Newbie

[Des]

Hi Help - and welcome to the forum

Guy has given you some excellent advice above - I haven't got a lot to add to that

And you're definitely not the only one. Rest assured, here we do know how you feel. P can be very depressing, especially when you get it in visible places. Due to being somewhat stressed out recently, my P has also decided to explode big time over my face, and no, it's not nice  :'(  :'(  :'( (to put it mildly )

The thing with stress is, I sometimes feel that I'm not stressed about one thing or the other, or tell myself to chill, which I promptly do... I think - only, my skin begs to differ :-/  
Starting at college (yay! Good for you - I remember that, though it was back when the animals spoke Great time ), is a major change in your life, and it's bound to bring on some stress. But at least it's positive stress - and as soon as you've gotten used to the new situation, it'll calm down, and there's a good chance your P will too...

If I were you, i'd be careful about sunbeds - as Guy said, a burn could actually aggravate your P :-/  If overused, it could also have some more nasty side effects, like an increased risk of skin cancer
Sun is good, but like everything, in moderation....

It's definitely a good idea to see a dermatologist - he's the specialist after all

A couple of peeps here have had good results for P on the face with Kamillosan cream, which is basically a chamomile baby cream (you can get it at Boot's). It also has zinc in it, which has skin healing properties - and there's no side effects

Exercise, I find, is great for P, as it makes you feel better in yourself - down with those stress levels!
Building up a good sweat may irritate the P though (it does with me), but I found that the brill way to counter that was using oil-based moisturizer (like Nivea Body oil) before the exercise, and NOT a waterbased cream. The trick can't be used in visible places of course, but on arms and legs, I slap on a royal amount of oil, and wear long cotton socks over that. The socks go VERY yucky, but the P is kept at bay


Have a browse around the boards, there's a wealth of knowledge and a treasure of tips to try out - it also helps you being well-armed when you go and see the derm


Take care, let us know how it goes

Des

[Help]

OK thanx for the info, much appreciated

I have been doing exercises like press-ups, dumb bells for sometime now and they haven't done much good for my P that I know of. I did start before I had P.

My doctors making appointment to see dermalogist so we will see what happens. I would like to thank you again

[Des]

At the moment i am doing a door to door job which means you certainly can't avoid people and will help with my confidence as i do find that in my situation p gives me a low sense of self esteem.

Ahw Joe - sad to hear you're on a bit of a downer

Take it from a girl (although probably a *slightly* older one than the ones you meant in your post ): you're a lovely young man, and no amount of P can take that away from you

Keep happy, hun - and we're here for you


Des

[SJ]

Hello

Everyone above gives good advice....I too have suffered like you

I found the Kamisollan very helpful, particularly with a bit of Eumovate.

I can also say that it doesn't look as bad as you think it does either...people didn't really stare at me as much as I thought they did!

Good luck with the studies....relax and chill out a bit.

SJ

[Des]

So, SJ - does the Kamillosan still work with you?
It has stopped doing the trick with for the mo - it's still great for moisturizing and keeping the skin supple, but I s'ppose I've used it too regularly for too long now (2 months of twice a day...)

I'm giving chamomile a break now (on the face; it still seems to work on the legs ), and trying to switch to aloe vera cream with essential oils of lavender and geranium....


Maybe it won't help - but I smell nice!


Des