Hello and welcome to my second blog.
It's been a busy month in the clinic and as the end of the year approaches, I wanted to reflect on a subject that has personally impacted my life and that is…acne.
Acne affects 9.4% of the global population, or approximately 650 million people. This makes it the eighth most common disease in the world. It is easy to dismiss acne as a trivial condition of teenagers, a natural accompaniment of growth spurts, armpit hair, lie-ins and giggly crushes. This too will pass……. And this is the case for most.
We know that up to 95% of adolescents are affected by acne. Unfortunately, however those teenagers who grow out of it are the lucky ones. What many fail to realise is that in a significant minority of patients, acne is a chronic disease, and particularly in women! There is NO growing out of it. Up to 25% of women in their 40s still suffer with acne, according to some studies. What’s more - a new study in the British Journal of Dermatology states that the prevalence of acne is increasing in Britain and in Western societies. We need to take it seriously.
For me personally, acne has been the bane of my life! I have suffered for as long as I can recall but realistically it must have started around puberty, age 12 or 13. And it has been relentless ever since. Growing up in the Caribbean and before the days of social media, I was cocooned in my little bubble, and I am happy to say that it did not affect me forming lifelong friendships or enjoying school and my teenage life. But it contributed to shyness and a lack of confidence. My family was not financially able to have me see a Dermatologist, so I simply put up with it- the few photos I have of myself as a teenager bear testimony. People would meet me and say, ‘What’s happened to your face?’ I learnt to live with it, trying all the various topical treatments I could get my hands on.
When I became a doctor and came to the UK, I learnt about isotretinoin and have had two courses of this, the last in 2005. Both worked brilliantly at the time, and for a while until my late 40s, all was well. I still used topical preparations- I’ve never had a time when I could stop treatment altogether - but my acne was under control and not foremost in my mind.
Enter the menopause and it was like puberty all over again, but without any perks. Alongside the hormonal mayhem, my acne revived with a vengeance!!! Suddenly at age 48/49 I had an ever-increasing number of cysts along my jawline and chin all of which were painful and would resolve after about a week leaving dark marks that would last 3 months…. this was not a good look for an acne specialist. I tried oral spironolactone which works brilliantly for my patients but made me nauseous. I tried low dose isotretinoin (I couldn’t contemplate another high dose course) but this time around even 5mg daily made my skin so dry it felt itchy and like it was cracking! Menopausal skin is not young adult skin however hard we try to make it so and my body was not happy. Topical treatments were only partially effective. It was not looking good.
And then along came Aviclear laser by Cutera.
I knew from the moment that I heard about it that I wanted it! Three treatments each a month apart. No downtime, all skin types, no side effects and the very real possibility of long-term results to rival isotretinoin. A chance to finally draw a line under this condition that has blighted my life. I needed it for myself, and I wanted the opportunity to offer it to my patients as well! I have had one of my three treatments so far and will update you as to how it goes.
If you have persistent adult acne, I invite you to come along on this journey with me. Contact me at Aventus Clinic on 01462512166 for your consultation.Let’s celebrate acne- free skin together!!