Recommend anti-acne medicines

Edgie

Background: I'm 22, 23 in December. Always figured some pimples were just a part of those teenage years and figured they would, you know, go away and just lived with them. But alas, Help / Advice Forum, this isn't the case. It's not horribly bad by any stretch of the imagination, but it's enough to really start bugging me. And since I've taken strides to improve my lifestyle, why not try to clear up the face a bit, too?

So recommend medicines and other suggestions. Would prefer to try something OTC first, of course.

Shogun

www.h2ocean.com

I originally discovered this stuff when I got my ears pierced. The guy at the shop gave me this card that listed its many other uses. Acne was one of them. I myself turn 22 in august and annoyingly I still get acne here and there. Spray this stuff on your face once a day or so and it will clean up very nicely. Stuff is amazing.

S_S

I'm aware that you said you prefer over the counter medications, but I did the whole "face covered in pimples/cysts/nodules" thing at one point in my life and the only thing that ever had any affect what-so-ever was Accutane, which requires a dermatologist and a prescription. Everything else before that led to disappointment and wasted time and money, and then a hideous red scar or two.

There's also http://acne.org/ which has a message board and various things you could try, though I can't admit to any of them working.

Daenris

Yeah, I'm 27 and still have some problems with acne. Nothing otc has ever really worked very well for me. I wash with an oil-free acne wash (clean and clear, or clearasil, can't actually recall), and use a prescription face cream called Benzaclin (benzoyl peroxide and clindamycin). It's great at keeping things in check and awesome at keeping my face oil free all day. I originally was on Benzamycin (benzoyl peroxide and erythromycin) and it worked okay for awhile, but eventually stopped working after a year or two. Benzaclin has been working for the past 5-6 years at least.

Tried Retin-A for awhile years ago, never really helped much.

Also, Proactive does even less than simply washing with a cheap oil-free acne face wash -- at least for me. Serves me right for buying into the crappy tv hype I guess.

grungebox

I hear conflicting reports on whether this is true, but personally I tend to notice more acne if I eat lots of oily foods. This includes things like candy and chips as well.

I never tried Accutane, since I heard so many horror stories about people getting joint pains and such. I tried Benzomycin, which didn't do much, Clindamycin, which also didn't do much, Retin-a, which sort of helped but left my face horribly dry and peeling, and Tazorac, which worked best but wasn't covered by insurance. Take from that what you will.

ZeroCow

I took accutane as a teenager and it worked wonders for me and I didn't have any bad side effects. I haven't had any sort of face washing routine since I took it, just use some soap in the shower.

Rook

grungebox wrote: »

I hear conflicting reports on whether this is true, but personally I tend to notice more acne if I eat lots of oily foods. This includes things like candy and chips as well.

It's pretty much a myth according to all the studies, unless you end up wiping your hands on your face maybe. Although obviously eating a balanced diet is going to help more than gorging on fastfood.

Something that I found that works really well is shaving everyday (also use a badgerhair brush to apply the shaving cream to help exfoliate).

VeritasVR

S_S wrote: »

I'm aware that you said you prefer over the counter medications, but I did the whole "face covered in pimples/cysts/nodules" thing at one point in my life and the only thing that ever had any affect what-so-ever was Accutane, which requires a dermatologist and a prescription. Everything else before that led to disappointment and wasted time and money, and then a hideous red scar or two.

There's also http://acne.org/ which has a message board and various things you could try, though I can't admit to any of them working.

Same here. Used all those topical treatments but none of them showed any effect.

Jumped on Accutane, not because my acne was incredibly severe, but because nothing else worked on me. I've been almost acne-free for 6 years since, with results after 3 weeks. No side effects that I could tell of.

Septus

Accutane was great for me, my only side affect was horribly dry skin, but I think that's kind of the point.

Ever since, I get nothing but an occasional pimple, and I basically never get myself into a steady regimen of facial cleansing.

Tasteticle

I used to have quite a bad acne problem, and I tried a bunch of shit that didn't really work. Then I tried proactiv on a whim and after about a month I really started to notice a difference. In my personal experience it works very, very well.

edit- although it's not the cheapest thing around, I felt that it was well worth it.

Improvolone

Accutane accutane accutane

If you do go on it, take a vitamin E pill every morning, and always carry around medicated chapstick.

Tav

By "acne", do you mean you get a spot or two or that your face is totally covered in spots... because the best thing I've found for spots is putting a dallop of toothpaste on them overnight. It works wonders.

