Body Acne Solution? in The AnswerBank: Body & Soul

Antibiotics worked for me - interestingly they only cleared up my back and chest acne and not my face, had to go on the Pill for that! I stayed on antibiotics for 1 year and they didn't come back when I stopped them. Not too expensive, just a prescription charge every 3 months if I remember correctly. If you are a girl there is a pill Dianette which is what I went on, also a possibility and worked well for me. GO AND SEE YOUR DOCTOR!! I waited ages to do anything about my acne, thought I could solve it with over the counter stuff, I wish I had gone to the doctor sooner cos the prescribed stuff works and on the whole the stuff I bought from Boots really didn't!

undercovers

review your diet, try to cut out processed food as much as possible and try cutting out certain food to see if you have an intolerence / allergy that you are unaware of - prime suspects with acne are milk or gluten (part of wheat and other grains), so try a month without milk products and then a month without gluten and see what happens... lots of raw veg, seeds etc helps with the skin as does vitamin B i believe. Oh and one more, sunbeds work a treat I think it something to do with Vitamin D?

sharp1

had very bad back acne, now completly clear. I tried lots of creams, tablets etc, none worked. for me it was my sweating that blocked the pors, make sure you shower and dry yourself properly afer any activity. and try not to drink fizzy drinks drink water instead. they will clear eventually without doing these things but doing these things will calm them down considerably.

leathalmon

I'm afraid that whilst a healthy life style is beneficial in many ways, it has little impact on acne. The first thing to do is make sure you are not overwashing the area. A common misconception is that acne is caused by dirt...this is not at all true. The process causing acne is long and complicated and not even fully understood. But it happens within the pores, and so however much you clean the surface there will be no improvement. In fact, over cleaning causing irritation and constantly removal of the sins natural level of oils. If either of these happen the automatic response of the skin is to pump out more oil (called sebum) which causes more acne! The best thing to do is to wash once, maybe twice a day at most - maybe once in the morning and once after exercise or before bed. Wash with a gentle wash or a CLEAN wash cloth (but be gentle to the skin, you cannot rub or wash acne away - it only worsens it!!!)

leathalmon

After gentle washing, gently dab the skin dry and after 15 minutes I'd advise applying a chemical called Benzoyl Peroxide. I don't have time to explain how the chemical works but it is very effective in treating acne. It comes in different strengths and can be purchased WITHOUT a prescription. For chest and back start at 5% or 10% depending on the sensitivity of your skin (higher concentration = more irritating). Note that a higher concentration does not always mean more effective, but 10% can be purchased in larger, cheaper tubes from the pharmacy. BP cannot also come in 2 forms of gel. One is water based , the other is alcohol based. For back and chest acne (where the skin is less sensitive than the face) I would advise starting with alcohol based.

leathalmon

Things to note: 1) Acne CANNOT BE CURED. It can be effectively treated with a number of methods, but no cure exists. When you stop using benzoyl peroxide the acne can come back! 2) Benzoyl peroxide can irritate the skin causing peeling and redness. This is normal to a certain degree but if the skin is blistering, or becomes painful see your GP and stop using the BP immediately. 1-2% of people are allergic to BP. 3) BP can bleach hair and clothes! Best time to apply is after a shower before you go to bed, and you can wear an old white t-shirt that you don't min getting ruining. Remember to wash before application and allow your sin to dry for 15 minutes. Don't put the t-shirt on for another 10-15mins to allow the BP to be absorbed. 4) No acne treatments have full results until 2-3months into application. Do not stop using because you do not get instant results....there is no fast cure, and applying it more than twice a day is unlikely to help, it will probably make the sin peel, blister become dry and make the acne worse! 5) If there is NO improvement after 2-3 months see your GP where he can advise you on other methods available. If you are female doctors often prescribe 'the pill'. Otherwise oral or topical antibiotics are commonly used. In fact there is a product which is applied to the sin called Benzamycin. This contains BP and an antibiotic called Erythromycin. Benzamycin can be more irritating that BP and is available by prescription only.

leathalmon

Things to note: 1) Acne CANNOT BE CURED. It can be effectively treated with a number of methods, but no cure exists. When you stop using benzoyl peroxide the acne can come back! 2) Benzoyl peroxide can irritate the skin causing peeling and redness. This is normal to a certain degree but if the skin is blistering, or becomes painful see your GP and stop using the BP immediately. 1-2% of people are allergic to BP. 3) BP can bleach hair and clothes! Best time to apply is after a shower before you go to bed, and you can wear an old white t-shirt that you don't min getting ruining. Remember to wash before application and allow your sin to dry for 15 minutes. Don't put the t-shirt on for another 10-15mins to allow the BP to be absorbed. 4) No acne treatments have full results until 2-3months into application. Do not stop using because you do not get instant results....there is no fast cure, and applying it more than twice a day is unlikely to help, it will probably make the sin peel, blister become dry and make the acne worse! 5) If there is NO improvement after 2-3 months see your GP where he can advise you on other methods available. If you are female doctors often prescribe 'the pill'. Otherwise oral or topical antibiotics are commonly used. In fact there is a product which is applied to the sin called Benzamycin. This contains BP and an antibiotic called Erythromycin. Benzamycin can be more irritating that BP and is available by prescription only.

leathalmon

Try the BP, and if there are any questions at all, don't hesitate to email at: "health.science.question AT NOSPAMwwwww.plus.com". Replacing the AT with '@' and removing 'NOSPAM'. Hope this has helped. Chris 5W Network

Body Acne Solution?

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