Our mission of bringing hope to those who have failed “Everything” continues with this unbelievable case.
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Part 2

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©2010 “Severe Acne: A Case Study” by Dr. Neal Schwartz

If you’ve been reading my blog for awhile, you may have picked up some of the new language I use to describe issues of the skin.

Here’s another term I like to use to describe one of the trickiest skin situations that is commonly encountered.

Dr. Neal’s definition of “Troubled Skin”:

acne-prone skin that is oily, sensitive, thickened, prone to flushing, prone to redness and flaking, prone to premature aging, prone to discomfort and often times intolerant to all types of topical preparations. (Although often times seen in post-accutane patients, this situation can occur in any chronically oily patient)

If left inflamed for decades, the uncomfortable sensation and premature aging can dramatically effect a patient’s emotional stability and wellness.


Anxiety is the norm in patients caught in this chronic situation.

Case Presentation:

This highly intelligent and likable guy suffered for 10 years despite the greatest of efforts to get past the beast of troubled skin.

He had tried and failed:

Accutane
Benzamycin
Epiduo
Sulfacetamide
minocycline
Alkaline Diet
multiple other food restrictions
All OTC combinations


When he arrived at The Acne Practice, he was very anxious and complained of acne, oily skin, uncomfortable skin, flushing, and redness.

Watch very closely as the most difficult type of Post-Accutane skin situation can also be completely transformed.

This case, and others like it to come, represent both the stuggle I myself went through for years and what is possible for ALL chronic inflammatory conditions of the human body.

If you listen to my bio, pay close attention to the time in my life where my skin could not even tolerate exposure to water. During this time, my skin was very “troubled” and it took some time to get out of that highly inflamed situation.

Patients who have already taken Accutane often times run into the situation of Troubled Skin because they are unable to remove the ever-present oil due to issues of extreme skin sensitivity. Any product they use to cleanse the skin can turn them bright red and flushed. It’s a very tricky situation to navigate as too little cleansing leaves them an oily mess and too much leaves them flushed, inflamed, and often times incapacitated by facial discomfort.

My hope is that this blog, these videos, and this practice will bring awareness to this real health issue.
(I call it “Troubled Skin”)

For awareness sake, I think its fair to say that most dermatologists, primary care doctors, and skin care experts fumble around with this type of ultra-sensitive, troubled skin. You may be handed a diagnosis of “Rosacea”, “Seborrheic Dermatitis”, or “Eczema”. And then may be handed guesswork from topical anti-inflamatories, metrodnidozole, tetracycline, tar, zinc, selenium, special diets, and the list of guesswork goes on and on.


The real diagnosis in this situation is usually Acne combined with Seborrheic Dermatitis, but this doom and gloom diagnosis will not help anyone whose face turns bright red with the immediate application of any topical preparation.

The new term “Troubled Skin” has a much more clear and optimistic plan as a patient can imagine that what gets troubled, can eventually get Well in time with the proper assistance.

The diagnosis Seb Derm or the common misdiagnosis of “Rosacea” for this situation will only enhance the self-victimization of those who will inevitably focus on the misconceived idea of “no cure”
(we’ll talk more about “no cure” for all chronic conditions in future posts)

I hope this video and blog will create global awareness and optimism for this relentless situation.

-Dr. Neal






©2010 “Troubled Skin” by Dr. Neal Schwartz

     Here’s a few amazing videos that haven’t yet been loaded up here.  We usually make a new video every month.  It’s been amazing watching the ongoing transformations both in the office and at home….!          (make sure to watch them in High Quality)       

This one is worth watching first:

Severe cases:      

Johnny  

Nathan

Linda

Jenny

Tony

Home versions: 

Lori

Eric     Eric(with video)

Jon

Katie

Scott

Flushing and Redness:

Kyle

Scott

Stubborn Moderate Cases:

Kenny

Amy

Beth

Jacky

Mike

After-After Series (coming back months after to show continued success)

Diane

Tracy

“Hormonal ” Acne:

Tracy

Body Acne:

Debbie

Weaning off Oral Antibiotics:

Dawn

**A special thanks to all my patients and home clients who were brave enough to share their stories with the world.   As more come forward, those who are still caught in the spiral of hopelessness will be able to see what is really possible. 

Be well, 

-Dr. Neal

       Our Exfoliating Kits are being added to the online store today.  My web team will be doing some work on all the new products today and tomorrow.   While we clean up the loose ends of the kits during a busy holiday season, expect a small delay with these new kits.   (Expected ship date is December 29th.)   If you have any problems online, Email me with the details and we’ll do whatever needs to be done.

Thanks.

Have a great holiday!

-Dr. Neal

      While some of the major side effects of Oral Medications have been debated in the literature, there is no doubt that Oral Isotretinoin makes some people’s skin more sensitive for many years.  This sensitivity can manifest in a dramatic fashion that sometimes rivals the stress of acne itself.  Some people experience facial redness and flushing with the slightest sun exposure, spicy foods, mild nervousness, or facial cleansing.  

      The trickiest part of this new situation is that the oral medication doesn’t always take care of the prior oiliness and acne.  With the new skin hypersensitivity, fighting off this continued oil becomes much more difficult because any facial product can trigger the redness and flushing.  A patient is often left with a decision to either remain oily and full of bumps or clean and completely red and uncomfortable.  Regardless of the amount of effort, it’s not an easy fix and patients often times begin to lose hope.

      Over the past 5 years, this practice has mastered this less well-known condition and will soon be launching an Advanced Exfoliating Kit for Redness and Flushing.  This comprehensive kit can resolve all issues of Redness, Flushing, Seborrheic Dermatitis, “Rosacea”, Post- Oral Isotretinoin Sensitivity, and Intolerant Skin.  The video below is a case presentation of a young man who had relentlessly suffered from this uncomfortable condition for years:     “Redness and Facial Flushing #1″

©2008 “Post-Oral Isotretinoin Redness and Flushing”  by Dr. Neal Schwartz

   At this time, those people who have facial flushing, chronic redness, seborrheic dermatitis, thickened skin, flaky skin, oily/dry combined skin, intolerant skin, allergic skin, and generally uncomfortable skin with or without pimples are recommended to start bootcamp using the minimal kit.  

    I have found that this sensitivity and thickening problem can be more stubborn to treat than acne itself.  Intended as an adjunct to the minimal kit, I have created an advanced kit for Seborrheic Dermatitis and “Rosacea”.  Rosacea is in quotes because I am referring to any Rosacea-like symptom of flushing, redness, intolerance to products, and discomfort.   I have been working on this kit for several years and am finally getting it ready to launch.  As some of you may know from reading my bio, I lived for many years with an annoying case of chronic flushing, irritation, thickening, and intolerance with my own skin and am happy to report that my face feels comfortable these days.  I am bringing a new set of patented weapons to this battle and will never let anyone who trusts my expertise live with an oily, flaky, thickened, or uncomfortable face. 

   It should be ready in a couple of months.   Keep your head up until then…..,

-Dr. Neal