Teenage acne, help!!

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  • MariePowell
    Participant

         Hope everyone is having a great year so far!  This is not a homeschool question, so forgive me if this is not appropriate.  You all are so helpful so I couldn’t help for askingSmile  Just wondering, has anyone used Proactve or used it for their teens?   In the last few months, my poor son has developed horrid acne, and the remedies that worked when I was a teen don’t touch this.  In fact, he tried some otc cream last night that actually burned his skin.  Our family doctor said to try this product, as well as a course of antibiotics (tetracycline).  If this does’t work, what else is there?  It seems I have heard of other drugs, but I also heard they can have potentially serious side effects.  I am hoping this Proactive is worth the cost ( a bit high, but will be worth it if really works).  Any testimonials pro or con? Marie

    MelissaB
    Participant

    We’re had pretty good success with Proactiv in our home. Acne just stinks as I still have to deal with it at 38 and it makes me cranky! It’s just those crazy hormones and it’s just a self-confidence buster. I hope this works for him. It is a few steps and for a boy that might be irritating because of the cleanser, toner, lotion, and mask (the mask works wonders in my opinion). I used to order it from QVC as that was the best value, so check there. Hope it works for him and quickly.

    2flowerboys
    Participant

    Do not use Accutane!! I used this in my 20’s and it has a lot of side effects. You have to sign your life away as well…saying you know the potential risks! I was young and wanted to clear up cystic acne! It did help though. I tried tetracycline, some hormone birth control pill, and Retina A without help!

    If I knew what I know now about natural ways, I would have chosen a different route! My Nutritional Healing book says 1. Probiotics 2. Coloidal Silver

    3. Essential Fatty Acids..such as Flaxseed Oil

    4. Potassium Deficiency can cause acne 5. Vitamin A, B complex, Vitamin C, Vitamin D, and Zinc

    Lavender can kill germs and stimulate cell growth used as a steam facial or applied directly to blemishes

    Tea Tree Oil

    Eat a high fiber diet

    Increase intake of raw foods including veggies and others such as almonds, beets, cashews

    Eat lots of fruits ones that are rich in Alpha-Hydroxy Acids Grapes,Strawberries, and Pineapple

    Drink lots of water

    Avoid Sugar

    HTH! I really feel for your son! My acne was so bad it left scars! 🙁

    HSMom03
    Participant

    I still deal with acne at 31!  It started when I was 12 and it does not make me happy to think that I have been putting up with this for almost 20 years (with no sign of it slowing down).  I agree that it is just those crazy hormones.  I was using erythromycin topical gel last year that was working pretty well.  I’ve never tried Proactive but you two are making me want to.  I wonder if the Equate brand from Wal-mart works just as well?  It is a lot cheaper and is supposed to be the same stuff I think.  Maybe I’m wrong.  http://www.walmart.com/ip/Equate-Acne-Treatment-System/19758058  Also, I read a great book called The Clear Skin Diet that may be worth looking into.  I haven’t implemented it yet, but it was very good.  Highly recommend (I need to get on that!).  http://www.amazon.com/Clear-Skin-Diet-Alan-Logan/dp/1581825749/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1380068669&sr=8-1&keywords=the+clear+skin+diet.

    HSMom03
    Participant

    2flowerboys – I was too scared to use Accutane!  Glad I didn’t 🙂

    MariePowell
    Participant

           Thank you for the answers and suggestions!  2flowerboys, did you see results with the tetracycline?  The Accutane must be the one I remember hearing negtive things about; the pharmacyst did not mention any waivers for this.  I also wonder about the Wal-mart brand. Some generics may not be as good they say, but if it’s the same exact formula I don’t see why not.  Well, we will give this a try and let you know.  My son is 14 and yes, the hormones are raging (see my previous post on disrespect ha!)  I just hate this for him; he already has some issues that may make him seem “different” to others. He sure didn’t need anything else to cause his self-esteem to sufferFrown

    2flowerboys
    Participant

    Did not see any results w/ tetracycline. And the waiver is signed at the dermatologist’s office. I also had to do monthly bloodwork. You have to keep your fats in check, triglycerides and cholesterol. I had to stay away from certain foods. And I don’t even know why, nor did I ask..how dumb and gullible we are when we are young! 🙂 Or at least I was! I also had to prove I was not going to get pregnant, even if you say you are not “active” You have to sign the paper saying you know what the medicine will do to an unborn child. They even showed me pictures of what could happen! Of course, that would not be the case for a man!