GurtPerk

I've used proactiv for a while. It seems to work pretty well, but when I'm running late, I just use the stridex. I'm actually interested in the duo cream and pad they just released.

Fantasma

I am sure some will disagree with this, but here I go:

1. Make sure that if you have bowel problems, you get them fixed, many toxins get back into your body due to constipation, and this can cause acne.

2. I used to treat my acne using medications containing benzoyl peroxide, soaps and creams.

3. If you can afford it, get a bottle of Hibiscrub, it is a soap used by surgeons, and it is very good for reducing bacteria in your skin, be careful with your eyes and mouth.

4. If all of the above fails, you can cut a lemon in two and use the juice on the areas affected, it will itch, but can reduce acne spots very quickly if you leave it on your skin.

Good luck.

Quoth

Just on the off-chance that you're a female (which doesn't seem to be the case)...

Birth control pills completely cured my acne.

Of course, if you're a guy then this is totally useless. But just thought I'd throw it out there.

mimizu

Wash with a mild soap and a lot of water, or just water. I don't use any makeup or face creams, and I don't eat much dairy, and I never got acne. The rest of my family had horrible ance, though.

Regina Fong

S_S wrote: »

I'm aware that you said you prefer over the counter medications, but I did the whole "face covered in pimples/cysts/nodules" thing at one point in my life and the only thing that ever had any affect what-so-ever was Accutane, which requires a dermatologist and a prescription. Everything else before that led to disappointment and wasted time and money, and then a hideous red scar or two.

There's also http://acne.org/ which has a message board and various things you could try, though I can't admit to any of them working.

If it's bad acne, accutane. Otherwise just maintain good hygiene and treat with good old oxy when you get the occasional blemish.

For some reason dermatologists hate prescribing accutane until after they've wasted years of your life using antibiotics and topical nonsense that is complete snakeoil. Only then will they finally prescribe the one medication which actually works.

Regina Fong

mimizu wrote: »

Wash with a mild soap and a lot of water, or just water. I don't use any makeup or face creams, and I don't eat much dairy, and I never got acne.

No offense, but this is bad advice. People who have never had acne are obviously not acne-prone, and thus your hygienic routine is pretty much completely inapplicable to someone with acne-prone skin.

You might as well advise someone with lung cancer on how to remain lung cancer free by following your diet and exercise routine. After all, you have never had lung cancer.

Glaeal

Should I go to a dermatologist for a prescription for Accutane, or would a normal family practice doctor do it?

Regina Fong

Glaeal wrote: »

Should I go to a dermatologist for a prescription for Accutane, or would a normal family practice doctor do it?

It's something only a dermatologist is likely to prescribe. Acne severe enough to warrant taking it should have been referred to a specialist for sure.

Convael

jeepguy wrote: »

S_S wrote: »

I'm aware that you said you prefer over the counter medications, but I did the whole "face covered in pimples/cysts/nodules" thing at one point in my life and the only thing that ever had any affect what-so-ever was Accutane, which requires a dermatologist and a prescription. Everything else before that led to disappointment and wasted time and money, and then a hideous red scar or two.

There's also http://acne.org/ which has a message board and various things you could try, though I can't admit to any of them working.

If it's bad acne, accutane. Otherwise just maintain good hygiene and treat with good old oxy when you get the occasional blemish.

For some reason dermatologists hate prescribing accutane until after they've wasted years of your life using antibiotics and topical nonsense that is complete snakeoil. Only then will they finally prescribe the one medication which actually works.

Maybe it has to do with the fact that many people who take it will continue to suffer from horribly dry skin for years and years to come? Or that it can cause your hair to fall out. The latter happened to one of my friends when she went on Accutane, and my cousin who is now 27 and used it as a teenager still has to moisturize his face twice daily or else his skin starts to crack and peel. In fact, a lot of people say the side effects made their self-esteem/personal image even worse than when they just had bad acne. It definitely does work, though, and I guess it's up to each person whether he or she wants to use it or not.

Regina Fong

Convael wrote: »

jeepguy wrote: »

S_S wrote: »

I'm aware that you said you prefer over the counter medications, but I did the whole "face covered in pimples/cysts/nodules" thing at one point in my life and the only thing that ever had any affect what-so-ever was Accutane, which requires a dermatologist and a prescription. Everything else before that led to disappointment and wasted time and money, and then a hideous red scar or two.

There's also http://acne.org/ which has a message board and various things you could try, though I can't admit to any of them working.

