Suggestions? Acne Treatment for my son

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Donna_Mc

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My 15 year old son has had acne for the past two years and in
the last few months it has gotten worse. We did take him to the
doctor for this but the treatment he suggested would cost more
than we could afford (I can’t remember the exact cost now, but it
would be over $100.00 a month!).

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I have gotten him
some products in the past that had several steps in the treatment
and he had to do it twice a day which he didn’t always do, yet
the problem really upsets him. I noticed it got worse when school started back, he does get stressed out at times as he has always
suffered from school anxiety to some degree or another.

Thanks for any help you can offer! 🙂
 
I have not had this problem but I have foundd that for any otherr problem there is a natrual solution. Maybe the following links might help you. I have had a lot of help from articles by Dr. Mercola. Here is one from him on acne: articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2004/12/04/acne-solutions.aspx

No grains and sugars sounds hard, but it would be worthwhile to try it for a couple of weeks and see if there is a differnece, enough to encourage to keep trying it.

It seems to me I may have head of a conection with antibiotic use and acne. Because it cleans out the healthy bacteria. I could be wrong but it might be worth googling if your child has used these.

Also is an article that might be useful for alternative natural cures:

herbalremediesinfo.com/alternative-acne-treatments.html
 
Donna_Mc said:
My 15 year old son has had acne for the past two years and in
the last few months it has gotten worse. We did take him to the
doctor for this but the treatment he suggested would cost more
than we could afford (I can’t remember the exact cost now, but it
would be over $100.00 a month!).

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I have gotten him
some products in the past that had several steps in the treatment
and he had to do it twice a day which he didn’t always do, yet
the problem really upsets him. I noticed it got worse when school started back, he does get stressed out at times as he has always
suffered from school anxiety to some degree or another.

Thanks for any help you can offer! 🙂
Click to expand...
Goto acne.org. I’ve been using their treatment for years and it works great. I only use their “Treatment” product.
 
As a cleansing routine I would suggest a very mild soap like “Pears” from England if you can find it. Try Amazon if you local drugstore does not carry it. It is like the brown Neutrogena bar only milder.

Wet an old fashioned men’s boar bristle shaving brush (available at large drug stores) to get some lather from the bar (or liquid if you can find it) and gently scrub the entire face in circles. The brush may run up to $14 but it lasts a long while if rinsed and dried. You may find it comes with a stand for hanging it bristles side down for drying.

This method does not dry the skin out badly like many acne medicines and it cleans out the pores quite nicely. I’ve noticed many teen males and adult men who have visibly dirty pores, especially on and around the nose/T-zone. They just want to jump in the shower and rinse their face and expect to get the skin clean. While a man may not want to use a facial scrub sponge or exfoliater scrub and a lot of products, he probably won’t mind a man’s shaving brush and what looks like a bar of regular (unscented) soap.

There are lots of facial products packaged for men in recent years, so you should be able to find a light moisterizer that is oil-free and has sunscreen for him to apply after washing his face.
 
I swear by Purpose facewash.

You can buy it at the grocery store or any drugstore for $7-$8, and it will last about a month if he washes twice a day.

I’ve been using it since I was 15, and you couldn’t pay me to switch 👍
 
Different things are going to work for different people. Acne can be caused by many different things, so each person will have to go through a couple different products before they find one that works.

I use Murad’s acne line myself. I like it because it is a complete treatment that isn’t harsh on my skin. It has a wash, a toner, a spot-treatment, and a gentle lotion.

murad.com/acne-products.html

Tell your son that I know what he feels like, I’ve had acne since I was at least 12 years old, and now I’m 19, and it’s only starting to kind of clear up, thanks to the Murad treatment. At least, as a female, I can wear a bit of make-up to cover it up!
 
Does he drink enough water? That can be a big help for keeping the pores clean. Make sure he’s hydrated, and make sure he’s not touching his face a lot.
 
I didn’t think Proactiv would work, but it did. I had acne for years, tried all kinds of meds and used Accutane briefly in my mid 20s. Acne came back and I got Proactiv - results impressed me and my family. I don’t recall offhand how much I pay, but I doubt it’s more than $50/month if that. I hope he finds something that works.
 
My teenage brother has acne (well you can’t tell he does now because of his prescription face-wash, although it took a few months to work.) A “one month supply” is a bottle, but it takes him around 5-7 months to go through a bottle as he only uses a small amount of the face-wash, and he leaves it on for 5-10 minutes before washing it off, which the dermatologist said is ok to do.

I had mild acne as a teenager and it would take me 1 year to go through a whole bottle; which was supposed to be a “one month supply” as well. I only used the smallest amount and it worked fine for me.
 
  1. Plenty of Water
  2. Good diet
  3. Proper sleep routine
  4. Get away from stressful activities
 
Thank you everyone very much for your suggestions! 🙂
Part of the problem is that he touches his face a lot without
realizing he is doing it. I really appreciate your feedback!
 
