Anonymous wrote:Im the OP. Thanks for the advice.

She tried epiduo for 3 mos, and it helped a little. She just switched to retain a.

I will suggest cutting out milk. Not sure she will agree.

If there is no improvement, I think antibiotics are in her future.

Epidural and RetinA microgel cause a worsening of acne in first few months before clearing which is normal. My son uses epidural equivalent (adapalene gel mixed equally with 2.5 percent benzoyl peroxide) in evening and retin a gel in am. Also washes face 3 times a day with cetaphil foaming face wash or stridex pads with aloe Vera.

Initially may have to use every other day with one of the products due to drying and work up till daily. You also have to be sure child is washing and applying thoroughly for this to work. Our kid used to apply and was not so thorough. Now we apply with much better results.

Go with the PP's advice about the hormonal panel, if it doesn't clear up. I wish my parents had done that with me--a lot of problems could have been solved at one time.

The only thing that worked was cutting milk and milk products (cheese, yogurt, etc...) out completely.

I do not recommend low level antibiotics. The docs seem to like them, but cutting dairy was much more effective for us.

Also, using a new towel and/or washcloth every single day, if they don't already do so.

A friend of mine finally had to go an Acutane, and it worked for her.

Anonymous wrote:Im the OP. Thanks for the advice.

She tried epiduo for 3 mos, and it helped a little. She just switched to retain a.

I will suggest cutting out milk. Not sure she will agree.

If there is no improvement, I think antibiotics are in her future.

Since it is a DD, try to get a hormonal panel done before trying other medications. Retin A, Accutane, and antibiotics will not help if she has a hormonal probelm, although she could see a temporary improvement with Accutane.

My DD tried Accutance three times, each of which produced improvment that went away after six months. I do so wish someone had suggested a hormonal panel. It turns out she has PCOS with high testosterone and that Spironalactone is highly effective for taking care of the acne. This drug has way fewer side effects than Accutane and does not promote antibiotic resistance.

Im the OP. Thanks for the advice.

She tried epiduo for 3 mos, and it helped a little. She just switched to retain a.

I will suggest cutting out milk. Not sure she will agree.

If there is no improvement, I think antibiotics are in her future.

ds uses clindamycin swabs on his face and back with great results.

try sensitive skin formulas which often include citric acid

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If high sugar diet, then cut it.

Completely false. Old Wives Tale

No, you are sadly misinformed, or you work for a drug company. Diet is very mportant in keeping skin clear.
Before antibiotics like tetracycline were available to dermatologists, they recommended dietary changes to clear up skin. But when antibiotics became available, dermatologists stopped recommending dietary changes, pushed by the pharmaceutical companies, of course, who wanted to sell more of their products. Diet takes a long time to work, whereas antibiotics work very quickly.
In my experience, antibiotics do not produce a lasting effect, so you have to go back on them again and again. What that does to your gut is not good, however.
Dietary changes, if your kid can stick with them, will end the acne permanently, they don't cost anything (other than buying and preparing better quality food). Pharmaceutical companies don't make any money off dietary changes.
Sugar is nasty overall. Everyone should eliminate sugar. It causes inflammation, which causes a host of other problems. Google sugar and health problems and you will find endless studies. Eliminate sugar (which is hidden in almost every processed food you buy) and you'll be a lot healthier. Your child will be a lot healthier. Inflammation is part of acne, so getting rid of sugar will help acne and other skin problems.

NP here. You are the one who is sadly misinformed. While eating healthy foods and limiting sugar is good for the body in general, it won't "end acne permanently," and it's irresponsible to suggest it will. Especially cystic acne - that does not just go away, regardless of what you eat or don't eat. I would hope any parent who has a child with cystic acne would have a dermatologist prescribe the appropriate medication for them, before their self-esteem is completely ruined and their skin is scarred as an adult.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Aside from the meds and the creams, look into the diet. Dairy products react horribly with some kids, because of the hormones from dairy cows. Other kids react to too much salty foods. Try it like an allergy elimination diet. If the kid has allergies, definitely look into this. I wish I had realized it was food related when I was younger.

