Taking a teen with acne to dermatologist?

[2Eskiedogs]

My DS(16) has terrible acne. Our family doctor had prescribed benzaclyn(sp?) and tetracycline, both of which he took for 3 months. It hasn't done a thing for him. He will not prescribe accutane(sp?) We've tried over the counter Neutragena and AcneFree neither of them have cleared up his skin. I called the clinic for getting an appointment with a dermatologist and the next appointment that I can get him in is 2 months out. While we are waiting for his appointment, I thought I could have him try proactive. Anyone not have proactive work for bad acne? I think you can return it if you are not happy with it. The only time his skin is clear is in the summertime when he is in the swimming pool.

Does the dermatologist recommend products, or are they usually all prescription? I've asked around and it seems most of his friends have had luck with over the counter products. I'm just curious how this would work.
Thanks.

 

[clh2]

My DD has been struggling with mild acne for a couple of years. Her ped recommended a cream, which didn't work, and then a different cream, which didn't work either. One was Duac, and I simply do not recall the name of the other.

Those didn't really work, so we went to the derm. Derm recommended the pill, which DD has been on for about 4 or 5 months now. It is working very nicely for her.

The Duac and the other cream that we tried were VERY expensive...in the range of $150 per tube, which lasted my DD about 40 days. We have a high deductible insurance, so these prescriptions were out of pocket. In comparison, the pill is less than $7 per month. (If you do get prescribed a cream, see if the doc can load you up with samples hate to be cheap, but we got about 1 months worth of sample-sized products.)

I was glad the DD's derm did not want to try the accutane (originally that is what DD wanted) due to the side effects. I've heard people on accutane can have some pretty harsh mood swings...I've got a 15 YO teen girl, I do not need artificial drama on top of the regular drama

Before we went to the derm - we spent TONS of money on OTC products, but did not try proactive. I wish we would not have wasted a dime on any OTC, and went directly to the derm. Keep calling your derm's office. Maybe they will get a cancellation!

 

[RunningGirl]

For my DD, her dermatologist both recommends OTC products and gives her prescriptions. She's very good about trying to keep our costs down while finding effective treatments.

Before taking DD to the derm, we tried ProActiv. It worked to a point, but she hit a plateau. The derm said that happens frequently, but said that if DD liked that facewash and wanted to continue to use it that would be fine.

I would steer clear of Accutane. Our derm put DD on Soladyne for a few months which made a huge difference.

 

[Green Tea]

The derm will maybe add Retin-A and a prescription antibiotic gel to control breakouts. Definitely worth going.

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

Does the dermatologist recommend products, or are they usually all prescription? I've asked around and it seems most of his friends have had luck with over the counter products. I'm just curious how this would work.
Thanks.

When I went to the dermatologist (a few years ago I was 17...I'm a youngin') I was prescribed a paste like stuff(I'm sorry I can't remember the name, but it came in a small tub and smelled like wintergreen) and an oral antibiotic. He also recommended using Panoxyl(SP?) bars available in drug stores and Neutrogina Healthy Skin lotion to fade scars. It worked really well for my skin then.

As I got older I pretty much grew out it, but once I got preggo and had my twins my skin has gone haywire again. The products I have had the best luck with now are Proactive and a facial skin care line I bought a Pure Romance Party!

 

[Pixiedust34]

My ds started getting severe acne at 11 and he's been seeing a dermatologist for it since then. His acne is severe enough that OTC treatments do not work and the doctor gives him medication. Even with the meds, he still has break outs sometimes.

For a while, my ds used the Duac cream already mentioned. It was expensive, and eventually it no longer worked on him so we had to switch meds.

If your teen has severe acne, it's well worth a visit to the dermatologist.

 

[Mellie2162]

My dd15 goes to the derm for her acne. She has been using 3 different things and they are working pretty good. She's not 100% clear but there is a huge improvement in her skin, to what I would call "normal" acne now. Her derm is trying to stear clear of the Accutane for now and as long as her skin stays this way im fine with that. The OTC stuff didn't even touch her acne.

 

[golfgal]

Why wouldn't you take your teen to a dermo? If the acne is that bad, why wait? DS14 has moderate acne. He takes an oral antibiotic and uses Epiduo. The combination has helped tremendously. He is not totally acne free but his face has mostly cleared up.

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

Why wouldn't you take your teen to a dermo? If the acne is that bad, why wait? DS14 has moderate acne. He takes an oral antibiotic and uses Epiduo. The combination has helped tremendously. He is not totally acne free but his face has mostly cleared up.

My parents waited to take me because they wanted to see if it was gonna clear up once my hormones sort of balanced.

 

[golfgal]

My parents waited to take me because they wanted to see if it was gonna clear up once my hormones sort of balanced.

So in the meantime, you got to suffer with acne--nice.

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

So in the meantime, you got to suffer with acne--nice.

No...I wasn't "suffering"...They felt...as many do, it's a normal part of growing up.

 

[mjkacmom]

around here, it takes about 3 months to get in as a new patient. Dd13 has good skin, and reached puberty 2 years ago, but DH had horrible skin as a teen, as did his sisters. I'm making the appointment as soon as the first pimple appears!

