Hi everyone,

The purpose of this post is to try and diagnose what the hell it is I'm experiencing in 2017!

I'm 27, from a mixed background (African/lebanese) and have short hair which curles into small little balls.

I'd always had acne on one side of my face, mainly the right side within my beard area - whether that was small cysts or nodules but I always seemed to be able to handle it whether that was through Benzoyl peroxide or antibiotics. However this year I've experienced something a bit unusual.

In June I developed what at first appeared to be a simple cyst in the sideburn region next to my ear.. ... I had experienced cystic acne in this area before so thought the same kind of treatment would be adequate. I proceeded with the standard cystic acne procedure. I would heat press it whenever I got home from work, and apply a generous amount of BP around the area. Eventually the area appeared to flatten, however this was just the beginning of the nightmare.

I believe what then happened is the cyst ruptured under the skin, and all the fluid in the cystic sack began to spread, down that side of my face. Fast forward 4 months later and I've grown cystic/nodular acne all down that side of the face. What's weird about this is that it's all within my beard, and only on one side of my face (the right side). The left side of my face has remained more or less clear. Furthermore, the original cyst and the whole region down that side of the face seems to constantly fill up with blood/clear browny-green smelly fluid only a few hours after it's been drained. It's legit the nightmare that won't end.

As you can imagine this has left that side of the face very irritated and there is one patch of my cheek which has been so disturbed from the constant draining that it's hyperpigmated and pink.

I've now been on accutane for just less than a week and already I'm noticing that I've developed more papules and pustles and my face continues to drain by itself which you can imagine has absolutely shattered my confidence, and left me so depressed that I've turned into a hermit, refusing to socialise out of fear of what others would think about my disgraceful skin.

Has anyone else experienced this type of acne where once it's been drained it returns within a matter of hours?

Is accutane the answer to this type of cystic-nodular acne that seems to keep returning? I'm currently on 40mg a day.

Any kind of response/advice would be appreciated.

Jay

Thanks,
Jay