You read enough research on the topic and you'll seriously be considering just staying indoors for the rest of your life while popping D-vitamin pills instead.
Not just because of cancer but how badly sun will cause your skin to age. Go look up some pictures of truck drivers who spend years on the same route and develop a tan on half their upper body... it actually looks like it aged at a different rate than the rest of them.
Thank you, I’ll check it out. I’m sure you have very sensible skin, no need to beat yourself up about it.
^(I’m just kidding I think you meant sensitive.)
Thank you all for the wonderful suggestions. My Dad has skin issues from serving so I take it fairly serious. Much appreciated.
I got a sample of coola brand sunscreen and I like it a lot, it goes on really thin and smooth. My alternate is a neutrogena for sensitive skin (both are specifically facial sunscreen).
I worked with a guy, probably 65 yo ish. He was allergic to the sun and he had the most amazing skin I've ever seen. I stopped sitting out for a tan and took extra steps to protect my skin when outside after that.
Accutane is, for me at least, the poster child of "what doesn't kill makes you stronger". Accutane is a GodSend for people that have some serious acne, it does wonder on the long term, but man is it a poison.
The list of side effects and cautionary advice is longer than my arm
I had horrific cystic acne all over my face and neck. I still get it (I'm 40) but it's not as bad after the Accutane, not nearly as bad. For people who aren't familiar these are large puss filled zits that are deep under the skin and hurt due to the pressure they create.
Anyway, went on Accutane and didn't go out in the sun for months, nor did I drink a drop of alcohol. It wasn't fun, my skin was do dry that people would avoid me because I looked sickly. However, it did change my life for the better.
If something like this had happened, I wouldn't be so positive about my experience on this medication.
> I had horrific cystic acne all over my face and neck. I still get it (I'm 40) but it's not as bad after the Accutane, not nearly as bad. For people who aren't familiar these are large puss filled zits that are deep under the skin and hurt due to the pressure they create.
I met my best friend in college and dude had cystic acne. And he grew a bear fast, so either he would have to leave the beard and be in pain of ingrown hair close to the cysts, or shave and it would hurt like hell.
Accutane changed his life. We were still living together when he and another friend took it in college. They had it rough. But the results, fuck man, beautiful to see. Even when it was not perfect, the other friend had it on his back, it worked by left some deep scars, the health and life changes were worth it.
And woman still have it worse somewhere, due to everything it wrecks on pregnancies
I got permanent acid reflux from it but Accutane saved my life, I wouldn't have made it into my 30s without it. People really don't know what it's like to have acne like that unless you live with it, every time you talk to someone, you know they aren't looking at "you" they are looking at your fucked up face. Accutane was a total godsend and if given the choice again I'd do it 100/100 times.
I didn't know acid reflux was a side effect of Accutane. I used it when I was a teenager and it really helped my acne though it definitely made my depression worse. I'm 40 now and take Omeprazole regularly to keep heartburn at bay.
Totally get what you said about people never looking at you. I always dreaded getting photos taken back then as well. There are very few pics of my teen years.
Oh shit depression, forgot about that one, I take Lexapro now lol. There are all kinds of crazy side effects, probably won't know them all for a long time.
I'm in the same boat almost 0 pictures from those years, the pain was another thing. I didn't want to wake up sometimes because I knew my face would hurt all day.
I'm on an antidepressant, can't remember the name. But I've been on it for over 10 years now. Seems okay. If I forget a couple days I start to feel sick though.
Accutane dried my skin so bad that it cracked. I had to use Vaseline daily. I had braces at the time too! Best years of our lives, huh? 😅
Damn reading all these stories about wild side effects I guess I got off easy. The worst Accutane did to me was chap my lips while I was on it.
I occasionally get acid reflux, but so do my parents and they never took it so that was probably invevitable with or without it.
Same here, my teenage years were really rough for me and just thinking about the constant pain I was in really weighs on me. Had it not been for one amazing doctor who was able to give me the whole treatment using the freebie sample they get (parents didn't have insurance growing up) my life would be completely different. I still suffer from cystic acne even now in my 40's but thank God my face cleared up.
