Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Thursdays on the Bench

Hi all, exam week is over and semester two has begun. The older one only has 4 courses this semester. He will actually have a lunch period. I think he will be lost with all the free time! I told him he can go to study hall! He has a light course load this semester, we will see how it progresses.



How are you all dealing with teenage acne? Mild cases are ok, but, what about severe cases? What 'stuff' have you used to help clear it up? I know it's natural and all, I am just worried about scarring. We have seen our family physician and he has proscribed some oral medication which has helped along with a topical ointment. I think it's starting to bother him this year. It didn't last year. We were speaking with our doctor and he said he could prescribe 'accutane.' It would be a last resort and only if the acne was really bugging him. There are a lot of side effects, ie: it affects your red blood cell production, your liver function, causes extremely dry skin and eyes. It's necessary to have a blood test done every month to make sure your red blood count is good. They only prescribe it for a maximum of... I think he said five weeks.. not sure about that one fact.


Since the teenager was around 10 our former Doctor told us to use Spectro Gel twice a day to cleanse her face. I also coincidentally was told to use Spectro Gel by my Aunt who is a registered holistic nutritionist. So we have used it since. The teenager fortunately has not had much of a problem with acne. I to use Spectro gel and I find it does make a difference. It is not cheap but not crazy expensive. The little one has started to use Spectro Gel as well as she gets the odd pimple. She has used no other acne creams. Just washing her face twice a day. For the past year especially in the winter she has to add a light moisturizer after washing but that is it. The boys are using the Spectro Gel as well. They do wash twice a day, too. I had a bad case of acne when I was a teenager, bad genetics I guess. I have given my daughter spectra gel as per Carolin's suggestion. It seems to be more hormonal for her. She said that it works sometimes. What she eats does not seem to make a difference either. Some days her skin is very clear for a period of time and then the next its not for a period of time. I really think that there is not much over the counter that makes a huge difference. I believe that It is just simply her skin type and her age that are cause of it. I hope that she will someday just grow out of it. It is hard though when they are feeling self conscious about it and girls try to cover it up with foundation and makeup, which make it even worse.


The stuff, accutane, makes me nervous, so I am hoping the medicine he is on will continue to show improvement. We go again in a month to decide. I hope the younger one will not have to deal with as severe a case as his brother. I don't think I have ever noticed the acne on your older son. So I don't know about it being severe. I wish that I could help but I don't know anything about that medication.

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