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.