If it's bad acne, accutane. Otherwise just maintain good hygiene and treat with good old oxy when you get the occasional blemish.

For some reason dermatologists hate prescribing accutane until after they've wasted years of your life using antibiotics and topical nonsense that is complete snakeoil. Only then will they finally prescribe the one medication which actually works.

Maybe it has to do with the fact that many people who take it will continue to suffer from horribly dry skin for years and years to come? Or that it can cause your hair to fall out. The latter happened to one of my friends when she went on Accutane, and my cousin who is now 27 and used it as a teenager still has to moisturize his face twice daily or else his skin starts to crack and peel. In fact, a lot of people say the side effects made their self-esteem/personal image even worse than when they just had bad acne. It definitely does work, though, and I guess it's up to each person whether he or she wants to use it or not.

Severe acne is so much worse than the side effects of accutane. My cystic acne was so bad I looked and felt like a monster, accutane probably saved my life. I would have very likely killed myself by now if my acne had continued unabated.

Voro

Eh, I used accutane, but in the end the acne on my back just came back afterwards. I'd recommend using a deep clean astringent after washing your face in the morning and at night, and dab some cortizone on major patches before going to sleep.

Also, if you still have tons of sugar in your diet I'd address that at the same time. My acne started to subside once I was eating healthier, drinking plenty of water, and getting some sun. In fact, getting sunburned was the first time I had a clear back in years, but it comes with its own potential side effects. Even without the skin cancer, it's no fun sticking to everything you touch and feeling searing pain at the same time.

Edgie

Unfortunately, I don't know quite what you'd call the acne I have. It's not an entire face full of bumps and what not. More like.. a pimple there, a pimple here, a pimple there, there, and there. Some days it's worse than others. The temple area and around my hairline/forehead seem to be the most prone places, with a few sometimes popping up in the cheek or between my eyes. I get a one on my back now and then, but not enough to complain about.

I'm a male, so I don't think BC would be a good idea! Accutane sounds promising, but horribly dry skin and a chance of my hair falling out doesn't sound neat (I have long hair, past my shoulders at the moment). Based on the medications that everyone is reporting as none working, I guess my only way to go would be trying something like Clearisil or Oxy and hope for the best.

TheRealBadger

I know this thread has pretty much been solved already but I thought I would throw in one final piece. I was on accutane (called isotane in our corner of the globe) for about 6 months and had every minor side effect listed (and some unlisted), plus a couple of the major ones. It was not pleasant. I would advise trying it as a last resort. Yes, it works, and many people get through a course of it with nothing more than dry lips but if there is a chance something else could also work then it's worth giving that a go first. If you have serious serious acne then yeah, go for it. But if not, it's just not worth it.

Improvolone

But if you start getting the side affects, you can always stop.

Daenris

With the minor acne that the OP has described, Accutane is a terrible choice because the risks far outweigh the benefits.

Midshipman

Just throwing in another vote for Accutane. I took it for about a year, I had some bone tenderness for about 3-6 months (mostly in my shins when I went running on pavement), but otherwise it worked out great. I still get the occasional facial pimple and fairly regularly get back/shoulder pimples, but nothing like I did before I took Accutane.

Gotr

If you have cystils (sp?), nodules, and scarring, then really you have a serious case of acne, even though it might not seem that bad.

Isotretinoin, more commonly known as Accutaine (has many other similar brands), is like the nuclear bomb of acne medication. Just don't have kids (doesn't seem to affect sperm in males, but it's just a safety check) and watch out for depression, and the stuff's so damn good that for years dermatologists thought it might be a cure, not just a treatment. It's not a cure, but it's as close as you can come.

Boredom

Improvolone wrote: »

But if you start getting the side affects, you can always stop.

Stopping can have a very delayed effect on the symptoms.

It gave me chronic intracranial hypertension which lasted for 3-4 months after stopping, the treatment for which cascaded the situation into various other diseases. This alone is dangerous enough to make it not worth taking the drug unless your acne is extreme.

Also, my hair literally withered and falls out in crazy amounts, immediately since I stopped taking Accutane. By withered, I mean the individual hairs are completely deformed and bent out of shape (and I have straight hair). Luckily I already had a lot of hair on my head, so people haven't noticed but it's about 50% gone now. It's still withering out and the only thing that helps is biotin supplements (Read a study on PubMed that says Isotretinoin creates a biotin deficiency, which is 1 of the various ways Accutane destroys your hair).