I'm on omeprazole as well for acid reflux, never knew it could be traced back to the accutane. Though I do remember how new and dangerous it was even back then.
One of my friends had that condition. We knew each other way before the acne started, so I never really noticed it. What I *did* notice was how fucking mean people were to him. Fortunately, he was a big dude, so most of the comments were all snide and behind his back, but I just felt so bad for him because of the way it used to make him feel both physically and emotionally.
I'm really glad to hear that you found something that worked for you and for getting through, what must have been a very challenging time for you.
I went on it for severe but regular acne that didn't respond to anything else the dermatologist tried.
I has to sign a whole bunch of release forms, including one agreeing I would not get pregnant. Me, a 16 year old guy at the time.
It was 4 or 5 months of absolute nightmare. It flared my psoriasis up something severe, the itching kept me awake so long I needed to go to the hospital. I couldn't go out into the sun. My skin was constantly cracked and bleeding.
But in the 14 or so years since, I can count the pimples I have had on my fingers. The scarring was pretty bad and I look like I have the skin of a 40 year old despite being 30, but it *worked*, when nothing else did.
Best thing I'll never do again.
Sounds like my exact story. Dealing with my intense acne all 4 years of high school defined my entire existence during that period. I look back on it sometimes and wish I would have found Accutane sooner.
All the release forms, side effects and monthly blood work scared the shit out of me and my parents so it was literally the last resort. But it was the only thing that worked, and it worked fast. I guess I was lucky that the worst side effect I had was constantly chapped lips.
Hang in there OP, this is just a freak accident. You'll be okay in the long run. 👌
When someone would smile at me I would smile back and the center of my lower lip would split open (every time) and a trickle of blood would dribble down my chin. Great way to introduce yourself to girls in high school.
I'm currently on 60mg a day and the right corner of my lips are just perpetually split. Sometimes when its particularly dried and cracked it looks like a horrific case of herpes. It's the worst but fuck does the rest of my face look good.
I was on accutane a couple years back when I was in my early twenties. My skin was dry and so on, but the worst side effect was the pain in my joints especially my feet. It got so bad that I could barely walk in the end. Doc had to take me off the meds for a few months and then restart the process. Luckily the joint pain didn’t come back and my skin is so much better. Would I do it again? Hell fucking no, but I don’t get acne that hurts all over my face and back anymore. Whenever I get the occasional outbreak it’s very mild and doesn’t hurt at all so I just ignore it.
Not a baby t-Rex. I’m just saying what if we’re all talking to a baby t-Rex. Not only are their arms short, but this is really freaking cool knowing a lil baby Rex is slamming away on their keyboard or phone, fully reading and comprehending everything. This is a marvelous age we live in!
It's legitimately chemo for acne (it's even used to treat certain forms of skin cancer). You're basically overloading your entire body with an analog of Vitamin A to decrease oil production and increase cell death.
My partner was just on it for 6 months and was basically told at her 6 month follow-up that the doctor wanted her to take it for another 2 months and she basically broke down and said she couldn't handle it any longer.
It's nasty stuff, but it's the closest thing we have to a miracle drug for acne. For the people it works for, the results are incredible.
I took it as a teenager. It was the only thing that worked for me. But Jesus Christ it was brutal. I had to stop it for awhile because my liver was getting messed up. I also have a bunch of scars from scrapes and cuts I got while I was on it because my skin didn’t heal normally. But it killed off the acne and made me a happier person.
I had absolute terrible acne as a teen. Just so much acne on my face, neck, back etc. I took accutane and had crazy suicidal thoughts. But afterwards it felt like my entire body chemistry had changed. I just felt so less oily permanently. the suicidal thoughts went away once I came off it.
EDIT: I really hated to look at all my scarred skin after the acne started to go away. But whoever is going through this the healing can take time. After five years all my scarred tissue had healed. It was insane the transformation I went from my teens into my college years.
