hi there,
This site is great, I wish it had existed when I was suffering 
I used to have incredibly severe cystic acne back in the 1980s - it had a huge impact on my life. I have never seen anyone not even on the internet with the massive red cysts I was cursed with. That's why I'm posting this. i'm genuinely surprised to see the need for a discussion board on acne, I thought at this stage there would be effective treatments and medicine to treat it.
Through the years I missed out on a lot of parties and friends and even employment because of it. i eventually cured myself quite by accident, my doctor was totally clueless and made my condition worse. I couldn't even open my mouth because the pain from the cysts was so bad. I used creams which burnt my skin and made it peel..It was agony.
I don't know if this is useful to anyone, but if I had acne today i would immediately stop using all creams, ointments and moisturisers - your skin doesn't need it, it will heal itself if you give it a chance.
Gently washed every morning and night with warm water. no soap just water.
I used a facial steamer for one hour every day.
I stopped picking, touching and squeezing my skin,
I drank lots and lots of water with each meal.
I cut out all dairy, pork, sugar and fried foods. I also took zinc tablets.
My doctors told me to eat as much junk as I liked because it did not affect acne. I actually paid for this terrible advice. My face was completely clear after two months but even after three weeks the change was quite noticable.
Two months of strictly following this was difficult but the results were worth it.
I would love to be able to help anyone here
i used to think that diet and acne were so related but now i am not so sure because i had food allergy testing done and it said i was allergic to wheat, gluten, rye, barley, malt, beef, all dairy eggs etc. i always ate healthy but would still get a few a cyst once a month or so and ever since i changed my diet my face has been the worst it has ever been! all i eat is basically meat, veggies, some fruit and nuts. i do eat yams every so often but thats about it. i pretty much cut out drinking alcohol too which i would do every week so you would think my skin would be super clear but i have had more cysts in one month than i have had in the last few years. grr!! my derm said my acne is hormonal and has me on spiro and an antibiotic. ugh!
I've noticed that when I don't use lotion my skin looks better. My diet is really good and the only thing I really use on my face is a cleanser and some oatmeal with honey. I'd love to hear some more if u don't mind.
sure sithas15, I've no problem explaining in detail what I did. I had it for years and years, I don't think I ever really got over it. It was a shock to the system with all the remarks people made about me. If I was in your shoes I would stop using the oatmeal and honey cleanser. Just warm water to wash and a facial steam every day is enough. Be extra gentle washing the cysts, you don't want to scratch them or open them by accident.
Try this for a month and see how you get on, you have nothing to lose and it won't cost you a cent.
You say your diet is good, that's great. Are you sure you are completely avoiding sugar, salt, fastfood, dairy and fried food? Be honest with yourself and then completely cut all of it out. I say this because I used to tell everyone my diet was great but I would still eat small amounts of junk each day. Basically I was comfort eating.
seriously, bin all the creams.
Water. water. water. water. 1 liter with fresh lemon juice with breakfast, 1 litres with lunch, 1 litres with dinner. Before bed have another glass. You will be running to the toilet a lot, I know I was.
For breakfast I replaced milk with water on my cereal....with time you get used to it
Take a zinc tablet each day.
I completely stopped touching my face.
As I said my facial acne was incredibly severe, It took some discipline to stick to this but I did. Once I started seeing the results I became really disciplined with this routine.
The red marks will go by themself. Do not use creams to make them disappear - you will only irritate the skin.
Any other questions let me know.