Acne and Severe Eczema

[sneaker]

My teen dd has always had really severe ezcema and now acne too.  Does anyone have any experience with these 2 conditions combined?

A while back the dermatologist prescribed Epiduo for her acne on her face.  It really dried up her skin, reddened and really itched,  She would scratch and it became a real problem.  I think for Epiduo the skin usually gets worse before it gets better, but it seems really bad for my dd.  It got so bad she almost had an eye infection.  The eye doctor said it was bad, not an infection, and did prescribe some eye drops and a temporary eye skin ointment.  Allergist suggested maybe once a week for Epiduo and a little moisturizer which we now do.  The Epiduo does help her acne, but the side effects till you get there, and all the extra work, I just do not think it is worth it for my dd.

Our next step is to either go back to the dermatologist which we might switch, or more likely talk to her allergist at the next visit.  So I will not take as medical advice, but does anyone have any experience with Epiduo and severe eczema?  Does anyone have any advice for treating acne and very severe ezcema?

[Mfamom]

yes, my ds has had severe eczema his whole life.  The eczema did improve a bit once he hit puberty, but then came the acne.
His skin is so sensitive and the products we tried (epiduo) and others were very irritating to his skin.  we did antibiotics to try and improve acne with no success.  We finally put him on accutane (reluctanty) but it is working and minimal side effects. 
He did stop accutane for 2 mo due to a broken bone and during that time, we tried two things that did help a bit.  One was the Clearsonic brush and the cleanser for acne that comes with it.  He does need to change products or he starts reacting (same with creams etc) so we used Ava Anderson skin cleanser and that was great. 
Hes back on accutane  and using a prescription cream to deal with dryness. 

[PurpleCat]

Yes, my DD fights both.  Her forehead use to be a disaster!  Her allergist and pediatrician worked together and tried different combinations of topical prescriptions until they came up with a good combo.  In addition, she uses Clean and Clear Acne face wash. oil absorbing pads as needed and Cetaphyl pump soap in the shower and a scrub brush for her back.  Acid Mantle cream as needed and where needed help with dryness that is leading to eczema.

Both doctors told us to stay away from the stuff at the drug store.

[sneaker]

MFAmom, PurpleCat,

Thank you both for posting.  it is helpful to read what you did with this problem, even to know that others have the same issue here.  Next step for my dd will be going to the allergist or pediatrician.

[Salma]

What do "dd" and "ds" stand for? Dear daughter and dear son?

[CMdeux]

Yes, Salma.