Hello,

My son is on day 40 of Accutane. He has severe cystic acne, both on face and back/chest. His face is clearing faster than his body, which is what I was told to expect.

Can anyone tell me how long the wet/oozing/bleeding should continue on his back? He has open sores and his back is very fragile and sensitive to the touch. It looks pretty bad and is just so raw. He is being gentle with it, and moisturizing it, but it's hard to tell if it's healing. I think it is, although very slowly. The derm saw it a week ago and said it's typical for Accutane and he has seen worse. It doesn't look infected or anything (beyond the usual acne infection). I know he's in pain, both physically and emotionally. There will definitely be scarring.

Anyone who has had experience with cystic acne on the back while on Accutane, I welcome your feedback! Should I expect it to be this raw and gross during his whole course? Or should it start drying up? He gets blood on his shirts so he's having to wear an undershirt just about all the time now.

Sorry to be gross. Please don't ask for photos, I have taken some for our personal record, but he would not want me to post any. Just suffice it to say it's severe.