medicines for acne

[Tiggeroo]

my college dd has been stuggling with skin problems for awhile. I finally convinced her to go to the dr's. She went to a derm. He gave her 3 scripts. One is a face wash, one is a retin-a cream, the third is for antibiotics. I have a question about the antibiotics. He's written a script for 30 day renewed 3 times. That's 90 days on antibiotics. Does that sound extreme to anybody? Her problem is moderately bad. It was borderline between seeing a dr or not. Any thoughts?

 

[Breezy_Carol]

My DD went through about 3 years of different antibiotics for her skin. Finally we switched doctors and she got Accutane which worked.

I don't think the 3 months is unreasonable. It is probably a milder antibiotic.

 

[bananiem]

My dh has taken an antibiotic for years for his acne. It works wonders.

 

[Tiggeroo]

ok that's what I wanted to know. That it's not only her dr. I'm so glad she's seen a dr. Sometimes it's really bad, and then it gets better for awhile. She acts like she doesn't care. But there's no way she can be ok with it when it's having a major flare up.

 

[SDFgirl]

If he prescribed her Tetracycline, 3 months is the standard course of antibiotics for acne.

Just remind her to take it religously, even if her acne clears up. If she doesn't, the bacteria that cause the acne could come back with a vengance, and stronger and resistant to the antibiotics.

Just a thought - I had moderate acne through college and was hesitant to get on Accutane. No dermatologists would give it to me because of the possible risks of birth defects. They don't like to give it to women of child-bearing age, regardless of sexual activity. So, I struggled with acne and I still struggle.

My brother got on Accutane when he was 19 and guess what - he has never had another pimple!! And, at 28...I have a huge honker on my chin right now! Now that I'm ACTUALLY in the child-bearing years (getting married soon), I wish I had pressured a dermotologist to prescribe Accutane back when I was in college. Obviously, it's too late for me to pursue it now. But I wish I had gotten on it in college. Food for thought if the antibiotics don't work.

 

[Nicolepa]

ok that's what I wanted to know. That it's not only her dr. I'm so glad she's seen a dr. Sometimes it's really bad, and then it gets better for awhile. She acts like she doesn't care. But there's no way she can be ok with it when it's having a major flare up.

My Dr had me on antibiotics for a year. With antibiotics they will only work as long as you are on them. If you go off it will come back (unless you've outgrown it).

As for it coming and going that is the cyclical nature of acne. When I was on the antibiotics it would be bad for 3-4 weeks and then clear for like 6 weeks. My dr said that was what acne would normally do and the antibiotics weren't doing any good.

 

[Nicolepa]

Just a thought - I had moderate acne through college and was hesitant to get on Accutane. No dermatologists would give it to me because of the possible risks of birth defects. They don't like to give it to women of child-bearing age, regardless of sexual activity. So, I struggled with acne and I still struggle.

My brother got on Accutane when he was 19 and guess what - he has never had another pimple!! And, at 28...I have a huge honker on my chin right now! Now that I'm ACTUALLY in the child-bearing years (getting married soon), I wish I had pressured a dermotologist to prescribe Accutane back when I was in college. Obviously, it's too late for me to pursue it now. But I wish I had gotten on it in college. Food for thought if the antibiotics don't work.

I took Accutane in Middle School and it worked wonders until I was in College (so maybe 8 years). After working with my dr for 2 years he prescribed me Accutane again. I'm only 32, BUT I have already had 2 kids and was not planning anymore.

If you do find a dr who will prescribe it remember it is 5-6 months of medication and and 1 additional cycle that you cannot get pg. You will have to go in for a monthly pg test and bloodwork. It was a pain, but the results are great.

It is not a medication to be taken lightly. The side effects are horrible. The precautions (double birth control, sun sensitivity, achy joints ect) are a pain. I tried everything else first (over 2 years).

 

[Blondie]

I took my 14 y.o. to the dermatologist and she prescribed Evoclin Foam which he applies to his face once in the morning and once at night. It's Clindamycin (antibiotic) in a topical form.

She also prescribed Doryx which is a tetracycline-class oral antibiotic indicated for adjunctive treatment of severe acne, two capsules with breakfast.

Once we got his acne (which was severe) under control, she had him cut back to just one capsule a day.

The combined treatment plan worked wonders! He's been on it for at least 6 months now, if not longer.

I urge any parent who has a child with severe acne to see a dermatologist if you can afford it. Acne turned my social butterfly into a shy introverted young teen. He was hesitant to admit that he cared about his appearance.

 

[Texan Mouseketeer]

I wish I had done Accutane. I went the Retin-A route and suffered like crazy. Red face, peeling skin, the horrible look of foundation trying to cover it all. Retin-A doesn't seem to have the long lasting effects that people taking Accutane seem to achieve. Accutane worked really well for my brother, but it gave him a dark purple furry tongue for awhile! So, of course, we had to tease him about that (he was an adult, so it was okay!).

