An Acne Story through Pictures

A young man came to our office this past year suffering from severe acne. Needless to say, the condition had completely disrupted his life. He was embarrassed to go out with friends or family, feeling far too self conscious to be out in public.

Anyone who has experienced acne on this level generally has levels of anxiety and depression that affect every aspect of every day. It is typical in those cases for the person to avoid interaction with others, including family members. Treatment is not only necessary to prevent physical scarring, but the emotional scarring that comes with it.

Our new patient had previously had some minimal improvement with antibiotics prescribed at another practice, but as it is for most young people, compliance was difficult and he felt the effects were unnoticeable, so he stopped taking medication and the acne raged on.

His acne condition had taken strong hold by the time we saw him and he already had significant cyclical inflammation which made the acne not only hard to look at, but extremely painful - even to the touch of his pillow at night.

His treatment program is not over, and like most acne patients, and particularly those with severe acne, it will be an issue of monitored ongoing control. Our patient has consented to share his photo-documented progress so that others who are in a similar set of circumstances can see there IS a solution to what may seem like a hopeless situation.

"I used to be very insecure about everything, like participating in school or having a job interview. But now I don't worry about that anymore. I am more independent. I can look people in the eyes now since my acne doesn't distract their attention. Everyone who is close to me are just happy to see me get out of the house." 

Update November, 2008: "Just writing to you to keep in touch. I want to drop off a little Thanksgiving gift from me to everyone at your office and see how you are doing. I am doing good. When can I visit to chat and catch up? As for my skin, its perfect. I no longer need treatments so I'm happy" - A.

Treatment Included:

• Oral Antibiotics to calm inflammation and stop bacteria cycle within the skin
• Total Dermatology Acne Clearing Wash, and Benzoyl Peroxide to kill external acne bacteria on skin surface
• Tazorac Gel to increase cell turnover to more rapidly clear existing acne
• PhotoDynamic Therapy with Clearlight - Multiple treatments
• PhotoDynamic Therapy with Vbeam Laser and Clearlight w/Microdermabrasion pre-treat
• Beta Lift Peel w/ Microdermabrasion pre-treat (Response to this treatment not yet photographed)

Treatment compliance, family support and physician support are hand-in-hand necessary components in effectively controlling acne. If you or a family member suffers from acne, please understand that coordinated efforts, ongoing routine and continued medical treatment are the only effective way to keep acne from regaining its destructive momentum.