Notifications
Clear all

Accutane - Things That Worked For Me

MemberMember
1
(@smith67)

Posted : 11/13/2014 8:45 pm

I'm writing this in hopes that it helps someone. My son is 17 and has been taking Accutane for 2-months. He takes 70mg per day. 30mg in the morning and 40mg at night. The skin dryness started almost immediately and we have tried everything. We went to Wal-Mart, CVS and Walgreens to buy every kind of lotion, chap stick and lip balm they carry. His face was very dry around his mouth and chin area. Both corners of his mouth cracked open and was bleeding. He had a large break in his lower lip almost in the middle. We've tried everything from lotion that is $1 a gallon to $20 an ounce. Chap sticks that are very cheap to the break your bank stuff. We've tried roughly 30 different lotions and at least that many chap sticks. We finally found a few things that worked for him. He was miserable and hopefully this will help someone that's going through the same thing. We have no affiliation with any company. This is just what worked for him. Cracked corners of mouth...everyone said use Vaseline but it would never heal and always made his mouth look greasy. He started using Curad Silver Solution in the morning (it's clear and dries quick so it don't look bad) and Cortizone-10 ointment at night before bed. Everyone said the ointment is better than the cream. Just wash your hands and put a little on your finger and right on the corners. It was cured in 2-3 days. He also put this on the crack in the middle of his lip and it helped but did not completely go away. Lips...he tried every chap stick that we could find. The dry lips were really bad. We kept hearing about Dr. Dan's Cortibalm but couldn't find any locally. I went to Dr. Dan's website and the store locator search button. I got a list of local pharmacies and started calling until I found one. He tried it and it worked a thousand times better than any other chap stick. It really made a difference just in the first couple of hours...it's really good. It was $5. That product has made a big difference. You can also order it off the website. Lotion...once again tried everything. Everyone said use Aquaphor but it didn't help him. We tried everything and Aveeno Eczema Therapy Moisturizing Cream works the best for him. He put it on his face, neck, ears and even lips. A few other things of note that we've learned...he started taking Vitamin B-12 and Iron tablets. Don't know if it's helping but read in several places that it's a good idea to take these two while on Accutane. I guess it can't hurt. Also, everything seems to dry out. Drinking lots of water helps. He replaced all his drinks with water...except milk. Be careful shaving. Skin is dry...don't shave any more than is absolutely needed and try not to cut over pimples. Don't use other acne products because most are made to dry the skin up. It will only cause it to dry out more. Also, saw several places that said to not take antibiotics without telling your doctor you are on Accutane. Be careful of the sun. He almost never wears sunscreen in the summer and we go to Cancun and the gulf coast beaches every summer. He always just tans. He was in the sun for one afternoon after being on Accutane for a couple of weeks and fried his face and neck. I'm not a doctor or have any ties to any company. I have seen him be miserable with all the dryness and hope this helps someone else.

Quote