Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Where were you a few days ago when everyone on an Accutane thread was saying someone was a bad mom for not wanting her kid on it? I would not either fwiw.

That poster said their child had inflamed cystic acne and the child already had scarring. You are a bad parent to allow your child to be permanently disfigured by cystic acne.

Yeah, I think of your teen had accutane level of acne it would be obvious to you to take them to the derm, and it would bother them- a lot. It is both terrible to look at and painful on the face.

A few pimples here and there doesn’t warrant a dermatologist visit. Especially if the child isn’t bothered and isn’t even doing the basic hygiene steps at home. I'd work on that before running to the derm.

I think the poster who made the comment about wealthy people nailed it: it's often not about the severity of the acne at all, just about what rich people will do to have the best _____________ (insert anything).

We are wealthy and my teen son refused antibiotics and accutane. He is dead set against putting either in his body. He also was a bad about following the topical routine--as soon as he got some irritation or as soon as it started getting better he'd back off using it and lie to us that he was using it. We have shown him pictures of what permanent acne scarring looks like and how it is very hard (if possible at all) to get rid of. I sort of read him the riot act that if he wasn't consistent by the next follow up derm appt. he's going on something oral.

I'm not quite sure why he is so resitant to the idea.

Just to throw that out there---some wealthy kids have bad acne too. My other teen has none--his skin is like mine and I never had a single pimple. Older one takes after the other side.

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

+1

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My personal anecdote:

DD had typical teen acne all over her face around 8th/9th grade, but was adamant that it didn’t bother her and didn’t want to see a dermatologist about it. I bought her some salicylic acid acne soap to keep in the shower, that was it. Now in 10th grade, her skin has almost entirely cleared up, save for an occasional hormonal zit here and there.

Younger DS had a single huge pimple dead center on his nose at age 11 that was lingering for a while. Skin was completely clear otherwise. He was at the dermatologist for something else so we inquired about it and she prescribed an over-the-top regimen, in my opinion, that my kid certainly wasn’t going to keep up with at age 11. Daily trentinoin cream for a kid with almost perfect skin seemed ridiculous, so we ignored and two years later, his skin is still almost completely clear.

Long story short, I think dermatology for teens is a huge cash grab. For many kids (not all, I know), if you just wait it out a bit and encourage basic daily face washing, you’ll save yourself a lot of money on expensive products that may or may not do anything. Trying to convince a bunch of 11 year olds that they need this stuff is just trying to hook customers while they’re young and self-conscious.

If her acne cleared up only using salycic acid in the shower, then she just had typical teen pimples, not acne.

What’s the difference between hundreds of pimples all over your face and acne?

Anonymous wrote:My personal anecdote:

DD had typical teen acne all over her face around 8th/9th grade, but was adamant that it didn’t bother her and didn’t want to see a dermatologist about it. I bought her some salicylic acid acne soap to keep in the shower, that was it. Now in 10th grade, her skin has almost entirely cleared up, save for an occasional hormonal zit here and there.

Younger DS had a single huge pimple dead center on his nose at age 11 that was lingering for a while. Skin was completely clear otherwise. He was at the dermatologist for something else so we inquired about it and she prescribed an over-the-top regimen, in my opinion, that my kid certainly wasn’t going to keep up with at age 11. Daily trentinoin cream for a kid with almost perfect skin seemed ridiculous, so we ignored and two years later, his skin is still almost completely clear.

Long story short, I think dermatology for teens is a huge cash grab. For many kids (not all, I know), if you just wait it out a bit and encourage basic daily face washing, you’ll save yourself a lot of money on expensive products that may or may not do anything. Trying to convince a bunch of 11 year olds that they need this stuff is just trying to hook customers while they’re young and self-conscious.

If her acne cleared up only using salycic acid in the shower, then she just had typical teen pimples, not acne.

Typical teen acne is not a medical condition. A good cleaner+an OTC spot treatment while it lasts. If it’s really typical teen acne, it will go away after a couple of years.

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

Yep, this. One of my best friends has horrible scarring from teenage acne.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Where were you a few days ago when everyone on an Accutane thread was saying someone was a bad mom for not wanting her kid on it? I would not either fwiw.

That poster said their child had inflamed cystic acne and the child already had scarring. You are a bad parent to allow your child to be permanently disfigured by cystic acne.

Yeah, I think of your teen had accutane level of acne it would be obvious to you to take them to the derm, and it would bother them- a lot. It is both terrible to look at and painful on the face.

A few pimples here and there doesn’t warrant a dermatologist visit. Especially if the child isn’t bothered and isn’t even doing the basic hygiene steps at home. I'd work on that before running to the derm.

I think the poster who made the comment about wealthy people nailed it: it's often not about the severity of the acne at all, just about what rich people will do to have the best _____________ (insert anything).

