Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oral meds for acne can have some pretty strong side effects.
My friend's son got ulcerative colitis from discontinuing oral acne meds. It has been a rough road. The parents were fixated on the fact that the son needed perfect skin.

I live in a college town. The wealthy kids all have perfect skin. The poorer kids have normal teen skin with some acne. I always feel like the poorer kids are lucky.

Yikes! Do you know which med caused this?

This makes no sense. According to the NIH, "Experts aren’t sure what causes ulcerative colitis but think genes, abnormal immune reactions, the microbiome, and the environment play a role." Discontinuing oral acne medications would not cause an inflammatory disorder.

https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/digestive-diseases/ulcerative-colitis#:~:text=Ulcerative%20colitis%20is%20a%20chronic,ages%20of%2015%20and%2030.

Anonymous wrote:Oral meds for acne can have some pretty strong side effects.
My friend's son got ulcerative colitis from discontinuing oral acne meds. It has been a rough road. The parents were fixated on the fact that the son needed perfect skin.

I live in a college town. The wealthy kids all have perfect skin. The poorer kids have normal teen skin with some acne. I always feel like the poorer kids are lucky.

Yikes! Do you know which med caused this?

Anonymous wrote:I'd take her to the derm. Just like you'd take her to the orthodontist for braces, right? Even if she didn't care.

But with braces, the dentist starts the conversation

I'd take her to the derm. Just like you'd take her to the orthodontist for braces, right? Even if she didn't care.

I've got 2 boys that have been on Accutane. Neither of them really cared but I took them to the dermatologist anyway because acne is a treatable medical condition that, if untreated, can leave permanent scarring. I also knew that even if they didn't care right then, they might care later. Since it takes a while for treatments to be effective, I saw no reason to wait.

It was the right decision to take them. My older DS was on antibiotics/topical creams for about a year and it made little difference. By this time, he really did care and was very self conscious about the acne. He was then on Accutane for 10 months - longer than usual but his acne was resistant. It wasn't even cystic acne, just bad, regular acne. He does have some scarring but not really noticeable.

My younger DS, like his brother, was on antibiotics/topicals for about a year with little improvement. Unlike his brother, younger DS still doesn't care but we care. Until he started Accutane, his face was mostly an red, angry mess of pimples. The clusters looked the worse and were most prone to scarring. Younger DS may not care but we do. We don't want it leaving scars and, frankly, it looks really uncomfortable.

FWIW, there's a very strong history of suicide in my family and both boys take SSRIs for anxiety/depression. We take the black box warning on Accutane seriously. After consulting with our psychiatrist, we felt comfortable with them taking Accutane and, as with any medication, we continued to monitor them. I understand there have been, as with all medications, adverse reactions. I, myself, can't tolerate aloe on my skin - I blister. Overall, though, most people can safely take Accutane just as they can use aloe vera.

It's a shame you just took her to the pediatrician, because that would have been a good place to start. If your daughter has announced she doesn't care, let it go.

My skin was mostly good when I was a teenager, but I had two major episodes of bad skin (which in retrospect might have been rosacea rather than acne), and my mother made it very clear that she thought I needed to DO SOMETHING. Her instance made me feel worse about my appearance but didn't make me go to a dermatologist.

So when my teen was having a lot of acne, I sent a note to the pediatrician in advance of the annual checkup, explaining my history with parental interference and asking that she see how the kid was feeling about the breakouts, because I was happy to do something or do nothing, as preferred. And it turned out that my kid was open to advice as long as I wasn't part of the discussion at all.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Regular pediatrician visit can handle this just fine.

OP here. We just went to the pediatrician for a regular check-up and she didn’t mention her skin at all. So I guess I’m wondering whether this really constitutes a medical condition.

For everyone saying “be the parent,” my concern is that it won’t be easily cleared up, but in the process of trying, she will internalize the idea that she’s not pretty enough or that something’s wrong with her. With all the talk about mental health, I feel uneasy about introducing yet another expectation of perfection, especially a purely aesthetic one.

But thanks to all for your input! I think I will offer her the opportunity to go for a consultation to make sure she’s using the right products, etc., and see how she feels about it.

