Is it possible to control oil?  Or is it the clogging of the pores that we’re attempting to control? Don’t use harsh treatments to attempt to control oil – you stimulate the glands to produce even more oil afterwards and it becomes a vicious circle. Clogged pores are full of dead skin cells as well as oil, which give bacteria on the surface of the skin a great meal, leading to inflamed pimples. You want to gently clean the skin (if it’s not one of those medicated bars – you may also want to try a non-drying cleanser) with a mild compound. Using a soft washcloth (no scrubbing) will help gently remove loose dead skin cells so that there’s less to fall into the pores and clog them. There’s no need to wash more than twice a day. Your next step is to fight the skin bacteria with an appropriate medication. A dermatologist may recommend Accutane, but it is strong stuff and should be considered for severe cystic acne that doesn’t respond to any other measures.

Does after-shave irritate the cystic acne problem? Well, after shave contains alcohol, which is not only drying (something to be avoided if you are using any other kind of topical or oral medication) but can irritate inflamed pimples. Shaving is said to be a good, mild exfoliate (gets rid of dead skin cells) but it may also irritate or cut inflamed pimples.

You’d make sure to reduce the number of prescription drugs you’re taking during the course.

If a woman, you’re not planning to become pregnant.

You’re aware that at least for some adolescents there’s been a suggested linkage between depression and Accutane.

You’re planning on living in a generally healthy manner, eating well, exercising, not smoking, and not drinking to excess. You should be trying to do that whether or not you’re taking Accutane.  especially if you’re no longer a kid.

If you can say yes in response to all of the following statements and have been diligently following the doctor’s instructions I think you’re well with your rights to press the doctor for something more effective or to move on to a doctor who would be willing to give you a second course of Accutane or some other similar cystic acne treatment if that’s the only thing that will work. No, Accutane is not an ideal medication to cure cystic acne, but in my experience it does work like no other, at least for a time, and one has to look at the overall picture and consider how strongly the individual feels about his / her condition. 

You also should get your health checked out in general; there’s probably no connection to your skin condition, but you never know. But don’t feel guilty about being frustrated and angry with your current doctor, if that’s how you feel.  And anyone who thinks that acne is merely a superficial cosmetic condition obviously has never had a serious case.

Get some of the blotting papers to help you with oil during the day. Drink lots of water – at least 8 glasses a day!  Water will help to clean the purities out of your body and will help to keep your skin hydrated and healthy.  Eat healthy foods to also keep those impurities from building up in your body. No, the food you eat won’t give you cystic acne – but the foods you don’t eat could. 

“Healthy inside, healthy outside.”  Get into some sort of exercise – riding bikes, roller blades, or a sport in school.  It will give you a way to get rid of stress (which can make your cystic acne worse) and will help you to stay healthy. 

Everything that touches your face should be clean. Check out the detergent you purchase, use one for sensitive skin.  Make sure your shampoo and conditioner are gentle – nothing too scented. Ask your dermatologist for some kind of prescription. Keep in mind that if you go on any prescription, your cystic acne is most likely going to get worse before it gets better.  Don’t give up with it. If your dermatologist isn’t going your way you should see if you could switch him. 

Obviously, if an individual notices a connection between eating a certain food, for example, chocolate, shell fish, spinach, fried foods, and breakouts, he or she should avoid those foods. But not everyone has such clear flags.

But food is not the only cause for cystic acne. Frankly I sometimes wonder if more people don’t have adult cystic acne because of our toxic environment, including our food.  Or maybe part of it is that everybody didn’t feel as great a need to be perfect in the past. Maybe more people are seeking acne treatment now than in the past, I’m not saying that seeking treatment is necessarily a bad thing; if help is available, why not take advantage of it?

My advice is to press the doctor for something else and if it doesn’t work seek a new doctor who will prescribe Accutane or something similar for a five-month course. Cystic acne is just too unpleasant a condition to be lived with if there is a medication that can control it and the risks are reasonable.

Another thing that can cause breakouts is excessive cardio exercise that leaves your body acidic.  That happens when you workout at high intensity and the lactic acid builds up in your body to toxic levels.  Depending on the strength of your lymphatic and endocrine systems, this toxicity can take many days to clear out.  Antioxidants like Vitamin C can help getting rid of cystic acne, but it is best to workout at lower intensities most of the time.

If you are a runner who likes to race, you can do speed work at higher intensities one day a week, but do not keep it up for extended periods – do it in intervals.  If you do not race, workout at lower intensities and you will burn more fats and also keep your body from building up toxins from excessive acid build up. Gentle exercise is so much better for your health when you have cystic acne problem. Pain and heaviness in the legs is a sign you are stressing your body. You would often get cystic acne breakouts when over-training and after intense efforts.  If you will work out more moderately the cystic acne might be minor.  Stay out of the mostly sugar burning zone in your workouts and that will probably help.