I hope all that works for her. Good luck!

 

[Tiggeroo]

dd was very worried about accutane. She had a good friend in hs who had a horrible reaction to accutane. So I think that's why she was avoidng going. I was very happy. Our insurance covered the visit complete script on two of the meds and 60. of the cost on the retin a.
She's supposed to try this for 6 weeks or so then see dr again to reval.

 

[becker1123]

I had moderately bad acne in college and my dr put me on tetracycline, too. It worked great. I think I took it for about a year. After that I didn't really need it, and stopped taking it. My face has stayed relatively clear ever since ... 10 + years. I would only recommend accutane for a female of child-bearing age as an absolute last resort because it can cause MAJOR birth defects, as someone cited earlier, so you'd have to be really really careful. But, doctors also say that some antibiotics can interfere with oral contraceptives, so that's also something to keep in mind. Good luck to her.

 

[trip]

My daughter was given antibiotics for about 6 months until she had an allergic reaction. Now she can't take penicillin anymore. She went on to take accutane and had wonderful results.

 

[Stephanie218]

I went through almost every medication possible...minocycline, tetracycline, trycycline, probably more that i'm forgetting but I remember those because they all sound the same lol. oh, retin-a also. I was on antibiotics and creams from 6th grade on, and they did almost nothing.

Sophmore year of high school I finally got on accutane and it made such a huge difference in my life. I felt so much more attractive and the only times i've had a pimple since are one or two during the week of my period.

Keep in mind that I had kind of an extreme case: if your daughter only has a minimal problem, hopefully antibiotics should take care if it.

 

[JudicialTyranny]

I never had really bad acne as a teenager, but started getting more zits on my face in my 20's. I thought you were supposed to get less as you got older...

I decided to go to the dermatologist. I think we tried just about everything, with varying success. Antibiotics, Metrolotion, benzamycin, retin-A. They all worked for a little while, then were less effective.

Finally, we did Accutane. That was about 8 or 10 years ago, and I can count on one hand the number of zits I've had since then - it worked for me, permanently.

In case you don't know, Accutane (as it was explained to me) permanently alters the way your oil glands secrete oil. Most people do a treatment of 20 weeks, and that's it. Some people with extreme cases need to do another treatment. But for most people, after the 20 weeks, you are done for good.

However, those 20 weeks can be tough. Your skin and hair gets very dry, especially your lips. My lips were constantly chapped. You have to avoid hot showers, use unscented shampoo (which is tough to find), and keep your face moisturized. The lip problem is helped using a product called Aquaphor - good stuff.

You also need to get a blood test before starting treatment to measure triglycerides (fat) in the blood, then get another test about 4 weeks into the treatment to compare. Accutane causes some people to build up fat int he bloodstream and if the test shows that, the doctor needs to know to either adjust or stop the treatment.

But Accutane worked wonders for me.

 

[lulubelle]

I just wanted to put my 2 cents in....
My DD has been going to the Dermotologist for about 3 years now. She has been on antibiotics the whole time! She also gets dry ice chemical type peels every three months and uses their line of cleansers and creams. She did try Retin-A (which only dried her skin out and made it red) and the routine she has now seems to work best. She had the worst skin at 16 and now she is in college and only has a few flare ups (usually related to her mentrual cycle, surprise, surprise ) and her face is pretty flawless. Anyway, do not be afraid to have your child on antibiotics for so long, whatever works, works...period. That is the most important thing.

Good luck

 

[pfishgirl]

i'm 32 and still get break outs and oily skin... anyone know if proactive really works??? ds (15) also gets bad zits... anyone reccomend something for a boy? the oxy over the counter stuff doesn't help..

 

[Skatermom23]

I spent years on antibiotics that sometimes helped and sometimes didn't. I think I have tried everything out there except Accutane. When I was in my early 30's I decided to try Proactive. I have used it for about 10 years now. I swear by the stuff. Recently, my two teens have started using it as well and it is working for them too.

 

[Skatermom23]

i'm 32 and still get break outs and oily skin... anyone know if proactive really works??? ds (15) also gets bad zits... anyone reccomend something for a boy? the oxy over the counter stuff doesn't help..

Let him try the proactive. It isn't smelly and fine for both males and females. My DS is 14 and using it.

 

[chrissyk]

Antibiotics were one of the things that my dermatologist gave me as a teen for my acne. I don't think that I ever took them. My mother didn't think that being on constant antibiotics was a good idea, and I'm greatful that she was so smart about that.

Honestly, the ONLY thing that ever worked for my acne was going on the birth control pill. When my sister developed acne in her 20's, her Dr. wanted to put her on Accutane. I convinced her to ask her OB/GYN for a perscription for the pill instead, and sure enough it cleared up her skin too. Has your DD tried the pill to see if it will clear up her skin?