Bumps on my face?!

Acne

1) see derm for proffessional help

2)if it gets serious and you are really emotionally troubled, a good derm will prescribe oral vitamin A derivative (brand name Accutane). This is the atom bomb for acne but may have some adverse effect on liver function long term. That said there are some new studies showing that potential liver damage is only transient and that in most cases results in no long term effect. Not sure which one to believe.

3)if not too serious then derm should prescribe topical vitamin A = tretinoin (Retin A, Tazorac). Tretinoin is so good for your skin that even if you don't have acne it will help remove signs of aging, sun damage and other imperfections. If derm does not want to prescribe then this stuff is available gray market. This stuff is design to speed up the shedding and regeneration cycle of your skin. faster sheeding = less chance of oil plugs forming and smoother skin

4) wash with a salicylic solution (2% or less). this will in the long run help the oil ducts to shed the oil instead of it forming a plug and allowing the bacteria to fester. This means it will reduce whitehead and blackhead formation

Benzoil P is primarily designed to reduce the bacteria that casues white heads/blackheads to become actual pimples (infected pores). In reality it is not even very effective at reducing anything but the faintest pimple outbreak and does absolutely nothing for whiteheads or blackheads. Quite simply I think BP is a joke. same thing for all the other stuff you will see in most print adds
and all tv adds.

You will never see adds for accutane or tretinoin but you will likely need to use one or the other.

Lastly I have in my day consulted with some pretty useless derms so you really need to shop around for one that is up to date and commited to maling your skin look better

Forgot to add that if the pimples go red (full blown acne) it would be standard procedure to also put you on acne antibiotics such as tetracycline, minocycline ect.

Thanks for the advice.

My derma believes my acne is whiteheads and has prescribed me differin and minocycline for two months. Hopefully this will work and also not leave scars

Originally Posted by rotk

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Thanks for the advice.

My derma believes my acne is whiteheads and has prescribed me differin and minocycline for two months. Hopefully this will work and also not leave scars

Oh man, I thought a degree meant something these days. a)Do you do any sports? or b)did you just reach puberty?

If you do any close contact sports please mention it to your derma. Could be just acne but can also be Staph.

Originally Posted by rotk

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Thanks for the advice.

My derma believes my acne is whiteheads and has prescribed me differin and minocycline for two months. Hopefully this will work and also not leave scars

OK that's good. Differin contains a retinoid like substance so has the same (slightly milder) effect as a true retinoid (tretinoin). Don't worry if your skin gets temporarily red or worse as this is very common and just means it is working. TBH 2 months is not very long and full effect can take upto 6 months. The effect of minocyline will be faster though.

You should still wash your face at night with salicylic acid just before you apply the differin. Also wash again with salicylic in the morning as well.

Last thing: with differin or any similar substances your days in the sun are over! Complete sun avoidance is important: meaning you wear a good UVA/UVB suncreen all year round anytime outside (even when overcast). Not doing this could result in alot of skin photo aging.

Start freaking out about it. Seek advice on the internet. Google various dermatological ailments (such as guttate psoriasis or bedbugs). Convince yourself that you're not well. Lose sleep over it. Invest money you can't afford into a range of solutions that only affirm your free-form anxiety about your health.

I'm having problems with my face where there are marks left from zits. The zits are "gone" but the marks are still there. Any help?

I have a derm appointment in November so its a while away.

try glycolic acid face peels for zit scars, or retinol

Originally Posted by bigt

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try glycolic acid face peels for zit scars, or retinol

any particular products/brands you recommend?

I searched glycolic acid face peels on google and looking at the images of people using it that seems to be the thing I need. Thanks! I will mention it to the dermatologist and hopefully he can tell me a good one.