    I have often wondered over the years if some of my health problems were due to Accutane. I have read numerous issues w/ the stuff! Sad that it was even approved to use!

    I am 44 and still have problems w/ acne. I absolutely hate it! I know mine is caused by hormones and health issues!

    rejoicevermore13
    Participant

    ok, this is a topic close to my heart…. so I may come across a bit passionate, but please do listen to my experiences with this very painful subject…..

    i would NEVER NEVER NEVER recommend tetracylince or any other longterm antibiotic for something like acne. NEVER. (and yes, Accutane is the “worse”one, and yes, I personally know a young man who committed suicide while on Accutane nearly 10 years ago, a nice Christian young man…homeschooled too for what its worth…but that is not why I am writing)

    my personal experience: I struggled with acne from about age 9 to age 21. Getting very very worse in the late teenage years. I ate a typical American diet. Around age 19/20 I was so so sick of the very serious acne. It was VERY serious. I had horrible selfesteem, and it was just an awful feeling….so, I saw a dermatologist and got put on tetracycline (thank God my mother had heard the rumors about Accutane and forbade me from taking that!) I was on tetra. From January to may –nearly 5 months straight. Ended up with my first ever yeast infection. Serious vaginal painful yeast infection. And my periods, which til that part were normal, regular etc. STOPPED. Completely. (it would be more than 2 years later that they would return after some very serious nutritional healing on my part.) but anyway, the tetra. Did next to nothing for my acne. Really, not much of anything. But mess up my insides completely. This stuff kills all bacteria. It is in NO way good for any person to be taking for months. You will have side effects with longterm use, not to mention that your body may not respond to antibiotics in the same way if you ever REALLy do need them. So at that point, my face was no better, my periods became nonexistent (which is really not healthy for a young woman—and I was a bit scared I would never be able to have children, which was my dream!) now, for some people, tetra. Does seem to work on the acne, but is it worth it?

    Now, how did I make my acne disappear for good? …well, when my periods stopped and the yeast infection was so bad I got scared…did some research, read about how awful antibiotics are for longterm use, had some information shared with me from a friend who cured her acne with a sugar free diet…so I did more research and decided to go the nutritional route.

    After 3 weeks of a no sugar diet, my acne was gone. Completely. That was the only change I made at that point. Clear faced for the first time in my life I could remember was one of the most amazing times of my life. (not too mention all of a sudden the bit of weight I had started putting on simply disappeared.) I was 20 at this point. (by no sugar diet, I mean I age no sugars at all except fruit for that healing time period. No processed sugar almost ever after that point, and definitely NO artificial sweeteners, but no honey or anything for the initial healing period. Slowly I was able to go back to some sugar….but I never have been able to tolerate much since then, nor would I want to after all I have learned about sugar’s effects on the body)

    From this experience I was FASCINATED by the ability of the body to heal by food/nutrition. I have continued to study nutrition/natural healing/alternative medicine since….

    Now, at 20 my face was clear!! Rejoicing rejoicing! ….shortly thereafter (maybe 1 year?) I started to break out a bit again. Nothing compared to what it was, but a bit….soon after I discovered I was severely intolerant of gluten. I went off gluten….face cleared up again.

    Since that point nearly 10 years ago, my face has been clear. Through pregnancy, stress, and crazy hormonal times. Clear.

    Do with this information what you will, but please, please consider looking at completely free and natural ways to cure acne before considering the antibiotic route. I would love for your son to know the joy of not having that acne. And to not experience the ill effects tetrac. Use could cause.

    as for some other things others I know have found helpful, bentonite clay taken both internally and externally as a face mask has been very helpful for some….

    Also cutting out other foods that may cause reactions (even my 4year old daughter gets breakouts on her face from sweet corn and milk, but totally clear without those two foods) ~we have really bad skin in our family if we don’t eat right

    Acne is a sign of something wrong/off balance internally. It is much better to fix what is wrong inside than to just do something topical.

