It sounds like you have comedonal acne. Whitehead are small, closed comedones (blocked pores, basically). I don't think antibiotics will do much to get rid of these. The antibiotics will help with any inflammed acne you may have (but, you didn't mention having any inflammed spots, or large pimples). The antibiotics may help prevent inflammation though. I would guess the derm would put you on a topical retinoid - maybe Differin or Retin A. These kinds of topcials help unplug your pores and should help get rid of the whiteheads that you have.

I get the the odd one or two inflammed spot. My forehead is 100% clear. My cheeks are fine apart from as i've said these WHITEHEADS.

My real problem area is my chin. Got quite a number of blemishes from past spots but i think the chin is a really bad area for alot of people?

No acne on my neck. use to have a few spots on my chest and back, and also the odd one or two on the sides of my arms. all 100% gone (spots & blemishes) they went when i went on holiday to majorca and got a tan and i went into the sea everyday. that did wonders for them! There's nothing there now

BTW, will all this comedonal acne break out into red, inflammed, yellow puss-filled zits which will all have to pop? Or will it just stay under the skin all the time?

That's my main worry. i really don't want all of them to break out into zits, cause if that happened my face would look awful!

Anyone know?

My chin has been my problem area too - its really the only area that isn't totally clear for me now. Since it sounds like you are prone to developing some inflammed spots, if the derm does prescribe a retinoid (Differin, Retin-A, Retin-A micro, etc.) I would also asked for a benzoyl peroxide product or a topical antibiotic (some topcials blend these two medicines as well). It will really help with any acne flares that topical retinoids can cause (and this can definitely happen!)

Clogged pores. Try an ph balanced salycic acid product ( good one is Paulas Choice BHA)

Hello.

 

Signed up to the forum a few week ago, but this is my 1st post. Just need a little bit of help if you can?

 

I've been on an antibiotic name 'SEBOMIN' They're MINOCYCLINE aren't they?

 

Anyway, I've got these tiny little bumps all over my cheeks. they aren't red, or angry and you can't pop them. you need to be in a certain type of light to be able to see them. they look really bloody ugly!

 

Since i'd been on them SEBOMIN before, and since going back on them they did nothing to help my skin (i felt) i went back to my doctor

 

I told him i wasn't happy with the way my skin was and told him i didn't think the pills were doing any good. He looked at my face, and i explained about those little bumps under the skin. He said they were 'WHITEHEADS' now i call 'WHITEHEADS' angry spots with yellow puss inside them that need popping, not a collection of tiny little bumps that blend in under the skin?

 

Anyway i asked if i could go onto something else. Something i havn't tried before... He put me on the following 'ERYMAX CAPSUALS 250MG (ERYTHROMYCIN)' now i've been reading about on here and some people say they did well for them, and some said they were crap. but i'll give them a go!

 

Now i have 2 questions which it'd be wonderful if anyone here could answer:

 

01: Do you know what those little 'WHITEHEAD' things are & how can i get rid of them? i mean do they in the long-run all come out into zits? or do they just disappear on there own? i dunno, let me know

 

AND

 

02: Anyone been on my new pills and can tell me what they did the help your acne (if they did anything at all?)

 

He's booked me to see a derm, but he said that my acne wasn't accutane worthy, which is a good thing? isn't it? but he said there's other options. Which i'm more than willing to go and find out about.

 

Thanks for reading. And await feedback

 

Thanks

 

MILIA!!

It doesn't sound like milia to me. I don't think most people get those all over their cheeks. I think there is a lot of definitional confusion between "milia" "whiteheads", etc. I believe that milia are different from whiteheads. They aren't acne, and they generally need to be extracted from your skin (by a professional, of course!). Closed comedones (whiteheads) are acne lesions. Retinoids should help release the plugs from your skin. It is possible for retinoids to cause inflammation though - so just be aware that the closed comedones can turn into active, inflammed pimples (doesn't happen to everyone though). Using BP or an antibiotic can help reduce this. If you don't treat the spots, they could also turn inflammatory on their own - everyone's skin is different, so its hard to say if this would happen to you or not.

