Spoken by a person who’s never had a blemish, I suppose. Try being stigmatized and ostrasized by something you never asked for and can’t control. Try thinking well into adulthood, do people see what I see in the mirror and think I don’t take care of my personal hygine? Do people see the real me or just my blemished skin?
Try having an enormous break-out on your body where you can’t reach well to treat it, and dammit, those THINGS HURT LIKE HELL!
You’re wrong on this. It’s not a matter of opinion, but rather, fact. Acne is a medical condition. Even my spam tells me this! I worked many years for dermatologists. There’s a lot of misconceptions, myths, and false information out there about acne. Plus people respond differently to different medication. Although I don’t see how Cetaphil could cause harm to anyone’s skin- it’s a very mild, non-pimple-causing product.
Accutane has never been strictly proven to cause depression, and in fact, severe acne causes much more depression than has ever been linked to Accutane. I have experience with hundreds of Accutane users, and have never known one to complain of depression while on Accutane that didn’t already have a history of it.
Please take your son to the derm, and give him the best possible chance of having a good teenhood experience you can. Being a teenager is hard enough without having to deal with having a huge glaring flaw right there on your face. Fortunately for me, I’ve never had a pimple on my face- believe it! But I can empathize.
I did read today that a high-glycemic diet is linked to acne, FYI.
Countrypolitan, that was well said, and I’m sorry you had to go through that.
I don’t know- if you have big, painful cystic-like pimples on your body parts, you might wanna, you know, get that checked out. It could be staph or even mrsa. That’s not normal.
You would be supposing wrong.
What exactly does this mean, then? Does this mean there are actual health detriments, and not just cosmetic ones (e.g., scarring)? The Wikipedia page for acne doesn’t list any, so please fight my ignorance.
I understand that acne can by psychologically difficult, and that teens can be jerks, but the OPs son doesn’t seem to mind, so in this case, what’s the problem?
It means, it’s not just about the way someone looks. Acne can cause permanent physical scarring- that can have devastating emotional consequences. Most practitioners believe that those things aren’t just “cosmetic”, which implies that it’s not a real issue. But it is a bacterial infection, p. acnes, and thus “deserves” treatment, if we’re deciding which ailments should be treated and not.
I don’t know if I agree that “take him to the dermatologist right away!” is the answer for this kid just yet…
The OP really hasn’t established if his son is washing properly with the right kind of soaps. He hasn’t mentioned if the kid keeps his hair clean or even washes his hands regularly and keeps them off his face. I didn’t see any mention of cystic acne - in my mind, “pizza face” is more whiteheads. The OP didn’t say if the kid is popping his zits (which can cause more zits) or not. The OP isn’t even sure if the kid is using the OTC stuff with any regularity. Does the kid have bacne? Does he wear clean shirts?
I truly feel bad for the kid, having gone through bouts of acne myself. But I didn’t see a dermatologist myself until I tried all of the above.
The kid is only 12. He is oily and sweaty in ways he’s never been oily or sweaty before. He can’t be trusted to keep his hair and face clean or use proper cleaning methods (ie not body soap)…he doesn’t know how just yet.
I’d recommend that first you get his hygiene habits up to snuff with what a teenager should be doing, and if that doesn’t work *then *see a dermatologist. Or, if you look at your son’s acne and find that it’s mostly NOT whiteheads or blackheads, and it IS cystic, then go to a dermatologist to nip it in the bud.
Why, for christ’s sake? Are we now rationing the most basic of healthcare, to the point where someone is set up to have permanent scarring of the face? Testosterone causes most acne- if this kid produces this much male hormone at only 12, and he probably hasn’t even hit puberty all the way yet, then he could end up with a serious problem shortly. Best to get him treated now before it gets bad. What does an afflicted supplicant have to do- prove that he deserves to be treated and it’s not just out of vanity? Are your copays that high?
How is scarring not about the way someone looks?
Yes, of course dermatologists think acne should be treated. Dentists recommend teeth whitening treatments. That doesn’t make it not cosmetic.
Again, I understand that, due to a defect in our culture (meting out judgement based on looks), physical appearance can be an emotional/psychological problem. However, the OP indicated that their son didn’t seem to mind the acne. So, my vote is still: “Leave him alone. He doesn’t have a problem; you do. Please don’t give him yours.”
Yes, because 12 year-old boys are notorious for knowing what’s best for them.
Let me just ask you what the definition of a medical problem is? I don’t see how anyone can deny that having something go biologically wrong with the largest body organ in the entire body is not one under any circumstances. That has nothing to do with teeth whitening.