I only had mild acne as a teenager and found that washing my face twice daily with soap and water followed by a good wipe down with rubbing alcohol did wonders. Stung a bit, but the alcohol removes oils very effectively (dries out the skin). Any pimples that started to come up would not last long nor would they get big.

A bottle of 70% rubbing alcohol costs about $1 and lasts several months. I still use it after I shave.

Peace

Tim
 
I’ve always had really bad acne. The cystic kind. All over. I’m in my thirties now and I swear it’s worse than when I was a teenager. My skin didn’t care for tea tree oil or salicylic acid. I take spironolactone for my skin and that helps, but I don’t know if your son could take that- it’s a prescription, and it may have undesirable side effects for a boy. I really don’t know for sure and most docs aren’t aware of it because it’s not considered an acne treatment, so most doctors look at me like “what?” when I tell them I take it for acne. Just check with a good dermatologist. The medication- I don’t think it’s that expensive.
Also, the biggest thing for me, and I’ve found I really don’t need the meds if I’m well behaved- is dietary. I SWEAR dairy and wheat give me acne. I know it’s hard, but I’ve had other health benefits from eliminating the stuff (esp. dairy). Now that I don’t eat them really anymore, so it’s very obvious if I do. My husband even agrees. As far as skin care products- I love glycolic acid face products. You can try a brand called Aquaglycolic or eDerma (or is it DermaE?). Very good. They are a more pricey than oxy-type stuff, but you only need a small amount, so it lasts a long time. I go through about three or four bottles a year or so. Everybody’s different. And then I use plain old 10% benzoyl peroxide cream everyday on the area where I break out the worst. It’ll bleach your clothes- so face only!
Hope this helps. It has made me not afraid to go out the door!🙂
 
Donna_Mc said:
My 15 year old son has had acne for the past two years and in
the last few months it has gotten worse. We did take him to the
doctor for this but the treatment he suggested would cost more
than we could afford (I can’t remember the exact cost now, but it
would be over $100.00 a month!).

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I have gotten him
some products in the past that had several steps in the treatment
and he had to do it twice a day which he didn’t always do, yet
the problem really upsets him. I noticed it got worse when school started back, he does get stressed out at times as he has always
suffered from school anxiety to some degree or another.

Thanks for any help you can offer! 🙂
Click to expand...
Good hygiene, a healthy diet packed full of fresh fruit and vegetables, and plenty of physical exercise.

Remember, that acne is often genetic, and most people grow out of it, so if its not at the point where he is in severe pain from cysts, he might be better off not putting chemical junk all over his face.

God Bless,
 
Magicsilence said:
Good hygiene, a healthy diet packed full of fresh fruit and vegetables, and plenty of physical exercise.

Remember, that acne is often genetic, and most people grow out of it, so if its not at the point where he is in severe pain from cysts, he might be better off not putting chemical junk all over his face.

God Bless,
Click to expand...
My 15 year old showers daily, washes his face twice a day besides the shower, runs 5-7 miles a day, and eats the healthiest of us all (to keep his body in shape for running). He drinks a ton of water daily. He has acne.

What he has found that works is the Proactive copycat available at Sam’s Club for about 1/2 the price. We can both tell when he does not use that. It is amazing to see the difference.

My 13 year old has really bad acne. He also uses the Sam’s club stuff ‘when he remembers’. When he forgets, I can tell immediately. Again, it is amazing to see the difference. He also suffers horribly from black heads, so he removes those periodically with a tool his doctor gave him for that purpose (it’s a silver stick with a hole at one end that can be sterilized). Otherwise, we find those black heads get infected and turn quite painful. I find it amazing what he can remove with that thing. :eek: So he does that about once a week, remembers to apply the solutions for a few days, sees great results, and then ‘forgets’, and we start the process all over again…:rolleyes:
 
Have you researched a generic brand? There are a variety of RX’s out now and their cost varies greatly. Maybe your physician used a brand name only. Consider talking to a pharmacist about less $ Rx’s. Take your research to your physician. Our son was prescribed Accutane 12 yrs ago and it was so very expensive on our Blue Cross plan, hundreds $ a mo. We switched plans and was able to get it @ $15 mo. Also, consider that many pharmacuticals have programs for patients who cannot afford the full price. My heart goes out to people w/ this difficult condition of acne.
 
I would go back to the doctor and see if he can recommend a less expensive option.

Severe acne (as opposed to a few pimples) is a medical condition, which really should be treated,especially if it is stressing your son out… poor guy.

I don’t know what your finances are like…but is there no way you could scrape together a bit extra (if you son got a part time job or something?).

But I’d try the doctor/dermatoligist one more time.
 
I know this is not much of a suggestion, but plenty of sunlight and salt water did wonders for me when I was a young man. I didn’t live near the sea, but after spending a couple of days on the beach once in Mississippi, I realized what it did and started washing my face at length with lightly saline water every day (you can tell how long. Your skin softens and the oil starts sort of congealing on the surface of the skin.) and got out in the sun a LOT. It really did work.
 
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