Whats With the Acne?

Well I had pretty bad acne for a couple of years, fortunately I think it is pretty much done with (I still take minocycline and use differin and benzaclin cream on my face, even though it looks fine now)...lots of people just have bad genetics. I had so many friends in high school who had perfectly clear faces and never had to worry about it, and then a few people would just be stuck with it.

Some advice if you don't want to go the prescription route: Take two showers a day, use cetaphil antibacterial soap on your face (don't use regular soap on your face). Many people think the best way to combat acne is to dry the skin so much and get rid of all the oil...this can be counterproductive as dry skin causes your body to produce even more oil and agitates the skin. It is better to use a less drying soap like cetaphil on your face, then use cetaphil facial moisturizer. Also, make sure you are getting plenty of vitamin a, e, c, and take fish oil. Another thing is, NEVER touch your face. You might not think about it, but you probably touch your face to your hand or arm many times throughout the day, and this is just getting more bacteria and oil on it. If you can start going through the day without touching your face at all, you will notice a huge difference. And last of all, drink plenty of water and don't eat too many simple carbs/sugars.

As far as prescriptions go, accutane is very controversial. I took it for about 5 months until the doctor decided to take me off because I was "the worst responder she has ever seen". In fact, the entire time I was on accutane, my face just got worse due to the flaring that it causes. If I had never taken it, it probly wouldn't have gotten nearly as bad as it did. Although I can say that now my face is much less oily than it used to be due to the accutane, and it will probably lessen the chances of getting acne again. Most people respond fine to accutane, I did not. Oh, and also it is very bad for your body. It is terrible for your liver, and in some cases can cause very bad irreversible side effects (although it is rare). My acne was causing me so much mental grief every day that I had finally decided I didn't care what the risks were, I just wanted that # to come off my face. The choice is up to you, but I would just recommend getting minocycline (an antibiotic), and some topical cream to use...don't go for accutane unless it is an absolute last resort. Feel free to u2u me if you need any more help because I know how #ty it can make you feel to have bad acne...just know that it will be gone some day.

Don't take minocycline or any antibacteria because it destroys your antibodies that help keep your immune system strong, trust me if you take
prescription antibacterias too long your immune system will start to weaken and break down and then you will have to build
it back up again through natural methods like acidophilus.


Its best to stay away from antibacteria prescription drugs.

Originally posted by Truth

Don't take minocycline or any antibacteria because it destroys your antibodies that help keep your immune system strong, trust me if you take
prescription antibacterias too long your immune system will start to weaken and break down and then you will have to build
it back up again through natural methods like acidophilus.


Its best to stay away from antibacteria prescription drugs.

Do you have any sources to back this up? I'm pretty sure minocycline targets a very limited amount of microbodies and wouldn't do anything to "break down" the immune system...I have taken it for a couple years now, work out all the time, and hardly ever get sick...so I haven't noticed anything.

I really would like to stop taking them all together, and did that a while back...but when I did the acne came back worse than it had been before. I have heard that longterm antibiotic use can be bad, but doctors never seem to be concerned with it. And I have read about prebiotics and probiotics to use before and after you use antibiotics...I want to stop taking it, but I'm afraid about what could happen with my skin again.

[edit on 16-2-2005 by Shoktek]

After my 2nd baby I had/have really really bad adult acne...along the chin/jaw line..HORRIBLE really bad. Pro-activ doesnt help, nothing did...I ran across this one product called Natures Cure...its pills and cream..I have been taking them for about 2 months now and my skin is SOOO much better not 100% but a lot better!! I still use the proactiv cleanser....Go to drugstore.com and check out the reviews on it...I decided to try it since it was the only thing I haven't tried.....

I had acne well into my twenties. Want to know how I finally cleared it up?

I gave up sugar, totally! EVERYTHING with any sugar in it. Read ingredients and don't eat anything with an ingredient that ends in "ose" (sucrose, glucose, fructose, lactose etc.) plus I lost like 25 pounds on my way to loosing 50 by watching carbs in addition to sugar!

Also you should drink half your weight in onces of water every day. Example: you weigh 180 lbs that means you drink 90 fl. oz of water a day.

Now I only get the occasional pimple when I undulge in sweets for a couple of days in a row. So I know it's the sugar. Try it for a few weeks. It costs nothing and you will feel and look great.
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