Parents of Young Teen Boys

[GJM]

My DS is 13 and his face is starting to break out - he is using a facewash each night. Wondering what other parents have used for their kids that work - any suggestions?

There are so many different things out on the market I don't know what to get or is it trial and error -

 

[rszdtrvl]

My son has a prescription cream for his breakouts on his back from the doctor.

 

[loganjared]

We took our son to the dermatologist and he told us to try Panoxyl wash and persagel. Both are over the counter we got them at walmart. He said to use them both twice a day and if he gets too dry to back off to once a day.
If we don't see an improvement then he will prescribe a cream.

 

[mamacatnv]

Our derm recommended Cetaphil Daily face wash (not just Cetaphil cleanser but the Daily face wash)
We took DD 14 to a derm who gave her a couple of topical treatments and also suggested she use benzol (sp?) peroxide in a cleanser, so far so good, the topical treatments have worked very well.

My DS is now 23 but the topical stuff really did not work for him and we tried them all. He ended up on an oral antibiotic for a few years between the age of 17 to 19 or so.

 

[ronandannette]

DS (16) has had a terrible time for the last 3 years...relentless acne that didn't respond AT ALL to over-the-counter topical products of any kind (and we tried many). He's now on minocycline, (has previously been on tetracycline but had a hard time with "compliance" as it was multi-doses per day). The oral antibiotics have been the only thing that's arrested the deep-cyctic pimples and the oozing, bleeding ones. Even so, it's not a 100% fix.

 

[clh2]

I tried to manage DD's acne with OTC products. I was just in denial about it.

The derm was actually cheaper than all the "OTC CRAP" that we tried.

 

[mamamary]

I tried to manage DD's acne with OTC products. I was just in denial about it.

The derm was actually cheaper than all the "OTC CRAP" that we tried.

This sounds like me. Tried different OTC products but then finally went to the dr. They put my son on an oral antibiotic and then two prescr. creams. One in the morning and a different one just before bed. It's only been about a week so I can't say how it's working yet. I know they stress it could take months to see a difference.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

My DS is 13 and his face is starting to break out - he is using a facewash each night. Wondering what other parents have used for their kids that work - any suggestions?

There are so many different things out on the market I don't know what to get or is it trial and error -

I have a dd with bad acne and I will tell you to save your money on trial and error and go right to a good dermatologist. It is worth it.

Found out my dd has "scaling acne" which requires a prescription strength stuff not found OTC.

 

[Hoodie]

I have a dd with bad acne and I will tell you to save your money on trial and error and go right to a good dermatologist. It is worth it.

Found out my dd has "scaling acne" which requires a prescription strength stuff not found OTC.

Dermatologist is the best way to go. There are several different kinds of acne and treatment depends on what kind he has. I spent years fighting horrible acne with all the OTC stuff only to find out that mine was caused by my skin being too dry. All the OTC stuff was actually making it worse.

 

[marcyinPA]

I have a DS13 as well as a 17 year old DS. From my experience with the older one, start seeing a dermatologist. We tried every over the counter product in the book, and nothing worked. Then we went to the derm, and he was on every topical cream and four different antibiotics in two years. This past week, after much consideration, we decided to put him on Accutane. He is graduating and will be going off to college in the fall, and we just want him to have clear skin- finally. We know the risks, but have a lot of faith and hope that the benefits will outweigh them.

I don't want to put my youngest through that. He sees the derm for eczema already, but the derm gave him a script for clindomycin lotion for break outs. He washes with a mild face wash (we use Oil of Olay foaming face wash for sensitive skin- approved by the derm) and uses the lotion as needed. So far, his skin has been pretty clear, but he does have some whiteheads.

It is really hard to get an appointment at the derms around here- it can take up to 6 months, if they are even accepting new patients- so my advice would be to get an appointment soon to at least start a relationship.

 

[kellyg403]

Thankfully, my son did not have 'bad' acne. He would get a breakout here and there so daily care was important for him.

Our dr also said to try Cetaphil face wash. It worked great for him. It didn't dry out his skin or anything and he used in both morning and evening.



Kelly

 

[mickeyboat]

We ended up at the dermatologist for DD13 too. She is on an oral antibiotic - doxycycline twice a day and using adapalene gel once a day. She washes her face twice a day with an OTC cleanser containing salycic acid. She has been doing this for almost two weeks, and I have seen some improvement. The dermatologist said if this does not work she will recommend Accutane, but I am not quite sure I want to go that route, and would like to explore some other options first.

She tried OTC everything, including ProActive, and nothing worked.

This is costing us a fortune because we have a high deductible health care plan. But if it works, it will make a world of difference for DD.