I think they’re way off base.
I’m neither wealthy nor vain, but I don’t want my kid to have pits from acne scaring.

+1

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Where were you a few days ago when everyone on an Accutane thread was saying someone was a bad mom for not wanting her kid on it? I would not either fwiw.

That poster said their child had inflamed cystic acne and the child already had scarring. You are a bad parent to allow your child to be permanently disfigured by cystic acne.

Yeah, I think of your teen had accutane level of acne it would be obvious to you to take them to the derm, and it would bother them- a lot. It is both terrible to look at and painful on the face.

A few pimples here and there doesn’t warrant a dermatologist visit. Especially if the child isn’t bothered and isn’t even doing the basic hygiene steps at home. I'd work on that before running to the derm.

I think the poster who made the comment about wealthy people nailed it: it's often not about the severity of the acne at all, just about what rich people will do to have the best _____________ (insert anything).

I think they’re way off base.
I’m neither wealthy nor vain, but I don’t want my kid to have pits from acne scaring.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Where were you a few days ago when everyone on an Accutane thread was saying someone was a bad mom for not wanting her kid on it? I would not either fwiw.

That poster said their child had inflamed cystic acne and the child already had scarring. You are a bad parent to allow your child to be permanently disfigured by cystic acne.

Yeah, I think of your teen had accutane level of acne it would be obvious to you to take them to the derm, and it would bother them- a lot. It is both terrible to look at and painful on the face.

A few pimples here and there doesn’t warrant a dermatologist visit. Especially if the child isn’t bothered and isn’t even doing the basic hygiene steps at home. I'd work on that before running to the derm.

I think the poster who made the comment about wealthy people nailed it: it's often not about the severity of the acne at all, just about what rich people will do to have the best _____________ (insert anything).

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Where were you a few days ago when everyone on an Accutane thread was saying someone was a bad mom for not wanting her kid on it? I would not either fwiw.

That poster said their child had inflamed cystic acne and the child already had scarring. You are a bad parent to allow your child to be permanently disfigured by cystic acne.

Yeah, I think of your teen had accutane level of acne it would be obvious to you to take them to the derm, and it would bother them- a lot. It is both terrible to look at and painful on the face.

A few pimples here and there doesn’t warrant a dermatologist visit. Especially if the child isn’t bothered and isn’t even doing the basic hygiene steps at home. I'd work on that before running to the derm.

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.

Where were you a few days ago when everyone on an Accutane thread was saying someone was a bad mom for not wanting her kid on it? I would not either fwiw.

That poster said their child had inflamed cystic acne and the child already had scarring. You are a bad parent to allow your child to be permanently disfigured by cystic acne.

My personal anecdote:

DD had typical teen acne all over her face around 8th/9th grade, but was adamant that it didn’t bother her and didn’t want to see a dermatologist about it. I bought her some salicylic acid acne soap to keep in the shower, that was it. Now in 10th grade, her skin has almost entirely cleared up, save for an occasional hormonal zit here and there.

Younger DS had a single huge pimple dead center on his nose at age 11 that was lingering for a while. Skin was completely clear otherwise. He was at the dermatologist for something else so we inquired about it and she prescribed an over-the-top regimen, in my opinion, that my kid certainly wasn’t going to keep up with at age 11. Daily trentinoin cream for a kid with almost perfect skin seemed ridiculous, so we ignored and two years later, his skin is still almost completely clear.

Long story short, I think dermatology for teens is a huge cash grab. For many kids (not all, I know), if you just wait it out a bit and encourage basic daily face washing, you’ll save yourself a lot of money on expensive products that may or may not do anything. Trying to convince a bunch of 11 year olds that they need this stuff is just trying to hook customers while they’re young and self-conscious.

Do you think she really doesn’t care? My daughter claimed the same but her confidence increased after her skin cleared up.

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know I took my kid who didn’t care to the dermatologist and got an expensive bunch of products and they never used them. So if you have a kid who doesn’t care, it all ends up being a big waste of money. You can’t make a kid care just because you do.

That's the problem -- any topical or oral medication for acne has to be taken on a regular basis, consistently, and over at least months if not longer.

One visit to a dermatologist makes sense to me, because maybe they will have interventions or ideas other than medication that can help (hearing "change your pillowcases" from a non-related adult can land differently), or maybe they will really click. But if you give it a shot and the child still doesn't care about it, then this is not a fight to have for them. You can't care more than they do, when it is their body and it is not a matter of life or limb.

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.

Where were you a few days ago when everyone on an Accutane thread was saying someone was a bad mom for not wanting her kid on it? I would not either fwiw.

I would only take first hand experiences seriously. Oral meds for acne are usually antibiotics and only the doctor would know if his ulcerative colitis was related to acne medication