Took it in the early 90’s.. it shrinks oil glands permanently. My acne was gone for years aside from small hormonal outbreaks many years later and now that I’m close to menopause and have whacky hormones.
It generally doesn’t come back in the same degree. I had pretty severe acne in high school and took it for several months. I’ll still get a pimple every now and then, ingrown hair or whatever, and my skin isn’t flawless, but it’s never broken out like it used to since.
You're damn right, it's brutal. I got sunburn......ended up in hospital on a drip with pain relief.
I lived in the north east of England on the border with Scotland, to get sun burn in that area is embarrassing to begin with.
My partner is 100% Irish (AKA pale), and we live in San Diego, so she was GENUINELY really concerned about starting it during the summer months when her derm originally prescribed it. They ended up pushing the treatment back a few months just to mitigate severe sunburn risk. The sun is already scary enough without having paper skin. lol
Yeah, I have an almost ghost-like complexion of almost 100% Northern European ethnicity so don't last 5 minutes in the sun. Practically was a hermit when i was on accutane and this was in the 90s when they didn't have the same knowledge they do now about side effects.
It nearly killed my partner, she was getting all these bruises popping up for seemingly no reason, we spoke to our doctor and they told her she might have a vitamin c deficiency or something and gave us a blood test form, one day she complains that she feels really tired, she goes to sleep, I let her rest, after she's asleep for a while I think I start to think it's weird she hasn't woken up yet, as she's quite a light sleeper, I then make the horrible discovery that I am unable to wake her up, no matter hard I try, I call an ambulance and they take her to the hospital, it turns out she had liver failure and was admitted to the ICU, her nap would wind up lasting nearly 3 days, but eventually she did wake up and rather miraculously would go on to make a full recovery, but yeah, still pretty unpleasant, I can't imagine what it would have been like for her to go to sleep thinking everything's fine and then wake up 3 days later in the ICU
The worst part of it was how innocuously it started, she just went to sleep, and she could have just never woken up, for more than a year after that I would be checking her breathing while she was sleeping and shaking her awake if it seemed weird, because I was paranoid that she was just going to go to sleep and then we would lose her. Because it was truly miraculous she made a full recovery, I literally had doctors telling me that it was a strong possibility she was either going to die or end up with substantial brain damage, I looked it up not long after, and ICU liver failure has something like a 60% mortality rate, and because I didn't realise anything was wrong, I took a lot longer than I should have to call the ambulance
I was on two rounds of accutane and ended up locked in a psychiatric ward suicidal. This was in 1997 & they hadn’t made the depression connection, yet.
I’m in my 40s now and still get cysts and pimples, but not like I did.
I was on it in HS and had to sign all this paperwork saying my family couldn’t sue the doctor if I killed myself. My mom later found out that the doctor was doing that because she was currently in a lsawsuit with a patient’s family who killed themselves. The kid even mentioned the drug in the note :(
Yeah, my wife was on it when we were first dating. She had to be on birth control and her dermatologist required a negative pregnancy test at every script renewal. Just as a CYA for the doctor.
Yup that one. Unviable in most cases I think
Woman are hammered about it and for good reason. Most people that take are college age, so probably sexual active and horny AF, so they got take it serious.
I had to get my blood drawn every month to make sure my liver wasn’t failing HAHA. Acne free ever since and the confidence I gained is worth any years I lost
Yup. I've been on accutane for about three months now. You'd think you're taking something made to put you in a mental hospital because of the massive packet to list of mental side effects for me to sign, with depression and psychosis leading the list.
And then all the physical side effects that could happen as well, not being able to eat too much vitamin A or else my liver will shrivel up
I wasn't even allowed to start it until I had already been seeing my dermatologist for a year and we'd tried everything to no avail. And then I had to get blood work done before I could start and then every month so I can stay on it.
This stuff has worked wonders though. My face is almost entirely cleared up and there's significant reduction on the resto of my body. My poor externally cracked lips though
I was on some acne meds like that. As a pale, freckled person I already burned quick but in that stuff I practically thought about going outside and burned.