my child is allergic to rice
he also gets more flares when he eats chocolate and sugar
the dermo recommended a six week course of antibiotics, but I didn't feel comfortable with that.
he takes probiotics 3x a day. when he stays off sugar, most of it goes away
it's not acne, it's something else, but I can't remember the name. He's only 11. it's a reaction to his asthma medication (steroids)
But it's still a bacterial infection'
Every time he's on antibiotics, his skin clears. I can't put him on antibiotics forever!! And antibiotics kill all the good bacteria, so that will cause a lot of other problems
I do not trust acne medications on young children. Dietary changes probably work best, but hard to implement with all the junk food available to kids
my kid eats no dairy, no wheat, has multiple allergies.
skin problems suck. I really fear he's going to have scars, but I can't stop him from scratching his face

Have you looked into the MotherDirt products? I haven't used them myself but seems like it would make sense to keep the probiotics on the skin as well as taking probiotics for internal use.

It is a very slippery road downhill from food restriction of any kind to eating disorders. Have had problems my entire life with acne and food restriction never made any difference. Antibiotics work but I did not want to stay on them for decades. Rather not become immune in case of an illness.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If high sugar diet, then cut it.

Completely false. Old Wives Tale

No, you are sadly misinformed, or you work for a drug company. Diet is very mportant in keeping skin clear.
Before antibiotics like tetracycline were available to dermatologists, they recommended dietary changes to clear up skin. But when antibiotics became available, dermatologists stopped recommending dietary changes, pushed by the pharmaceutical companies, of course, who wanted to sell more of their products. Diet takes a long time to work, whereas antibiotics work very quickly.
In my experience, antibiotics do not produce a lasting effect, so you have to go back on them again and again. What that does to your gut is not good, however.
Dietary changes, if your kid can stick with them, will end the acne permanently, they don't cost anything (other than buying and preparing better quality food). Pharmaceutical companies don't make any money off dietary changes.
Sugar is nasty overall. Everyone should eliminate sugar. It causes inflammation, which causes a host of other problems. Google sugar and health problems and you will find endless studies. Eliminate sugar (which is hidden in almost every processed food you buy) and you'll be a lot healthier. Your child will be a lot healthier. Inflammation is part of acne, so getting rid of sugar will help acne and other skin problems.

Anonymous wrote:Aside from the meds and the creams, look into the diet. Dairy products react horribly with some kids, because of the hormones from dairy cows. Other kids react to too much salty foods. Try it like an allergy elimination diet. If the kid has allergies, definitely look into this. I wish I had realized it was food related when I was younger.

my child is allergic to rice
he also gets more flares when he eats chocolate and sugar
the dermo recommended a six week course of antibiotics, but I didn't feel comfortable with that.
he takes probiotics 3x a day. when he stays off sugar, most of it goes away
it's not acne, it's something else, but I can't remember the name. He's only 11. it's a reaction to his asthma medication (steroids)
But it's still a bacterial infection'
Every time he's on antibiotics, his skin clears. I can't put him on antibiotics forever!! And antibiotics kill all the good bacteria, so that will cause a lot of other problems
I do not trust acne medications on young children. Dietary changes probably work best, but hard to implement with all the junk food available to kids
my kid eats no dairy, no wheat, has multiple allergies.
skin problems suck. I really fear he's going to have scars, but I can't stop him from scratching his face

Try switching to hypo-allergenic products - both skincare and cosmetics. This worked for me and my daughter.

I worry about the affects of some of the prescription acne drugs. To a degree, I think that some amount of acne is a part of growing up. But heavy acne is a different story. I really do not like the idea of using antibiotics long term or accutane. But there comes a time when the pros of using prescription treatments outweigh the cons.

I definitely would try diet and over the counter treatments first though. And make *sure* that they are actually properly using the store bought treatments before discounting them.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The best thing that helped my 15 y.o. Is a strict diet. No white bread, sugar, flour, no dairy. No processed food. It took about 4 weeks for improvements, but then her skin became gorgeous.

The only side effect was an eating disorder.

NP. How is eating whole foods an eating disorder? People who know what goes into their food and cook it themselves are usually healthier.