Salicylic acid or mandelic acid might be helpful in getting rid of these bumps. You might also consider an over the counter retinoid product, if you don't want to get a prescription retinoid. The over the counter might be less irritating to your skin (good ones are Green Cream, and Vivant's Derm a Gel).

i had the exact same problem. check my log.

Just in the middle of reading your log, it's very interesting. it seems what you're talking about is really like what i have, my eyes hurt from looking at the screen so i'll read on tomorrow

Just a question:

Do you think exfoliating with an oli-free daily face-wash that has little micro bead things in will help to clear the clogged pores?

I read somewhere that exfoliating daily helps the comedones (blocked pores) ? Hehe, it actually says on the bottle that it helps unblock pores & smoothen skin texture

Anyways anyone know? ^^

It might help a little, but my guess is that it won't do the job completely. Maybe that plus a salicylic, mandelic, or glycolic product?

Maybe that plus a salicylic, mandelic, or glycolic product?

^^ Sorry. What are those? What are they used for? Are they over the counter? or does a doc need to give me them? :\

if you pick at these little bumps they WILL turn into red, inflamed acne. if you leave them alone they might go away but they also might stay there. i would recommend using a BHA lotion or liquid; paula's choice has really good ones. [Removed]

i second the BHA from Paula's Choice. i have never had good luck with SA products and this stuff is a miracle cure for clogged pores. it is not irritating like the SA products from the bigger manufacturers found at local drugstores. i have been on this product for less than a week and the change is incredible.

dozer

Is this it?

http://www.cosmeticscop.com/shop/product.a...&PAGETYPE=S

2% or 1%?

Also, i'm from the uk, so any place that sell it in the uk?

i use the 2% gel. don't have any idea about UK, though. sorry.

dozer

ok, lots of misinformation in here

first of all,

yes, you do have whiteheads, i.e. closed comedones. i've had those for over 3 years now. if you need some more information on what that is, check out medical explanation which you can find here on acne.org, here's the link http://acne.org/whatisacne.html

second of all, whiteheads are not clogged pores, at least they're not clogged with anything from the outside: for some unknown reason natural sebum your skin produces is blocked inside and cannot come out to the surface, and that's the reason whiteheads prone skin are not very oily, or they can even be very dry. for that reason, no exfoliation is ever gonna help, coz there's nothing from the outside that can be removed to release the sebum

3. they will never grow into enything else, unless you pick at them, of course

as for the treatment, i find BP regimen extremely successful. it probably won't make all the old ones go away but it certainly will stop the ones from coming

maybe you should try the regimen, and if doesn't work, try going to a derm for sth else

i hope this was helpful

second of all, whiteheads are not clogged pores, at least they're not clogged with anything from the outside: for some unknown reason natural sebum your skin produces is blocked inside and cannot come out to the surface,

They are clogged pores - it is a plug of sebum and dead skin cells. Yes, they do get clogged from "the inside", but they are still clogged.

ok, thanks jasmina.

so the ones on my face right now won't ever go away?

i'm gonna ring up to book an appointment with the derm, not sure on the wait time i'm guessing a few months?

i'm not sure what they'll give me, is the only pill that a derm can give out that a doctor cannot, Accutane? or is there quite alot of other pills that only derms can give out and not normal doctors?

i hope he/she can sort me out.

i'm hoping for some pills or something, and some cream for the comedones.

my face is ruining my social life. i don't go out often because of it. when i talk to people i'm always looking away cause i think they're looking at my face.

Acne is such a mind-fuck. gets me down soo much! if acne was a person i'd of slit the fuckers neck, ankles, wrists and popped 10 bullets in their head & set the body on fire!

i know how you feel

and they will go away, just not that fast

but i suggest you try regimen, it worked for me

Why is everything so quickly labeled as milia ? You people are giving misinformation all over this site. I'd take anything I read with a grain of salt. As soon as somebody says "strange bumps", someone comes in and shouts "MILIA!!". Go away. And FYI, whiteheads ARE clogged pores.

i have the same problem and its my first week on the regimen. I have all these little white bumps under the skin and they look horrid in the sunlight!

Do you think the regimen will make them go away?

Im 18 and i want to get my face sorted before I start uni this year