 

[Colleen27]

DS hasn't had bad acne, just occasional break outs, and what made the difference for him were the old fashioned Stridex pads. Basically he was breaking out because he's lazy about face-washing; he'd wash up every night and most mornings (he's not a morning person, and that's a step gets skipped when he's rushing) but needed something in between that because between sports and his metal shop he spends a lot of his time sweaty & gross. Keeping cleansing pads on hand for him to do a quick "wipe down" of his face just as often as he washes his hands made all the difference.

 

[Southernmiss]

We ended up at the dermatologist for DD13 too. She is on an oral antibiotic - doxycycline twice a day and using adapalene gel once a day. She washes her face twice a day with an OTC cleanser containing salycic acid. She has been doing this for almost two weeks, and I have seen some improvement. The dermatologist said if this does not work she will recommend Accutane, but I am not quite sure I want to go that route, and would like to explore some other options first.

She tried OTC everything, including ProActive, and nothing worked.

This is costing us a fortune because we have a high deductible health care plan. But if it works, it will make a world of difference for DD.

After nine months of trying prescriptions cream and orally we were give the option of Accutane or ultraviolet photodynamic therapy for ds. It's actually cheaper for us to pay out of pocket for ds to have pdt than Accutane without the scary side effects. We have a high deductible snd our ins stinks. Pdt is not covered at all by insurance.

He has his second pdt session today. So far so good. I hope this finally eradicates his acne.

 

[disneydee6]

See a dermatologist! No need to live with really bad acne. OTC just doesn't do the job for some. If he is using OTC treatment, and seeing no difference, it's time to make a dermatologist appointment.

I will suggest though, for a on-the-spot treatment, Kate Somerville eradicate is a great product. But for stubborn and frequent breakouts, best to do trial and error WITH a dermatologist.

 

[Zandy595]

DS17 had mild to moderate acne when he was younger. Dermatologist suggested trying accutane or an oral antibiotic and epiduo topical. We said no way to accutane. He was on the antiobic for a few months and used the epiduo daily. At first the epiduo dried his face out and made it a little red, but it didn't take long for that to go away. It worked great.

 

[VickiVM]

My son (now a freshman in college) used Accutane in the summer after his sophomore year - he did have very bad acne. It was under a very controlled environment with monthly visits to his dermatologist before the scrips would get refilled. Isn't for everyone.

I will say, if your contemplating doing this for your child, consider starting the treatment just before the school year ends because it can cause very intense skin dryness and flakiness and really, really chapped lips. This was hard for him to endure, but was thankful he didn't have to go to school in this condition.

By the time he started Jr. year he had skin like a baby's behind...so soft and clear. He still has very good skin, although I wish he would shave more often and not look like a hippie college kid...oh, yeah - he's a music major and IS a hippie college kid!

Edited to add: His younger sisters - one is a jr. and the other a freshman in high school, so far have not been plagued by severe acne. Both are prone to a few breakouts, but nothing serious. The jr. is on the pill because of issues with her monthly cycle and that has the added benefit of controlling acne breakouts.

 

[marcyinPA]

My son (now a freshman in college) used Accutane in the summer after his sophomore year - he did have very bad acne. It was under a very controlled environment with monthly visits to his dermatologist before the scrips would get refilled. Isn't for everyone.

I will say, if your contemplating doing this for your child, consider starting the treatment just before the school year ends because it can cause very intense skin dryness and flakiness and really, really chapped lips. This was hard for him to endure, but was thankful he didn't have to go to school in this condition.

By the time he started Jr. year he had skin like a baby's behind...so soft and clear. He still has very good skin, although I wish he would shave more often and not look like a hippie college kid...oh, yeah - he's a music major and IS a hippie college kid!

Edited to add: His younger sisters - one is a jr. and the other a freshman in high school, so far have not been plagued by severe acne. Both are prone to a few breakouts, but nothing serious. The jr. is on the pill because of issues with her monthly cycle and that has the added benefit of controlling acne breakouts.

Thank you for sharing your experience! Putting our son on Accutane has not come without reservations. Nothing else has worked for him, and quite honestly, I am not very comfortable with the idea that he has been on antibiotics for two years straight either. I know that he will have to endure the dry skin and lips- and I hope that he can keep them somewhat under control with Aquaphor and CeraVe (both suggested by doc). I just want my boy to finally feel OK with his skin- to not be embarrassed. When nothing works, you resort to the one thing you KNOW will.

 

[GJM]

Thank you for the replies - I think I will make an appointment with the Dermatologist - as here it takes months to get one!

In the meantime I will try some of the OTC that some posters have mentioned.

 

[mickeyboat]

Thank you for the replies - I think I will make an appointment with the Dermatologist - as here it takes months to get one!

In the meantime I will try some of the OTC that some posters have mentioned.

Another thing to mention is that our pediatrician mentioned she would be willing to prescribe antibiotics and some topicals before sending us to the dermatologist. That might be an avenue to try if it will take that long to see the dermatologist. (Our pediatrician left the practice late last year, and I decided to skip right to the dermatologist. We did not have to wait long for an appointment).