Alright, so I'm only 19, but the reason I'm posting this in the Adult Section is I believe this is a more adult problem. It's gonna be a long post, but I'd read it cause it might help you out.
But first, let me give you guys a timeline.
So in September I shipped off for Navy bootcamp and and within a week of being there broke out like crazy. I've never really had acne in my life an sir was everywhere; my back my face my chest. It was bad. Got outta bootcamp, and instead of it getting better, it got worse. I was using the same things that kept me clear at home. So I started taking zinc, vitamin e,d3, c and fish oils, along with starting up the regimen. I've been on the regimen for almost 8 months and it's gotten worse. I tried no dairy, Didnt help. Tried low carb/no wheat, Didnt help. Nothing helped. So I started thinking about less concrete factors.
Diet- my diet changed a lot. Most of the food here
is processed and full of preservatives. But at home I ate a lot of carbs(weightlifter) which is supposedly horrible for you.
Sleep schedule- I wake up a lot during the night
because the beds here are horrible, but I didn't sleep much at home either from partying.
Stress- I'm under A LOT of stress, but my mom passed away freshman year and was definitely more stressed out then than I am now, and I was clear.
I exercise less here because of time restraints, but back when I was fat (soph/junior year) I had a clear face.
The I ly two things that I can really think that would be making a huge difference would be the water quality here and the climate. Here in Illinois it's much colder, windier and much less sun compared to SacramentoCA where I'm from. The water quality here is more than twice as bad compared to Sac as well.
My questions I guess then are, do you think puberty hit me REALLY hard at 19 (I've been able to grow a beard for almost 3 years now) or that these two factors are what is killing me?
And if you think that's whats causing my acne, do you think it will go away when I go back home?
No probably not, so make an apt with your doctor for when you get home. I will tell you one thing once you start to get bad acne (as in cystic or nodular) it doesn't really matter what's causing it because cystic or nodular acne is like an infection and all acne is basically treated using the same ways: antibiotics, hormones, topical disinfectants, retins, accutane etc--no matter the cause. Long story short all acne is a result of the same process of hormones and bacteria and crap getting clogged in your skin. You can already be prone to it or you could develop it due to hormonal changes that could be due to stress or diet or maybe you've somehow developed a lower immune system or something equally random; really it could be anything but the end result is that you will still need to use some sort of topical disinfectant or possibly antibiotics to get it under control first because once it gets going it can be a real bitch to get rid of no matter what started it. i used to theorize my acne was due to all sorts of crap (some of it pretty bizarre) and I could've sworn that every single one of them was IT depending on what I was doing different that week. The thing is, the longer you let it get out of control the worse it can get, so see your doctor about it. In the meantime get a topical disinfectant and try not to stress too much--which is hard, I know but just try to realize that your acne is not going to immediately disappear so don't let it keep you from living. You can also do things to help like avoiding dairy and processed sugary foods because while foods are rarely the cause of acne they can definitely inflame it and make it way worse. Definitely, it could be your dietary habits if you've switched to eating processed sugary crap.
Britling- http://m.self.com/blogs/flash/2011/11/hard-water-acne.html I just looked it up and hard water does cause acne. Especially since I come from a place with soft water. I think it's just a combo of all these factors. I go home in 9 days, so I let you know how it goes.
Ps. I went home for Xmas and I didn't get a single pimple while I was there.
Also I don't have cystic. Just white heads. The over all quality of skin has been a lot worse here. Very dry, pale, and dull
Whiteheads as in nodular whiteheads? Like the big pus filled ones? Cause I doubt those are due to hard water...if its the other kind though--like little tiny ones then maybe it is. I've only ever gotten that kind of reaction from certain makeup or lotions so I definitely think that could be due to irritation.
Hmmm, I wouldn't think this would be due to hard water then, but even if it is you should still make an apt with your doctor to get something to treat it if you ever have to go back to bumfuck Illinois again (or anywhere else with hard water). Especially since you said it has gotten worse since its started--I mean i hope for your sake it goes away but keep in mind if you have insurance you basically have nothing to lose by going to get something from your doctor. It also seems like your acne would more likely be due to the changes in your lifestyle; stress, diet, no sleep etc--these things all have a big impact on the health of your skin, and if that's the case you are better off getting something like I dunno, clindamycin topical gel or benzaclyn to keep it under control because there are probably going to be more stressful things and changes ahead.
You know another thing it could be is do you ever try to squeeze or pop your zits? Like 90% of the time its a bad idea because it can push the infection even deeper into your skin and even spread it to the surrounding pores (one thing leads to another and you're breaking out on that side of your face for months). No one likes to walk around with giant (or even mediumish) whiteheads on their face though so if that's whats going on I dunno what to tell you other than don't do it.
I dunno. Acne is basically an infection though, so you're better off treating it--in your case with some sort of topical disinfectant--and thus forcing it to go away instead of waiting for it to do so on its own. I mean i guess there's a chance it could go away eventually but seriously, why wait for that? If its bad enough that its causing you anxiety go see your doctor about it. Your regular doctor can treat your acne just as good as a derm these days, and alls you probably need is a topical disinfectant. If you don't have insurance just try dans method.
I've read stories about people who get shower filters and shit and see results within a week or two. I guess ill find out in about a week haha. Eating right again, sleeping enough, using soft water, and working out again and getting sun. I'm almost positive it will go away on its own