my lower jawline. My period is due tomorrow and I’m spotting today so I’m wondering if it’s hormonal and whether this is going to be every month from now on. My face is hideous and I don’t know what to do! I spoke to a pharmacist today who recommended antibiotics and aloe vera gel, I also bought acnecide cream which I’ve just put on. Has anyone experienced a sudden onset of adult acne and how on earth do you get rid of it?

It doesn’t matter if it’s hormonal or not the treatments the same.

I had this at 41 & had to take roaccutane in the end. Ring your dr tomorrow.

Did it hit you really suddenly? This all appeared over a few hours and I have never ever had a breakout like this before.

Yes, one day I had a very red sore spot. I didn’t seek help for 6 months and by then I was getting 5 or 6 new ones a night that woke me up in the night & made cleaning my face painful.

I had over 30 when I went and spot zero scarred which is still there now.

Did the doctor give you roaccutane straightaway or did you have to try any other treatments first? Has the roaccutane helped? This really is awful, I can’t believe how much the spots hurt.

No I did a month on lymecycline which I was too far gone for really but you have to try oral antibiotics before dermatology see you.

Not had a spot since.

How was it this morning?.

It’s a bit less painful but still looks dreadful.

When it’s painful it’s because it’s pressing on the nerves so it’s a deep infection and they can scar.

Hopefully you’ve contacted the dr?.

I did an e-consult on Sunday night and they got back to me today. I’ve been prescribed a topical antibiotic and retinoid (pharmacy didn’t have them in stock so I’m getting them tomorrow) and I’ll be having a FSH test to check my hormone levels too. The spots which originally came up are starting to dry out but just now some new ones have come up which are hot and slightly itchy.

Ask them how long to give each treatment before escalating to the next one.

You’ll need a decent sunblock with a retinoid, not expensive but one with 5 stars & not loaded with moisturiser. Mineral ones can be good because they aren’t oily.

Thanks for that, I hadn’t even thought about changing my sunblock. Have you got any brand recommendations? Also have you changed your makeup? I’m wondering whether to change my foundation

No, one brands much like another.

I wouldn’t bother changing foundation, hopefully you’ll be over it soon & it’s not like you’ve done anything wrong to get this, it’s just infection.

This happened to me a few months ago and was horrendous. Painful spots all over my face, back and chest. Doctor gave me antibiotics which I took for almost 5 months plus a cream. I've now stopped the antibiotics and continue to use the cream, touch wood it hasn't come back. It did take a while to go though.

Just wondering, have you used anything different on your face recently OP? Presumably you'd have thought of it if you had, but just asking the question. A few years ago when oil cleansing was all the rage, I did it successfully for a few months and then all of a sudden my whole face erupted. (There was also story kicking around a few years ago about an instagram influencer in Asia who went for a facial and had a horrific reaction, but that was pretty instantaneous, so assuming you'd have joined the dots if you'd done something similar!)