 

[si-am]

No...I wasn't "suffering"...They felt...as many do, it's a normal part of growing up.

Actually, the norm these days is that teens see dermatologists for acne and get it cleared up. While acne may be normal, not treating it isn't, and making a teen suffer through it can be psychologically (and physically) scarring.


OP, I had terrible acne as a teen and I went through practically EVERY treatment and nothing worked. The only thing that eventually cleared it up was Accutane, which I consider a miracle drug. However, the side effects are pretty terrible so I don't know I'd give it to a teen without trying all other options.

 

[punkin]

DD's (she was 14 at the time) dermatologist started her on antibiotics, retin A and cleocin (sp?). The antibiotics gave her stomach problems so she got off that and the creams were not helping at all, which was surprising to me since retin A basically cleared my teenage acne up almost completely. The derm wanted to try accutaine but I am completely against it (too dangerous), so he suggested the pill. DD did not want to go on it (weight gain concerns) and at that age I did not push. She is currently using Murad products with salicylic acid and she only has mild acne with occasional (monthly) moderate breakouts. I think since she is 17 now, it may be time to try putting her on the pill and see how that works before she goes off to college.

 

[Disneyglobegirl]

Be sure to check out the boards at acne.org. The forum there discusses many types of treatments from OTC to Accutane and there is some very helpful advice there.

Proactiv can help many people and they also have an extra strength Proactiv that they do not advertise - if regular proactiv is not helping you can call and ask about the extra stength one and that may help.

My DS had problems with acne and we tried many OTC's and different precriptions from the derm nothing really helped so he was precribed Accutane last year. It cleared him up beautiful with no harsh side effects, he only had dry lips. It has been almost a year since his treatment and his skin is completely clear. I know that Accutane is a last resort for many because of the side effects and many people refuse to try it however there are millions of people who do use it every year with great success and little to no side effects. We never seem to hear about the positive stories of successful accutane users only the negative. I know atleast 20 people who have used accutane with no negative side effects and it cleared all of them up wonderfully. In fact our derm told us out of all the patients he has treated with accutane he has only had to remove 1 person from it because of side effects. Accutane is a serious acne drug that does work however it does need to be monitored every month to make sure it is not causing any bad side effects. I know that Accutane is not for everyone and it should be carefully weighed before making a decision to use it but I just wanted to point out that for all the negative stories on accutane there are thousands of success stories that are never heard.

 

[elgerber]

Be sure to check out the boards at acne.org. The forum there discusses many types of treatments from OTC to Accutane and there is some very helpful advice there.

Proactiv can help many people and they also have an extra strength Proactiv that they do not advertise - if regular proactiv is not helping you can call and ask about the extra stength one and that may help.

My DS had problems with acne and we tried many OTC's and different precriptions from the derm nothing really helped so he was precribed Accutane last year. It cleared him up beautiful with no harsh side effects, he only had dry lips. It has been almost a year since his treatment and his skin is completely clear. I know that Accutane is a last resort for many because of the side effects and many people refuse to try it however there are millions of people who do use it every year with great success and little to no side effects. We never seem to hear about the positive stories of successful accutane users only the negative. I know atleast 20 people who have used accutane with no negative side effects and it cleared all of them up wonderfully. In fact our derm told us out of all the patients he has treated with accutane he has only had to remove 1 person from it because of side effects. Accutane is a serious acne drug that does work however it does need to be monitored every month to make sure it is not causing any bad side effects. I know that Accutane is not for everyone and it should be carefully weighed before making a decision to use it but I just wanted to point out that for all the negative stories on accutane there are thousands of success stories that are never heard.

Accutane was also the only thing that worked for my son. He has been off of it for about 3 months now, and I hope it stays clear, but Accutane did wonders!!! He had very dry lips, but no other real effects, and it cleared him up completely!!

None of this is what the OP asked of course. Pro Active did not work for my son, but that doesn't mean it isn't worth a try in the meantime while you wait to get into the Derm's office.
My dd is using a prescription system, kind of like Pro Active, but it's different, and it is working fairly well for her. It's not perfect, but it's better, but she is also taking an antibiotic along with it.

 

[HSMndLKfan92]

I used proactiv when I was probably 14 or 15.
It didn't work, even though I only had mild acne.

My mom brought me to the dermatologist.
Turns out I have a type of acne that proactiv doesn't treat.

So yeah, it's worth going.

 

[2Eskiedogs]

Thanks everyone for the help. We are on a cancellation waiting list to be called, but evidently that list is pretty long. I think since we have to wait I will try the proactive, to see if it helps.

 

[Doe]

My 18 yr old son started suffering from pretty bad acne about 2 years ago. We tried several of the otc washes, lotions, etc with no luck. We took him to just our family dr. who prescribed a face wash that has worked great. I've thrown out the box but the bottle says sodium sulfacetamide (has sulfur, so not for anybody allergic to that). That's all he uses now, twice a day. It doesn't dry out his skin either like most everything else did. Good luck op.

 

[Disnydad]

Acutaine was the only thing that worked for our teens. The dermotologist kept a close eye on them while undergoing treatment. It took about 5 months for each and it's been a year since we stopped without any reocurance. The only side effect was dry skin/lips for both.