If you have a serious cystic acne problem, I would suggest that you will consult a professional dermatologist about proper cystic acne treatments over the long-term. And if you just have a pimple here and there, you can try some of the topical remedies.

Then I am always asked the question “do people really react differently to you because you have cystic acne?  Do you look at people and say: they have acne and won’t be their friend?” Well, not exactly.  Someone with bad acne can be less attractive.  Of course that is not what anyone wants to hear and it sounds very superficial, but that is what I have encountered as the truth. It’s such a bizarre thing because people’s attitudes are often what make them attractive or unattractive and of course the cystic acne has a high potential of affecting one’s attitude.  

The conclusion is that it should have very little effect on your social life. However, in regards to self confidence – to have some sort of personal life this is where the problem is.  It absolutely takes away from your self confidence and it is one of the few things that can do that which is so difficult to cure. But don’t let it stop your social life. When you finally get rid of the acne, then only you will realize there’s no much different without acne, because your personality that counts. Hopefully whoever reads this will feel better.

The ability to survive epidemics, immunity, both partial and complete from a variety of diseases, an immune system exposed to a great variety of exogenous disease causing viruses, bacteria and etc through acne sources and thus more adapted to combat the same through cross immunity and specific immunity and increasingly adaptive immunity mechanism, and related processes, can explain the survival benefit of acne in men with the resultant increasing ability to pass this survival mechanism to future generations through mere survival itself despite the disfiguring effects of cystic acne.

Proper skin care, a proper diet and exercise. I know it seems kind of obvious, but washing your skin twice daily and using the proper skin care items do wonders. Eating properly and exercising will also help clear up your cystic acne, as well as make you appear better all over. Eating properly doesn’t mean eating till you’re 100 pounds, either, but getting actual good nutrition.  If your acne is bad, and a month or two of skin care and diet doesn’t help, go see a dermatologist.

Some people experience a miracle when they use medication and formulas, for others, other prescriptions are needed. Also, try to see what triggers blemishes for example, if you’re stressed out, try to relax some more.  There are some foods which can aggravate acne by making your produce more sebum, you may want to avoid those foods if you figure out what they are. Keep in mind that your skin is not going to become clear over night, it’ll take months or years. Most likely if your acne is really bad, it won’t ever clear up completely, you’ll have to always keep it at bay with various products, and if you miss a day or two, some pimples will form.

There is no magical formula that will cure cystic acne in 3 days; in fact curing acne can take few months and even up to one year if done correctly. You have to beware of all those products available in the market that promising quick fix for severe skin disorders. I don’t say that they are fraud but you have to use extreme caution just because the possibility that this treatment might not be suitable for you and even make you condition worse.

We all have different skin, therefore acne treatment that would be good for a person with oily skin will not be good for a person that have dry skin. The most useful thing to do is to consult a professional doctor who will give you prescription that is effective for you. Prepare for a long run, your cystic acne condition will get worse before it’s get better so don’t be frustrated if something doesn’t works as you expected after few weeks. Quitting in a middle of the treatment is not a good option.

If you would like to learn how to get rid of acne, than you have to learn about a healthy lifestyle as well. There is no point in using antibiotic, creams and other treatments if you don’t exercise, don’t eating healthy food and keep using the wrong makeup for you. Curing cystic acne is possible with the right knowledge, guidance and of course patience.

Those of us who know what real cystic acne is are so frustrated because we know that washing the skin is not going to solve the problem.  Those of us who have had acne for a while get even more frustrated when we realize that people are going to look at you as though you don’t take care of yourself or you lack personal hygiene when in reality your about 20 times more free of germs than the next guy.

Unfortunate we live in a society where we should feel less secure about ourselves because our skin is bad. The weird thing is that supposedly 80% of the society suffers from cystic acne in adolescence. I have seen people with very mild acne react much stronger than people with worse acne though – and that shows how it does depend on the person generally.  However, I have never encountered a soul who has cystic acne and is completely fine with it. It’s frustrating to be encountered by those blessed with clear skin who tell you that all you need is to wash your face. Acne is much more than a fleeting teen affliction. It is in fact a disorder that really affect ones self-esteem, self-confidence, and happiness, to minimize this only serves to minimize the anguish that many suffer on a daily basis.

The solution for those bad feeling is not easy but you can still try to deal with it. You can have cystic acne and still enjoy your social life. Try to take it as if the acnes aren’t there, and everyone else don’t bother bout your acnes too when socializing.