Almost all of us will have experienced the problems of teenage acne and will be only too familiar with just how devastating the appearance of that first pimple can be. As parents however there is a great deal which we can do to assist our teenagers to negotiate this hurdle.
It might very well appear fairly trivial to many people however to a teenager the onset of acne can all too often seem like the end of the world. Most teenagers will get acne at some time and, in most cases, it is reasonably mild and more of a nuisance than anything else. However, in other cases acne can prove to be severe and produce a negative body image and occasionally even serious depression. In all cases however there are several steps that you can take to assist your teenager to cope with the difficulties posed by acne.
One significant problem with acne is the fact that there are several myths about acne which your teenager is very likely to hear at school or to pick up on things like the Internet. You need to therefore start by arming yourself with the facts and here are some of the principle facts about precisely what causes acne and what sort of things can make an attack of acne worse:
* Genetics – some children are quite simply more prone to acne than others no matter what they do.
* Too much scrubbing – a lot of teenagers think than cleaning their skin well will help to rid them of acne. Although cleanliness is certainly important, scrubbing the skin too vigorously can both cause problems for existing spots and also result in their spread.
* Squeezing pimples – most kids cannot resist the temptation to squeeze their pimples and this is one thing which we can probably all understand. Unfortunately, in spite of the fact that this may seem to help things look better in the short term, it is only going to cause more problems in the longer term.
* Diet – the exact link between diet and acne is not well understood at the moment but there is little doubt diet has a part to play when I comes to acne.
* Stress – when we find ourselves suffering from stress the normal chemical balance in our bodies is upset and this can contribute to the problems of teen acne.
* Makeup – many children, of both sexes, will try to use makeup to hide their acne. This can however produce problems both in terms of the inability of the skin to breathe properly and of acne reacting to the chemicals contained within the makeup used.
The first thing that your teenagers have to understand is that acne is a normal part of growing up and, particularly, of the hormonal changes which their bodies are going through. They must also understand that some teenagers will be affected more than others and that, whether or not they are one of the lucky ones, this is merely a phase that will pass in time.
Next, you teenagers have to be taught proper skin care and it is best to start this from an early age, and before acne appears if at all possible. However, if acne has already reared its ugly head it is still not too late and skin care is something that they need to both learn and practice.
Teenagers should wash their face each morning and again each evening with a mild soap and, when acne appears, with a special acne soap that can be purchased over-the counter at the majority of supermarkets or drug stores. One important point here is that washing twice a day is quite sufficient and that, although they may be tempted to wash more frequently this can dry the skin and make matters worse.
Over-the-counter acne soaps and washing will frequently do the trick, although this is not an instant cure and your children need to be both patient and persistent. If this does not work however you should talk to your doctor or consult a dermatologist. Your doctor or dermatologist may well recommend some form of prescription medication which your teenager will again need to use for quite some considerable period of time before it does the trick.
Undoubtedly, the most important step which you can take in assisting your teenager to cope with acne is to start early. Your teenager may well be embarrassed by the appearance of acne and you may feel reluctant to step in and try to assist if they have only a spot or two. Starting treatment early can however frequently stop the problem in its tracks and prevent it from developing into a surprisingly serious problem.
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