Acne (pimples)
How Can You Treat Acne Without Antibiotics?
When you mention acne, most people think of teenagers. Indeed, an estimated 85 percent of people between the ages of 12 and 24 are troubled with pimples and at least minor acne at some point. However,…
Carcinogenic Benzene Is Found in Acne and Rosace…
Benzoyl peroxide (BPO) was first created in 1858. By the 1920s, doctors were using it as both a local antiseptic and a local anesthetic to treat burn patients and those with skin ulcers. By the 1950s …
How Milk of Magnesia Cleared Stubborn Blemishes
Stubborn blemishes can be extremely distressing. People with moderate to severe acne sometimes report that they feel embarrassed by a bad outbreak. They often withdraw from social interaction. One rea…
Show 1223: How to Care for Summer-Stressed Skin …
During the pandemic, fewer people by far have been making ordinary appointments with the dermatologist to have their skin checked. However, some skin conditions can become much worse if they are negle…
How to Use Listerine to Treat Adult Acne
You may imagine, as many people do, that most teenagers have acne and that they grow out of it. In actuality, many adults struggle with acne. Is it possible to use a peculiar remedy, like the mouthwas…
Diet Makes a Difference for Clear Skin
What does it take to have clear skin? Dermatologists have long blamed acne on hormones or stress. Those factors may certainly be responsible for pimples in some cases. However, scientists are beginnin…
Could Dairy-Free Diet Help Clear Your Complexion…
People used to classify acne as an adolescent condition. They blamed surging hormones, haphazard hygiene or junk food in the diet for stubborn pimples. Dermatologists, on the other hand, did not agree…
What Should You Eat to Fight Acne?
Dermatologists have a nasty name for pimples. The term they use is acne vulgaris. Sounds vulgar, doesn’t it? But vulgaris actually means common in Latin, so the medical term means common facial erup…
Do Dermatologists Prescribe Too Many Antibiotics…
Dermatologists love antibiotics. They prescribe proportionately more antibiotics than other medical specialties. Do not take our word for this! Here is a quote from an article in JAMA Dermatology (Jan…
How Aysa, an AI App, Helped a Mother with her Ch…
Nicole Pharr is used to keeping a close eye on her daughter Madison’s skin. Madison is prone to eczema and has had highly sensitive skin since she was a baby. Still, Nicole was concerned after her d…
Is There a Simple Solution to Fight Acne?
Acne is the bane of adolescent existence, but many people battle blemishes well beyond their teen years. Many different factors appear to contribute to this common skin condition. Among them is an ove…
Treating Seborrheic Dermatitis on the Scalp
There are a number of skin conditions that can be a bit difficult to distinguish. A person who complains about itchy bumps on the scalp and assumes it is acne might actually be treating seborrheic der…
How Can You Overcome Testosterone-Induced Acne?
Over the past decade or so, testosterone replacement therapy has become quite popular. Three times as many men are using prescriptions for testosterone now as in 2001 (O'Connor, New York Times, June 3…
The Skyrocketing Price of Tetracycline is Shocki…
The antibiotic tetracycline was first marketed in 1967. That means it is 50 years old and is available generically. The price of tetracycline should be very low. This reader discovered quite the oppos…
How to Eat to Avoid Acne
Acne is the bane of adolescence. It can make a self-conscious teenager feel even more insecure. Are there any simple steps that can help a person avoid acne? Is There a Diet to Help You Avoid Acne? Fo…
Milk of Magnesia (Magnesium) Solves Rosacea and …
Q. Six years ago I was battling all those red bumps and rashes on my face called rosacea. I used tubes of Metrogel (metronidazole) as well as many other prescribed creams, to no avail. Then I read on …
Sulfur Soap Helps Clear Acne Blemishes
Although advertisers like to push their products as "newer," assuming that newer is better, sometimes old remedies work surprisingly well. One woman describes her success with a very old-fashioned app…
Resveratrol Fights Acne Germs
Research at the University of California, Los Angeles, suggests that resveratrol, the compound found in grape skins and red wine, can enhance the effectiveness of a common acne medication. Scientists…
Milk of Magnesia Clears Up Acne
Q. I just started using topical MoM (milk of magnesia) on my skin and my acne has started shrinking. I am trying to get off oral antibiotics so I hope this remedy works. A. Many readers tell us that a…
Overcoming Stubborn Adult Acne by Avoiding Food …
Q. I am 54 and suffered with adult acne from age 25. I tried every cream and antibiotic my doctors prescribed. I even took Accutane twice! A hormone test was fine, and I was stuck with this embarrassi…
Banishing Blemishes with Viruses
Acne is common and can be difficult to manage. The usual treatment involves antibiotics, either topically or orally. These drugs help control bacteria that are responsible for skin blemishes. Using br…
Pepto-Bismol for Acne
Acne doesn't just affect teenagers any more. Adults can also have skin blemishes. Dermatologists have prescribed oral antibiotics for decades with good results, but we are learning that such drugs can…
Milk of Magnesia Fights Acne
Q. I volunteer at a local high school in the theater department. Acne is a constant issue for the kids. I suggested that the students try the MoM (milk of magnesia) treatment and it worked! One parent…
Salt Water Cleared Face of Blemishes
Q. I am 34 and have been dealing with acne since my teens. I tried everything to alleviate the problem, but nothing worked. I finally found a remedy that has helped dramatically--salt water. I mix 2 t…
Milk of Magnesia Clears Acne
Q. I am 38 years old and have never had acne in my entire life. In the past year, however, I have had a severe acne breakout, mainly on my forehead. I am not too sure about the cause and I've tried ev…
Search for Acne Remedy
Q. My son has acne and seborrheic dermatitis. He has been treated with antibiotics that help somewhat but never completely clear it. I have heard that applying milk of magnesia (MoM) to the face is a …
MoM Laxative is a Miracle Worker Against Acne
In September of 2007 we first heard from a reader that a common laxative, milk of magnesia (also known as MoM), could be good for the face and scalp if someone suffered from the skin condition known a…
Milk of Magnesia Clears Skin
Q. Milk of magnesia is great for blemishes. I started using it six months ago, and it really helped clear up my skin. It was better than the things my dermatologist prescribed. I got lazy and stopped …
Laxative Licks Severe Acne Problem
Q. My son has suffered from horrible acne for two years, even after seeing two different dermatologists. We've tried everything, from prescriptions and Proactiv to laser treatments. There's nothing le…
Common Laxative Solves Acne Problem
Q. As a teenager, I was blessed with relatively few blemishes. Now in my mid-20s, I have developed large deep pimples that heal slowly and have eroded my self-esteem. I had tried everything from expen…
Alternatives for Treating Acne
Q. My mother, a retired nurse, encouraged me to write you regarding my son's acne problem. He is 19 and has been through many rounds of antibiotics with limited success. I don't like his taking antibi…
Can Milk of Magnesia Make Acne Disappear?
Q. I am 44 years old and have had acne since I was a teenager. Dermatologists have prescribed countless antibiotics, including Cleocin-T, to no avail. Birth control pills worked, but when I stopped th…
Dermatologist Disputes Acne Remedy
Q. As a dermatologist, I am dismayed by your article suggesting that milk of magnesia could treat cystic nodular acne. This is not a recommended treatment, and the false belief that it might be helpfu…
Milk of Magnesia as Home Remedy for Acne
It is amazing how many uses there seem to be for milk of magnesia. This old-fashioned remedy dates back to 1873 when pharmacist Charles Henry Phillips concocted a milky white liquid of hydrate of magn…