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I hate the term 'cosmetic'. It is quite frankly a bullshit term that has been twisted into making you feel guilty about wanting to look normal. Not good, just normal.
The effects of acne & scarring has long been brushed off and even laughed at as a small teenage annoyance that will go away, but dare you carry it on into adulthood then you get asked questions like "are you on drugs?" or "you need to eat right!".
This is mental trauma pure and simple. It isn't vanity, vanity is buying a 100,000 sports car or 10,000 suit. We are made to feel less than by society and this is pushed by 'cosmetic' doctors who are simply out to make money because no-one wants to publicly admit mental trauma from something like acne for fear of embarrassment so all clinics and doctors are allowed to run fife and charge whatever they want for treatments that simply don't work very well.
Note the use of the word 'treatment'. I'm no conspiracy theory and I do think that there is no absolute cure just yet although I firmly believe there could be if we stopped spending money trying to blow each other up and put the money into research.
To those that say 'we should cure cancer or Aids first!" you must realise that most discoveries are made by mistake when researching something else. Who's to say that skin regeneration research won't reveal something we never knew about cancer. This has already been discussed on hair loss forums and is a given.
In the UK you can receive treatments, pills, therapy for all manner of undisclosed mental issues with seemingly no root for free on the NHS. There is a firm root with acne and facial scarring so why is it treated like a joke when there are millions of people ranging from teenagers to adults who write every day in forums like these about how they are a shadow of their former selves because of it. The very fact this forum has a 'suicide' section speaks volumes so why is the evidence not being pushed to the maximum level of recognition within the medical community, not to get free treatment but at least some sort of price regulation or discount if your doctor deems your trauma genuine.
I am 36 and acne and scarring was treated as a joke when I was 16 and it seems nowadays to have been targeted for money making rather than actually helping people, simply because it is deemed 'cosmetic'.
It saddens me that in 20 years we still treat mental issues with such throwaway regard, usually because some others can handle it better so if they can then everyone must be able to.
I have my acne under control through my diet and a good skin care routine but I am still left with the horrible pockmarks from over 20 years ago and even the odd red mark which is there from round about the same time. It really does feel like you are being punished for no reason at all.
Just a note - I heard a while back on a device that grows skin cell cultures from a sample of your skin then is sprayed on to the skin and the new cells bond and create a fresh new layer. this was supposedly for burn victims but would it work with pockmarks and the like? If no-one knows why hasn't it been tested and if it does why isn't the skin community all over it?
Well..
The priority is to "cure" those with diseases that are fatal and that will help the most people i.e cancer and aids and you are generalizing. Not all finding were by research. So, you say "well many people have acne" true...but its possible to live with and not have it kill you in days, months, or years unlike aids or cancer. These diseases top priority in most cases. But that doesn't mean no research is taking place. I read a report recently stating the created stem cells, the very stem cells that can repair practically anything in the body, without the need of human embryos. Now this finding will go into how to produce and program the cells to fix the body and fight off diseases. Again, the priority is to prolong life, not make it cosmetically better. Clear skin or being able to wake up everyday? yeah...
However, these things will come in time. In the mean while advances in other areas have shown results. Derma rolling, copper peptides, enzymes and hormones that activate cell regeneration, and collagen production. It exists just as you say, but the priority implementation, production, and use isn't to better people who are afflicted with acne. Its to treat those with more serious, pressing, lifestyle debilitating issues i.e. burn victims.
The UK can do what the UK wants. If you feel that what they offer is so much better than by all means move their.
Acne does not cause suicide much the same as guns killing people. People kill people, or themselves. Its a conscious decision. These are not suicide forums. Depression caused by social isolation, stigma, and society standards all take a toll on a person who suffers from acne. Ultimately pushing that person to the edge where they see acne as their world, their life, and the only way to end it is to commit suicide. What we should be doing as a society is focusing less on beauty and all that jazz, treat it like the days of old. However, we are moving the other direction and no sign of letting up. Beauty is everything these days. So, as an individual you must set the precedence so others may follow.
Recognizing and treating depression should be the main focus. This is a very real, very serious concern. Its extremely debilitating in the worst forms. People forsake life and care not to live it. This is where study needs emphasis as the brain is a mysterious frontier yet to be understood the least.
I see you project your anger on the community and the world more less because you have suffered and are continuing to suffer from the affects. All i can say is the cliche: I'm sorry. I would wish better, but it is not so. I hope that you would realize your suffering, stop projecting your anger, talk to a professional, and find a way to enjoy life, learning ways to combat the stress, and other factors that haunt you still.