    So I know I have rambled on and on, but I just want you to be aware of what can happen with antibiotics especially. I sure wish I knew what I was getting into when is started, but “everyone” did it, so it must be safe….right?

    Btw, for what its worth, both my sister and I tried proactive. Basically expensive and did next to nothing for us at ages 18 and 16.

    rejoicevermore13
    Participant

    oh, and i should mention, i do still have some scars from that horrid acne, that only recently i have been using magnesium oil salve on….with decent results, though i am not very consistent. the amazing things is, these scars are from over 10 years ago, and they are slowly, slowly getting a bit better:) i think, at least, really it is hard to tell yet:) ….my more recent pregnancy stretch marks have responded amazingly and quite noticeably by lightening quite a bit. this was an inadvertant discovery because i simply wanted the magnesium to be absorbed by my body and applied it to my stomach and wiped the excess off on my chin area…and, well, cool unlooked for results:)

    Angelina
    Participant

    rejoiceevermore13, thanks for sharing with us. My children are not at the teenage years yet, but I worry that this will hit us at some point. I have heard that one’s tendency (or shall we say, susceptibility) to acne, is at least partially genetic. So given that I had mild acne as a teen (sometimes I might have called it moderate) that lasted sporadically until age 30, I worry that my children will face this. Would love to implement diet habits now so that we might not have a major problem in a few years. I believe our diet at present is pretty low in sugar, but I worry about what might be “hiding”…

    All this said – what, in your opinion (and others) are the products where added sugar is not obvious? It is obvious to me that candy, cookies, cakes and pies have a lot of sugar. Sugary cereals, of course. Soda pop, and other sweet drinks – very obvious to me these are sugar filled – and we don’t have any of this in our home. I know that sugar is added to processed sauces, marinades and salad dressings. But what are some of the biggies that might not be as obvious to stay away from? Is there sugar in bread and pasta? On cereal, we eat only oatmeal and bran flakes.

    Is it as simple as reading the label for the line item that says “sugar” ?

    jotawatt
    Participant

    Rejoicevermore, I was reading this thread and thinking about my older sister, who had severe acne even as an adult. When she was in her mid-30’s she became very ill with what was later diagnosed as celiac disease.  After going off of gluten, her acne cleared up.  My acne was never quite as bad as hers, but it too persisted until well into my 30’s.  One day I realized it was pretty much gone, and figured I’d finally hit the magic age…it occurred to me later that it coincided with my going off of gluten as well (I’ve not been diagnosed with celiac, but I have a rash caused by gluten so I have to avoid it). 

    cdm2kk
    Participant

    Husband had it used everything, unfortunately, but what worked best for him, was changing soap to a glycerin soap and Tea Tree Oil. 

     

    Best of luck!! HTH

    Jenni
    Participant

    What incredible info! Great question, great answers. We are all experts in something and I’m so happy to have this forum where I can learn so much from you guys. 🙂

    hsmom22
    Participant

    Fascinating thread, thank you all for sharing! What helpful information!

    rejoicevermore13
    Participant

    Angelina, sugar is hidden just about everywhere:) i am not so up to date on where to look at the moment because i have to be SO strict with gluten, that naturally i dont eat a processed diet at all, and thus avoid most processed sugar. but i do make a point to not buy anything at all that has added processed sugar (or artificial sweeteners, those are just as bad if not worse). i will make my own or skip it. when i was first healing from acne, the initial first couple months, i didnt worry about natural sugars (ie in fruit/vegetables etc.), i just didnt buy anything that contained sugar or corn syrup or even honey or maltodextrin or any of many other names for sugar. basically that meant next to nothing processed. if you do a google search for hidden names/sources of sugar i am sure you could find a much better answer than i could give you. pasta does not usually contain sugar, bread, yes though there are some brands you can buy with out it.

    and yes, i think skin issues are very genetic based on my family history (and often are a sign of more serious issues if not dealt with properly…like celiac among others) they are not just uncomfortable and unsightly but a sign something in your body is just not working quite right.

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