Acne Treatment- What do I do when pills don't work?
I'm a 14 year old boy who has tried mostly everything for my acne. At 12 I started on Proactiv; it didn't do anything. By 13 I began to use facial cleansers (Clean & Clear, ect.) before I applied Proactiv; my acne only got worse. About 5 months ago I saw a doctor, and she prescribed Benzaclin Gel: a topical antibiotic with 5% Benzoyl peroxide. Although it cleared my face up considerably, eliminating zits and some redness, the acne was still widespread. 2 months ago, I was prescribed Erythromycin pills (in combination with the topical antibiotic). It hasn't made much progress. To be honest, it's gotten a bit worse.
My question is: what should I do next. The doctor said something about seeing a dermatologist if the pills didn't work. What can a dermatologist do that a doctor can't?
That's all guys. Sorry it's so long, but I need some good advice. Thanks in advance!
Can I use a scar fading cream while on Doxycycline?
I'm fifteen years old, and within this year my skin has become very oily and I've gotten a lot of breakouts. On top of this, I also have a lot of dark post acne marks on my face which are not fading very well on their own. I know these eventually do fade, but they are extremely disfiguring and I've had some for as long as since february.
I went to my doctor yesterday and I was put on Doxycycline, Duac, and another topical antibiotic which I think is for my back. However, when I asked my doctor about doing something to fade the acne scars, he was very vague and didn't really answer my questions. I know that treating acne will prevent scars, but I would really like to do something about the existing ones. They're almost worse than the acne itself. I realize that these antibiotics and benzoyl peroxie creams really won't do anything about the scarring.
Is it safe to use gentle over the counter fading treatments (without hydroquinone of course) while using all these treatments as well? and do you know of any effective fading creams that wouldn't make me breakout? I mean, aside from being prone to acne, my skin is not very sensitive and nothing makes it itchy or flaky.
Also, once I finish the antibiotics course, will my acne remain subsided or will it flare up again?