Bad skin on back :(

LegacyUser

Just wondering if anyone knows of a good method to clear acne on the back & shoulders? Finding it tricky...cheers.

up for anything

From what I've read of other threads of this nature, the contraceptive pill Diane/Dianette is very good if you're female or if the acne is very bad Roaccutane for both males and females. However, both of these have side effects so it's probably wise to check into it thoroughly through your doctor. Having suffered from back and chest spots in the past I can tell you that there are no magic cures or old wives tales that work. It seems to be a situation that either you leave well alone or throw the heavy artillery at it. Good luck with it.

rainglow

Neutrogena have a shower gel called Body Clear Body Wash which is pretty good, and Clinique have a chest and back spray for acne in these areas. If it's too severe for these, your GP can prescribe topical antibiotics, a topical gel to clear existing spots up, or an antibiotic in tablet form like Minocin.

Hope this helps!

Zapho

I've been using rough sponge with Emulave (a shower gel without soap) which seems to be working. Its gonna take ages but it will work! Drink loads of water too and I'd recommend Omega 3, 6 and 9 suplements too. Problem with acne is that it responds very slowly to antibiotics so if start on Minocin you could be on it for 2 months before it starts taking effect, and say on it for a year.

ferdi

expose the effected area to as much sunlight as humanly possible, it worked wonders for me..

meditraitor

Try all of above apart from roccotaine(severe side effects with some people), the sunlight option is good apart from our glorious weather, and sunbeds have there own inherint dangers
Personnaly I would start using a sauna or steam room, this will help keep the pores clean and lower the damage to your skin, IMO its the best (safest)and quickest way to clear it up.

Good luck

Scarinae

If the skin is very bad and you're really careful about cleaning, then I'd say you'll probably have to go on antibiotics. I used to have quite bad skin and then I went on antibiotics, it took a month or so but then my skin cleared up, I only get the odd spot every now and again at this stage! I think my one was called Tetralysal, you can't take it if you're going to be in the sun a lot so you have to stop taking it before you go on a sun holiday, but I'd definitely recommend it
Apart from that, drink LOADS of water, avoid too much white bread, try to cut down on fizzy drinks. And don't believe people who suggest tea tree oil - IT DOESN'T WORK, it'll just make your skin red and raw and peely

xzanti

If you have bad skin its usually not caused by bad hygiene... Its a bug in your system like any other bug that you can get... Ask your doctor about Minnisin its an antibiotic and it helped me and a few other people I know in my teens... The only side effect I experienced was occasional heart burn.. Roaccutane is known to cause severe depression.. Theres actaully a case in the news about it at the moment about a teenager who commit suicide in 1997 because he was on the drug and the family are now sewing the pharasutical company for compo....

Homer J Simpson

it might be the shower gel your using. I was using Johnsons Shower gel and my back would break out. Changed shower gel and it cleared up. Worth trying anyhow.

Altheus

Apart from the way you wash, try and find out what clothing you have on that may be aggravating the spots aswell. Try to wear clean loose fitting undershirts made of cotton, good moisturising, plenty of cod liver oil.

If it's oily, try using tea tree oil. It drys out your skin which means that you wont get ulceric type spots, the very painful large red ones. Make sure to moisterise though! Make sure to use a light moisturising, the thick ones tend to block pores and cause worse problems.

If it's not, use the neutrogena stuff, it's great. Bear in mind you need to moisterise too.

Watch your diet, see what your eating and what happens 2 days later. White bread, cheese and beer seemed to have a bad effect for me. Red wine seemed to help quite a bit though!

Try and swim in the sea too, I always found after a few days my back was very clear.

Never use conditioner in the shower, it's thick and goopey and causes problems. If you must use it, then do the old kneel beside the bath and lean in trick.

Scarinae

Oh, and I forgot to say, avoid peanuts. Peanuts aggravate spots on shoulders and upper back

pookie pixie

Agree with point on getting as much light as possible but you probably dont want to do that because it makes you feel uncomfrotable.Never fear,you're not alone!!I had/have the same problem since I was 11 and its only now at 20 dying down.I went on mad diets that the witchs on the hills gave me and spot pills but thats nothing to do with it cause its on your back and prob a bit on chest if im right.USE ZINERYT!!its perscription only and a bit of a pain in the cash stakes(abbout 33 quid for a lil bottle) but you'll have it for ages and it really did the trick for me.......only thing is it clears up and you can go off it for a good 4/5 months but i had to repeat again.Its the worst thing in the world i know but hopefully that'll help

Dizzyblabla

sunbeds! - if you don't want people to see you sunbathing (and sunbeds are good in moderation of course) a friend of mine uses them for her exima (spl?)... I used them after my holls cause my face started getting bad (at 25!!) and they cleared right up again, but definately the sun is best for clearing up skin...