Dermatologists lie about the product and downplay any side effects, like "you're going bald because of genes" but I'm really not - I had the one doctor I trust map the hair loss and said it was definitely not MPB (look it up. Hypervitaminosis A causes Telogen Effluvium). I also know a lot of people (including girls, who've had hair loss too.) who took it and it took them years for their hair to grow back. The truth is, the drug can kill your hair and there's no way to tell when this problem will correct itself.

Oh and, it destroyed my stomach too (only just recovering from that, even though I stopped taking it a year ago). It's honestly not worth even trying unless you have severe acne.

I'm aware that what I said might be considered quite controversial, but I honestly feel dermatologists are lying about this drug. I'm really not a quack. Everyone I know who has taken the drug has had major side effects and their derms consistently denied Accutane was the cause. In fact, a derm pushed the drug on me for no real reason (I had very mild acne, which came back after stopping Accutane) and I didn't know any better so I took it.

It's a big risk, that's all I'm really saying.

zeke

Starting from grade 6, I had the worst acne imaginable. Acne would appear all over my face and in certain times, on my neck and back. But I started using Accutane (could also be prescribed as Clarus) as advised by my family doctor starting at around November and stopped using it at around end of April. This drug seriously works but it does tend to have some side affects as noted by the other posters such as: extreme dry skin, and sudden mood swings.

Since I've been off, I have the occasional minor pimple but I use the washes/toners/creams that most people here use.

Regina Fong

Although Accutane does have a massive list of potential side effects (some of the rarer ones are quite serious) there's simply no way that everyone taking it develops "massive side effects". If Accutane really made every person who took it suicidally depressed and bald, it wouldn't have passed FDA muster.

I'm honestly sorry for anyone who experienced severe side effects from the drug, but the truth is that most people who take it are pleased with the results.

TheRealBadger

jeepguy wrote: »

Although Accutane does have a massive list of potential side effects (some of the rarer ones are quite serious) there's simply no way that everyone taking it develops "massive side effects". If Accutane really made every person who took it suicidally depressed and bald, it wouldn't have passed FDA muster.

I'm honestly sorry for anyone who experienced severe side effects from the drug, but the truth is that most people who take it are pleased with the results.

No doubt that most are pleased with the results. I was put through absolute hell with this drug and I was still happy with the results. It works wonders. My point is that unless it is a serious case of acne it is worth exploring other means first. If they don't work, fine, consider Accutane. True, not everyone will experience horrible side effects, but why even expose yourself to that risk before checking out alternatives?

radroadkill

Yeah, when I had shitty acne the only thing that worked for me was the natural route. Gentle chamomile, tea tree, and lavender products to control the oil, clear the pores, and kill bacterial.

Using any sort of body soap on the face will actually screw up your oil mantle and balances the pH of the skin which allows more bacteria to grow.

I tried Proactive, Clinique, Duac, and a few other drug store things with no positive results. Going more natural really calmed it down quickly and within a year I was at the point where I just needed gentle maintaining products rather than really detoxing and oil fighting ones.

I just figure why go for chemicals and things that really can have shitty side effects or fuck up your skin in a different way if you haven't given the more natural route a go.

Things like tea tree, witch hazel, juniper, citrus, and mild salt scrubs are great ingredients to look for.

Kistra

Edgie wrote:

Unfortunately, I don't know quite what you'd call the acne I have. It's not an entire face full of bumps and what not. More like.. a pimple there, a pimple here, a pimple there, there, and there. Some days it's worse than others. The temple area and around my hairline/forehead seem to be the most prone places, with a few sometimes popping up in the cheek or between my eyes. I get a one on my back now and then, but not enough to complain about.

I'm a male, so I don't think BC would be a good idea! Accutane sounds promising, but horribly dry skin and a chance of my hair falling out doesn't sound neat (I have long hair, past my shoulders at the moment). Based on the medications that everyone is reporting as none working, I guess my only way to go would be trying something like Clearisil or Oxy and hope for the best.

With milder acne a topical retinol treatment should work for you. It is the same active ingredient as accutane, but since it is topical you don't get all of the side effects. It doesn't work quite as well as accutane, but it is still effective for the pimple here, pimple there sort of acne rather than the deep cysts. It is still prescription and you still have to wear sunscreen everyday (find a noncomedogenic one) but it has a lot fewer side effects so I would bet your family doc will prescribe it (mine did).

Slider

This topic is over 2 years old and was probably bumped by a spam account.