General
I can't get rid of my acne - Josie, Manhattan, USA
I have had acne since 5th grade, and am now a junior in high school. I can honestly say there has not been a day since then where I didn't have at least 10 pimples or marks on my face. Today, it would be hard to count them all, but I probably have 50-75 pimples. I'm talking about inflamed red ones and whiteheads. This has taken a huge toll on me emotionally. I feel like I want to run away for five years to an island and then return when my acne subsides. When people talk to me, they're staring at my forehead and cheeks. My friends talk about how much they want to pop my pimples. Ughhh! Is it normal to be breaking down several times a week because of this? Other girls in my school are beautiful and have flawless skin..... And I'm the only one plagued
with it. I recently went to a dermatologist and was prescribed a combination clindamicyn cream and anti inflammatory antibiotic. It's been a month and slight improvement but my cheeks are still full of acne. I can only hope that it will go away so I can focus on college and important things. Anyway I'm glad I found this site so I can spill out what's on my mind and say what I can't to my friends. Maybe I'm not the only one who feels like this but I sure hope it gets better. (April 2011) Contact Josie
I'm embarrassed by my acne - Paola, Texas, USA
So it all started with that idea of mine to get bangs during the summer. With the sweat produced from the sun, my forehead was destroyed. Now, fortunately, it wasn't severe acne, just those bumps, but they were on every decimeter of my forehead... then came the t-zone.. (forehead, nose upper cheeks, and chin). I bought those OTC products and they worked...for a couple days...I am in my sophomore year in highschool, and weirdly enough, I have dark brown spots on my cheeks due from minor pimples. I don't touch them, squeeze them etc.. they just go away and leave a mark. I cry sometimes because it's just so embarassing...and seeing those girls with clean skin is so frustrating..but its life and we all have to deal with it. (October 2010) Contact Paola
My spot grew so big my eye almost couldn't open - Eric, Greeneville, USA
Well one night before I went to bed I noticed that I had a decent size pimple on the top of my right cheek bone. It wasn't ready to be popped and it was very tender and sore so I left it alone. Well the next morning I woke up and I had trouble opening my right eye. I go downstairs and look in the mirror. The pimple had grown so big it had almost swollen my eye shut!!!! My eye was big and puffy. My family kept asking me if I had been in a fight.... talk about embarrassing... (June 2010)
Being a teenager with acne - Fiona, Sutton
I am 16 and started getting small spots when I was 13. I hate having acne. Some of my friends have it, but none of them are as bad as I am. Some people at school tease me about my spots. They make me cry sometimes. I've tried not to eat fatty foods and chocolate, but it doesn't seem to make any difference. I think my spots put the boys off - no-one ever asks me to dance and my grandmother's always asking me why I haven't got a boyfriend.
I've tried all sorts of lotions, but they don't help. I've decided that I want to see the doctor about it. My cousin's getting married next year. She wants me to be a bridesmaid and all the dresses she's shown me in the magazines have low front and back necklines. I'm really worried about it, but I don't want to be difficult and refuse to wear a dress like that. I hope the doctor can give me something to clear up my acne by then - I don't want to be spotty for the photographs.
And in later life.... Andreas, London
I am 28 and thought I would have grown out of acne by now - I always used to think it was something that went by the time adolescents reached their 20s. I think a lot of people think this way. A couple of years ago I was refused entry to a night-club because the owner was convinced that I must be under 21 because I had spots.
My acne is a lot better now and I feel more positive about myself. It was awful when I was younger though. I used to be a good swimmer and was in the school team, but I was so embarrassed about the spots on my back that I gave it up. I dreaded sports lessons. I would always get changed in a corner of the changing room. In particular, I hated having to shower with all the other boys after football. It made me so miserable that eventually my mother wrote to the school to explain that she did not want me to be forced to take showers. I still avoid taking my shirt off when other people are around, and I never go on holiday anywhere hot. The dermatologist has told me that it might be possible to improve some of the worst scars, but they will never disappear altogether.
Last Reviewed: 15 April 2011
Next Review Date: 25 October 2012