20 Times 20 Times

go to a specialist and get subscibed to rocataine did wonders for me all my acne gone after 3months and never came back

DArcy

Tetralysal is definitely a good way to go. The side effects are fairly minimal. Benzyl Benzoate is also often prescribed, a strong topical lotion applied to acne once a day. It bleaches any type of material/cloth that it comes into contact with but is effective in the treatment of acne.

i R baboon

hey, spots, ya the most annoyin thing. had severely for all my teen years. been on minicine and zineryt and others, they worked for awhile but it was like i grew an immunity to em and they stopped workin. although they have cleared up some peoples skin i know, these work for certain people. also if your a dude i recommend not shavin, i didnt for ages and i was like a fool wit bum fluff on my face (have stubble now-yeah) but it was worth it cause were i didnt shave, it didnt scar but anywhere i did it did scar, shavin spreads them. also i went to a dermatoligist and i asked him is it true that what you eat affects your skin and he said it was a myth. anyway he prescibed roactaine for me and i was on it for five months, the first three and a half months, not one difference and then the last month and a half my skin totally cleared up. and yes it can effect you. i had to go back every month to the dermatoligist and he would ask me how was i feeling, was i down or anything. apparently its the main thing to get rid of bad skin once your tthrough wit puberty. ask your doc about it, he have more info and advise you on what to do

LegacyUser

Cheers for all the kind replies. Im 20 so its a bit of a pain... I really dont know what peice of advice to try first. hrmzzz.

Scarinae

I'd say try changing your eating habits and your shower gel first, and if that doesn't have any effect, go to the doctor

LegacyUser

If its Acne that you have (and it sounds like you have) no amount of dietary changes will help, drinking water and eating certain foods have nothing to do with it. (mind you it never hurts to have a healthy diet!)
There are 'Spot' creams you can get over the counter in the chemist and they work well.
Unfortunately there is not quick fix; you need to use the creams for about 3/4 months to clear yourself up.
Get into the routine of having a shower before bed and put the cream on to work overnight.

Good Luck :~)

CuppaCocoa

Have you tried laser treatment? It's very effective for bad skin. Most of the reputable clinics do it and it's very popular with guys. You'll probably need a few treatments but it should be much faster than messing around with lotions and potions. Usually costs around 100 euro a treatment.

ClareBear

Didn't get if you're male or female. Dianette is brilliant if you're a girl....as for Roaccutane I think that's only if your acne is really severe....otherwise try other things mentioned on here first.

Best of luck with it.

Araleth

For about the past year or so I've been taking Minocin SA, which worked really well with my acne but it has been pulled off the market a few weeks ago. I was put on another drug called By-Mycin but it's really not doing anything and my acne is returning so I'm considering trying Roaccutane. I am well aware of the risks/side effects but have had pretty bad acne since the age of 13 (i'm 19 now) and thought things were going well untill I lost access to the Minocin. Can anyone who has been on Roaccutane tell me roughly how much it costs monthly? (Including derm visits, blood tests and whatever)

Tar.Aldarion

woah thats a lot of info to try,my back has always sucked too.done nothing about it ever,infact i havn't really noticed in years....

Laguna

If it's actual acne on your back and shoulders, you'll need a GP to prescribe OxyTetraCycline to you to clear it up.

Steveire

Araleth wrote:

For about the past year or so I've been taking Minocin SA, which worked really well with my acne but it has been pulled off the market a few weeks ago. I was put on another drug called By-Mycin but it's really not doing anything and my acne is returning so I'm considering trying Roaccutane. I am well aware of the risks/side effects but have had pretty bad acne since the age of 13 (i'm 19 now) and thought things were going well untill I lost access to the Minocin. Can anyone who has been on Roaccutane tell me roughly how much it costs monthly? (Including derm visits, blood tests and whatever)

I don't remember it costing too much, and in any case, you can get a card from the health board if you don't already have one for the drugs payment scheme. It means you only have to pay up to a limit per month for antibiotics.

I think the derm visits were expensive, certainly more than GP visits. I didn't pay for the blood tests, because i went to the UCD doc and got sent to Vincents by them. If you're in college, you should be able to do similar i guess if you want.

20 Times 20 Times

Sarge wrote:

go to a specialist and get subscibed to rocataine did wonders for me all my acne gone after 3months and never came back

This is the best thing that ever happened to me , and the boost you get in self confidence is unreal because you feel a lot better in yourself

Steveire

Sarge wrote:

This is the best thing that ever happened to me , and the boost you get in self confidence is unreal because you feel a lot better in yourself

Yeah, absolutely.

I was lucky wrt side effects. Just some drying of the lips. My skin did even better than the dermo expected as well.

Civilian_Target

First step is cleansing lotion like Clearasil.
After that - go to the GP and get an Oxytetracycline
If that doesn't work after a further 3 months - go to GP again, ask for Milacin and get them to make you an appointment with a dermatologist.

