Ways You Can Help Your Teenager To Deal With The Problem Of Acne
It may well seem fairly trivial to some people but to a teenager the appearance of acne can all too often seem like the end of the world. Almost all teenagers will suffer from acne at some point and, in most cases, it is fairly mild and more of a nuisance than anything else. However, in other cases acne can prove to be severe and result in a poor body image and occasionally even serious depression. In all cases however there are several steps that you can take to assist your teenager to deal with the problems posed by acne.
One significant problem with acne is that there are various myths about acne which your teenager is likely to hear in school or to pick up on such things as the Internet. You need to therefore start by arming yourself with the truth and here are a few the principle facts about precisely what causes acne and what can actually make an attack of acne worse:
* Genetics – some children are quite simply more susceptible to acne no matter what they do.
* Too much scrubbing – many children think than cleaning their skin well will help to rid them of acne. While cleanliness is unquestionable important, scrubbing the skin too vigorously can cause problems for existing spots and also cause them to spread.
* Squeezing pimples – most teenagers cannot resist the temptation to pop their spots and this is one thing which we can probably all understand. However, although this may appear to make things look better in the short term, it will only cause more problems in the longer term.
* Diet – the precise link between acne and diet is not terribly well understood just at the moment but there is little doubt diet has an effect on acne.
* Stress – whenever we are suffering from stress the chemical balance in our bodies is upset and this can add
* Makeup – many children, of both sexes, will try to use makeup to cover their acne. This can however produce problems both in terms of the inability of the skin to breathe adequately and of acne reacting to the makeup chosen.
The first thing that your teenagers need to understand is that acne is a natural part of the process of growing up and, especially, of the hormonal changes which their bodies are undergoing. They must also understand that some children will be affected more than others and that, whether or not they are lucky, this is just a phase that will pass in time.
Next, you children have to be taught proper skin care and this is best done from an early age, and before the arrival of acne if possible. However, if acne has already reared its ugly head it is still not too late and this is something that they need to learn and practice.
Teenagers need to wash their face in the morning and again in the evening with a mild soap and, once acne appears, with a specially formulated acne soap that can be bought over-the counter at most supermarkets or drug stores. One important point here is that washing twice a day is sufficient and that, although they may be tempted to wash more often this can actually dry the skin and make matters worse.
Washing with acne soap will often be enough, although this is not an instant cure and your children will need to be patient and persistent. Where this does not do the trick however you will need to talk to your doctor or consult a dermatologist. Your doctor or dermatologist may well recommend some form of prescription medicine which your child will again need to use for some considerable period of time before it does the trick.
Unquestionably, the most important step which you can take towards helping your child to cope with acne is to begin early. Your teenager may well be embarrassed by the arrival of acne and you may feel reluctant to step in and try to help if they have only a pimple or two. However, starting treatment early can frequently stop the problem in its tracks and prevent it from growing into a serious problem.
