Acne for Six Months
Question from: Name not given
Posted on: September 07, 2006

I have always had a clear skin. Suddenly in my 30s, I start to get a lot small red spots on my forehead, chin and cheeks. Every 2 days I have new whitehead pimple and a lot of scars. I went to 6 doctors and I took one antibiotic orally, erythromycin. It helps me with chin, but it comes back in few months. My forehead is still getting more and more pimples. I used a mixed antibiotic cream. It didn’t help much. I had hormonal shots in face, ozone, electrical procedures. I tried herbal tea, a skin purifier. It doesn’t work. I changed my diet for vegetarian, no meat and no sweets. I checked my blood -- nothing there.

I have tried a clay mask, nothing. I spend a lot of money and get almost zero results. My acne is doesn’t get worse when I have my period. My period is always irregular. I drink nettle herbal tea. It regulates my period sometimes.

I read articles, but I can’t find a solution. Soon I will kill myself with antibiotics.

Antibiotics are not recommended for acne. Whether taken internally or applied externally, they usually result in long term worsening of the acne.

Even though your symptoms do not change with your period, acne is commonly a result of a hormonal imbalance. Irregular periods suggest hormone imbalance. Your diet may be responsible for this imbalance. A diet that is high in sugars, stimulants like caffeine, alcohol, chocolate OR high in carbohydrates, which are converted to sugars by the body, affects hormone production. High carbohydrate or sugar intake stimulates insulin production, which stimulates sex hormone activity that affects the secretion of oil though the skin’s oil glands. Acne is caused when these oil glands become more active. High stimulant consumption also stimulates insulin production.

Your vegetarian diet may be a problem because it usually necessitates consuming lots of carbohydrates.

I suggest that instead of antibiotics, you take herbal teas or tinctures three times daily: nettles, dandelion root, chamomile and calendula are good choices. For information on herbs for hormone imbalance, please see our website www.richters.com. Choose "Q&A" from the main menu, then enter "hormone" for the search.

Externally, cleanse with witch hazel water (available at drug stores and health food stores) and apply a cream made by mixing jojoba oil with aloe vera gel, or find a good acne cream at a health food store.

Your hormone balance and acne should improve gradually as you balance your diet with sufficient good quality protein, lots of fresh fruit and vegetable, very limited carbohydrates,and completely avoid all refined grains, sugars and stimulants. Using the herbs described in the "Q&A" section on hormone balancing should speed up the process.

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