If you do go to a dermatologist, and they reckon its worth it, they'll put you on Roaccutane, which *will* work, but has some nasty side-effects, notably it dries you eyelids and lips meaning you have to take eyelubricant drops and lib balm everywhere and use them at least twice a day. It also gave me quite stiff joints for the first few weeks, and you can't drink alcohol while taking it (gives you the runs). But - your spots will be gone in a few months.

20 Times 20 Times

its the best money ive ever spent going to see dermatologist who subscribed me too Roaccutane the only realy regret i have is that i didnt do it earlier in my life , now the way it worked with me and bearing in mind that everybody is slighly different with teh way your body reacts to it , for the first 3 months i was on 3 tablets a day and teh last three months i put myself up to 4. The way my body handled the tablets was weird i couldnt really drink that much , i got really really bad break out in the first month where my face and back was one big spot , but this cleared up after a week or 2 so dont worry too much about it , i got really dry skin , so there is two things you will need with you at nearly all times , 1.moisturiser 2.vaseline for your lips , i never got dry eyes like some people say they did but everyone is different. the best money you will ever spend and my advice is to do it straight away , i know some day i will have kids and the first sign of acne on them ill have them to the dermatologist to mekae their life easier hope all this helps and if you ever have any questions just post them up ill answer them

Firetrap

You'd really be as well off to go to the doctor. Antibiotics will work for some people, not for others. Roaccutane can work, but it's not always a permanent solution. In my case, it cleared it up for a few months, then it came back again. Now I'm taking Dianette and it seems to be working. There's different root causes for the acne and no two people are the same. If only things were that simple

s4dd

if you want to go the natural way...

a food supplement high in omega 3 and 6 fatty acids is great for any skin condition. Udo's oil is great in that respect.. you could try taking three spoons a day.

part from that a supplement high in nucliec acids can be great too... desicated liver for example.. cept you have to take ruddy great big handfulls of the stuff to get a decent effect. i'd start with 10 tables three times a day... also, well.. it's desicated "liver".. may not be to everyones tastes

this post has been cut down dramatically when i realised i started to waffle quite abit about the two suggestions previous. if you'd like more info i guess i could post it.. but if you go into a health shop i'm sure they could talk the ears of you about such things

DaisyDuke

Clearasil and Oxy are the worst things you could use - they literally peel a layer of skin off your face, and generally as soon as you stop using them, the problem comes back worse than ever.

Check your diet, things like your shower gel and the type of washing powder that you use. They won't cure acne, but they'll help it be less pissed off.
When you're in the shower, let the water run over your back for several minutes - it will help clear out the pores and calm down what spots are there.
Shower every day, religiously, to make sure there is no build up of sweat or sebum that could fill your pores - again helping to calm things.

Cut down on the booze, ciggies and junk food as well, as they all kill flow of oxygen and nutrients to the skin.

Your GP should be able to help if none of that is working after a month (28 day cycle to totally renew the top layers of skin). A reference to a dermatologist might be a good plan if there's no change at all.

Hester

Araleth wrote:

For about the past year or so I've been taking Minocin SA, which worked really well with my acne but it has been pulled off the market a few weeks ago.

Huh? I was prescribed this a week ago... Any idea why it was taken off the market? One chemist I tried to get it in said they didn't have any and that I might have trouble getting it. Didn't mention it wasn't available. I managed to get half a packet of it of another chemist but is there even any point in me taking it if I won't be able to get more?
Can't really afford to go back to the doctor at the minute

soma

I suffered from bad skin on my back for years - glad to say it's much much better these days, my "cure" has been mentioned already but just gonna re-iterate here, unfortunately our climate doesnt really make this easy to do..

1) sunlight - it cannot be stressed enough how much fresh air and sun on your back clears up acne. Also a nice side effect of a tan (of course, be careful) is that it really make the remaining blemishes less obvious. [note: I have never tried it, but I dont think you'd achieve the same effect from a sunbed]

2) seawater - swimming/bathing in the sea - the salt in the water seems to work wonders - I find even wearing a wetsuit (I surf) still has benefits as your body is coated in a thin film of seawater.

LegacyUser

soma wrote:

I suffered from bad skin on my back for years - glad to say it's much much better these days, my "cure" has been mentioned already but just gonna re-iterate here, unfortunately our climate doesnt really make this easy to do..

1) sunlight - it cannot be stressed enough how much fresh air and sun on your back clears up acne. Also a nice side effect of a tan (of course, be careful) is that it really make the remaining blemishes less obvious. [note: I have never tried it, but I dont think you'd achieve the same effect from a sunbed]

2) seawater - swimming/bathing in the sea - the salt in the water seems to work wonders - I find even wearing a wetsuit (I surf) still has benefits as your body is coated in a thin film of seawater.

definetely agree here, i have slight psoriasis on my upper back for years, and tried all different types of lotions, but no good, but this summer, i've been doing a lot work outdoors, so it was an oppurtunity to throw of the shirt, i have been clear since , and my back feels very smooth

although i can't say that this works for every one..

also never forget to liberally apply suncream, no point going from bad skin, to nasty skin cancer....