Teenagers and Acne

Over summer vacation my boys attend Boy Scout camp in the sweltering summer months of July. They sleep in tents and shower once a week leaving their bodies smelly and dirty. This past summer, as a result of living outdoors for ten days, my oldest son returned home with the most terribly broken out face. I know that many teens face minor bouts with skin irritations, but this was clearly a case of full blown acne.

I immediately went to the store and bought some over the counter treatments but nothing would calm the inflammation my poor boy’s face.  Next, I called the dermatologist and waited for an available appointment. Finally we were seen and my son was prescribed a series of expensive ointments and creams. He was even put on oral antibiotics and steroids, but NOTHING seemed to work.  There was still one solution that had been floating around in the back of my mind. Since the acne was now affecting my son’s mood, it was time to take it to the next level.

I had heard terrible things about the drug accutane, but I knew we had arrived at the point where we needed to explore the possibility of trying it. I was the one who brought it up to the doctor and she agreed that we needed to start my son on an accutane regimen.  Accutane is a very serious drug which requires blood work, urine samples and special permission from God himself to fill a prescription. Ok, so I’m exaggerating but seriously, we had to jump through hoops to get him started and to get insurance to cover it.

Prior to starting his first dose of the medication, the dermatologist went over the very long list of scary complications that could occur while on accutane. Some that jumped out at me were: weight gain, chapped lips, digestion problems and moodiness. Hmmm, a teenager that is moody. What teenager with a face full of acne wouldn’t be moody? From what the dermatologist explained, accutane has gotten a bad name because of one single depressed teen that committed suicide while taking the drug. The doctor basically debunked it's bad reputation by saying it was all media hype and finished her spiel saying “See you back in thirty days”.

Within three days of taking the accutane, my son’s face cleared up. It was like magic! It does make his lips severely chapped so he walks around with Chap Stick in his pocket all the time, but his face doesn’t have a blemish on it. He is a happy, well-adjusted teen that enjoys the company of many friends and his confidence, which is very important in high school, has noticeably improved too.

I know that accutane may have gotten a bad rap in the past, but I am here to tell you that we have had a positive experience and would recommend the drug to any family that is at their wits end when dealing with teens and acne. No teenager should have to suffer the effects of acne in this day and age.