Managing A Teenager's Acne Issue

Cass has been dealing with stubborn teenage acne on her face for years. I've tried numerous natural remedies but nothing seemed to work.  Cass eats a healthy diet with lots of fruits and veggies, drinks 1.5 to 2 liters of water a day, gets 6-7 hours of sleep each day, exercises, and sweats every day and yet, the acne seemed to be insuppressible. 

Cass used to be unfazed by the acne on her face until early this year when the acne worsened.  That was when she started to want to deal with the acne.

I went to my usual pharmacy with pharmacists whom I am comfortable with and asked for a topical cream for teenage acne and was recommended T3 Mycin Gel 1% (Clindamycin Phosphate).   T3 Mycin Gel contains Clindamycin Phosphate, a lincosamide antibiotic that works by decreasing acne lesions and/or stopping the growth of skin bacteria that cause acne.

At the same time, I started Cass on Eucerin skincare products targeted at acne. I got her Eucerin Pro Acne Solution Super Serum, Pro Acne A.I. Clearing Solution, and the latest that I got is A.I. Matt Fluid (which she hasn't started on it yet).  These products are pretty costly but I was willing to try them as long as Cass can regain her baby-smooth skin again.

After completing a tube with a slight visible improvement, I bought the second tube of T3 Mycin Gel for Cass.   

Within two months, there was a vast improvement on her face. New acne stopped popping up and the old scars were slowly but surely clearing up 🙏

As with all antibiotics, T3 Mycin cannot be used on a long-term basis or the bacteria may be resistant to it. Once she has finished the second tube of T3 Mycin, Cass will have to stop using it for some time and we will monitor the acne condition on her face.

After some price comparisons on Eucerin skin care products with pharmacies, online vs offline, I found CS Pharmacy on Lazada with the best prices and deals. I often get my supplements from this pharmacy as well. I saved more than RM40 on my purchase of A.I Clearing Treatment and A.I. Matt Fluid from Lazada. The pharmacy even gave me two free gifts (nearing their expiration dates) - Spot Corrector and lotion.  I've been using the Spot Corrector on the sun-kissed dark spots on my face. Hopefully, this works in lightening the dark spots.

I'm glad that simple over-the-counter acne products managed to prevent new breakouts, else I would need to schedule an appointment with a dermatologist or pediatrician who can prescribe stronger medications and help with treatment options.

Do You Know What Your Teenagers Are Doing Outside?

I was at the park with the gals yesterday evening. For the last few days I've seen this group of 13-year old boys and girls from a nearby co-ed school loitering at the park after school in their school uniform. On normal days, I would see a few boys puffing cigarettes surreptitiously under a tree. On some days, I could see some of them trying out cans of beer under the slides. After they were done with their wanton acts, I would see them throwing the cans into the monsoon drain next to the park whilst some of them would leave their rubbish scattered on the ground. Yesterday, I saw a 13-year old boy and girl under a slide hugging each other, oblivious to their surroundings. When I went closer to have a look, they were so intimate in their conversations and hugging that they didn't even notice me standing there. I was in disbelief that at such a raw tender age, these kids were already in love, more of puppy love I would say.

Minutes later, I saw this lovey dovey couple's friends (also a couple) arrived on a motorcycle. The boy and girl, who looked like they were 15 or 16 year olds, were dressed very ruggedly with punkish hairstyle and jingling accessories and were holding hands lovingly and joined the hugging couple under the slide. When I saw this scene, I told myself that in future, I will never send my gals to a co-education school. These young kids, if without intervention from their parents are surely heading for trouble. The girl might be impregnanted by the boy and later seek illegal abortion. I can even imagine the boy trying to wash his hands clean by not owning up and accusing the girl of sleeping around. I'd seen this happening before to my school mates when I was a teenager.

Minutes later, I saw another group of 13-year old boys playing by the monsoon drain. They were shouting vulgar words in Cantonese and were daring each other to jump across from one side of the drain to the other and the gap between the monsoon drain is at least 2-metre wide. The boys successfully jumped across but 1 fell into the drain. Luckily he wasn't hurt. Later, I saw these boys dumping trash into the monsoon drain. OMG, what a sight - these kids behaved like they were some 'sampah masyarakat' or trashy society. I wonder if their parents know of their activities after school.

When I was leaving the park, I overheard the same group of boys discussing among themselves. Guess what was the topic? Love. I overheard one boy 'advising' his friend in Cantonese that he should treat his girlfriend seriously and they were talking about true love or real love or something to that effect. My goodness, instead of discussing their studies, sports or TV programs, they were talking about true love and girls and they are just a bunch of 13 year olds. I just hope that in future, Alycia and Sherilyn would never be one of those girls whom I'd seen in the park yesterday - behaving like tomboys, shouting vulgar words, sporting punky hairstyle and hugging a boy who's still a kid himself. That's one of the reasons why I had quit my job - so that I can nurture my girls with good values and I pray and hope that my girls will grow up to be decent, obedient and lovely young ladies who will bring me pride and joy.