Clear skin is a sign of health and has nothing to do with beauty. If it were any other skin condition, you would get expert medical help in clearing it up.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 13 year old has fairly typical teen acne, but isn’t bothered by if at all. In fact, she bristles at the idea of caring too much about one’s physical appearance. She washes her face daily with a salicylic acid product from the drug store. (Or at least she says she does.) Am I doing her a disservice by not taking her to a dermatologist for an analysis? Or should I just let it go and see if it clears up eventually? I had some very awkward teen years myself, but I was somehow blessed with clear skin, so I’m not sure the best way to handle. I often see posters on here urging people to take their teens to the derm to spare them the awful embarrassment, but what if the kid isn’t embarrassed at all?

Skip the acid for facial oil. Get a filter on your showerhead. Dermatologist could put her on accutane/retin-a (suicides, depression, crime side effects), so I'd skip unless she asks.

You're sharing wrong information. A Dermatologist will not put a person on Accutane until they try other acne treatments and those don't work. That itself takes a whole year or more.

My son was on Accutane and didn't have any of those side effects you stated. He had cystic acne and Accutane literally change his life.

Anonymous wrote:Is it acne or just pimples? Acne might scar, pimples go away with OTC treatment.

They actually go away with nothing too.

If it isn’t severe, and just a couple pimples here and there, I’d let her be. Your derm isn’t going to do anything other than recommend what you are likely already doing, perhaps plus Differin. If she is covered in pimples and /or several cystic acne spots, take her in.

How bad is it? My son has typical teen acne. Occasional breakouts or a random pimple or few. I have face wash in his bathroom and sometimes buy OTC acne wipes that he may use when he thinks of it. He isn’t bothered by it.

My daughter’s was extreme. Her entire face and back were covered and they did not respond to any OTC treatments. We went to the dermatologist and she was given specific instructions for washing her face, two prescriptions and a different prescription for her back. It takes a lot of discipline but was life changing for her. If the kid doesn’t want to do it, she wouldn’t keep up on this routine.

She was NOT prescribed accutane. Go for a consult if your daughter agrees to it and if her situation is somewhere between my two kids. I wouldn’t take her if it’s like my sons.

Anonymous wrote:Regular pediatrician visit can handle this just fine.

OP here. We just went to the pediatrician for a regular check-up and she didn’t mention her skin at all. So I guess I’m wondering whether this really constitutes a medical condition.

For everyone saying “be the parent,” my concern is that it won’t be easily cleared up, but in the process of trying, she will internalize the idea that she’s not pretty enough or that something’s wrong with her. With all the talk about mental health, I feel uneasy about introducing yet another expectation of perfection, especially a purely aesthetic one.

But thanks to all for your input! I think I will offer her the opportunity to go for a consultation to make sure she’s using the right products, etc., and see how she feels about it.

I wish my parents took me to a dermatologist. I finally went in my 20s, got Accutane, and it almost instantly cleared my skin finally. After years of dealing with awful skin I finally didn’t have to think about it!! I wonder what my high school and college life would have been like if I had been able to get Accutane earlier. Kids were definitely turned off by my skin and it did not help my self esteem. It made me extremely shy. I feel lucky I was able to find a wonderful husband anyway. Sounds like it is not affecting your daughter socially, however.

I don’t understand why as soon as a dermatologist visit is mentioned, people start panicking about side effects of Accutane. There are a whole host of topicals they try first and/or antibiotics. There is no reason to scare people away from taking their child to a dermatologist.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My only concern would be scarring. She might not care now, but will care when she has permanent scars.

+1. Take her to the dermatologist!! Be the parent.

+2

Quick suggestions:

- Change pillowcases nightly to fresh ones washed in dye free fragrance free soap. Reduce sleeping on dirty pillowcases.

- Try Differin product line

- Recurrent acne could be an allergic reaction to food, pollen , night sweats, hair/makeup products , fragrances, or dust. Paired with hormonal changes, adjusting the diet, water intake never hurts.

- Wear a scarf or nightcap if hair is long or is coated with product.

- Hair products are notoriously bad for having allergens in their ingredients. Encourage your kid to wash their face after washing/conditioning hair to remove the hair product from the face.

- If blow dryers are frequently used, lower the setting