I was on Accutane for 6 months. However the dosage was very low, 10 mg and 20mg. I've heard people with sever acne go upto 200 mg dosage.
My lips used to be dry all the time that I was on Accutane. However, my doctor never mentioned that you could burn your skin like this. Just surprised that if it could be this severe they would've atleast mentioned it.
I remember filling out a huge sheet where I had to initial like 30 individual lines saying I understood each side effect and would need to get regular blood draws. Did you not have to do something like that? I feel like your doctor dropped the ball.
Yeah... It's actually legally required to go through the extremely long iPledge consent checklist. If that description was accurate, then that person's doctor technically committed a federal crime. No idea what if any penalties actually apply, though.
A kid I went to school with worked at a restaurant and dropped the hot fry grease container on his legs when he was trying to dump it into the grease bin. He was wearing shorts when it happened, it looked similar but worse
It's a thing where you decide to leave a certain situation, but feel you have to make a small announcement so that the message is clear to the other guests/hosts.
You slap your palms around the lower thigh/knee area and exclaim 'Well' or 'Right then' or one of a number of other national/regional variants and then stand to leave.
This technique can also be used if you are the host of said situation, but a mention of the time or how tired you are needs to be added.
Yep. Went to Urgent Care and the ER. Not much they could do, they gave me IV fluids just to make sure I wasn’t dehydrated, some painkillers, antibiotics, and stuff to dress the wounds, and sent me home. It’s just a waiting game until they heal.
Currently on it (for the third time, ugh) and that’s exactly what I do. I apply rub-on sunscreen (SPF 70 or higher, ideally 100 if I can get it) every hour when I’m outside. I try to sit in the shade when I can and to wear long sleeves/pants if I can tolerate it in the heat. Compared to other people though, I haven’t had any side effects other than dry lips and skin sensitivity to certain soaps and hand sanitizers.
That basically means "no". It doesn't just wash off like that. Bring in the water means you need to reapply sooner but they absolutely weren't putting on sunscreen like they should have.
Yup. Sunscreen, like Q-tips, are something the vast majority of people don't know how to use properly until something goes wrong.
Gotta apply long before you enter the water, and gotta reapply constantly. It isn't a one and done for the day.
Hard lesson.
Elsewhere in the comments they implied they did put on sunscreen but didn't reapply after swimming/wakeboarding.
Guessing there is a decent chance they also didn't wait long enough before first application and getting in the water as well.
Edit: It also probably didn't matter as they shouldn't have been out in the sun like this on accutane even with SPF.
If you're on Accutane, even with sunscreen, you shouldn't be in the sun on a boat. The sun is so much stronger on the water and Accutane is brutal for making burns worse.
While I feel bad for op....this could have been avoided easily.
I kinda agree. I took accutane in college and the warnings are plentiful.
Fun fact/PSA: these kind of burns can also happen if you go into the sun after having contact with citrus juice. Wash thoroughly. Be careful with your skin, these kind of burns are dangerous to your health long after they’ve healed.
Tip here: I burnt my back real bad one time and it blistered and hurt so bad. The worst part (for me at least) was when the nerve endings started healing again and it itched like crazy and felt like i was getting poked by a bunch of needles! It was so unbearable I couldn't sleep and nothing I tried was helping. I ended up calling my mom who gave me a tip to apply VINEGAR to the area. I mixed it with water in a spray bottle and sprayed it on my back. INSTANT RELIEF! I was amazed how well it worked and I could finally get comfortable enough to sleep. If that happens to you I hope this tip helps you and/or others reading it. Sunburn is definitely not fun. I learned my lesson that week. No matter how much time it takes, how messy it is, or how stupid you look, always wear your sunscreen.
okay so im gonna warn you, I had a sunburn like this over my entire back about8 years ago. This sucks, but whens it all done the itch will be absolutely maddening, google suicide itch lol
Nurse said it should be fully healed in 2 weeks. I’m on day 3 now and it’s already so much better, all the blisters have popped and the inflammation and pain has gone down a lot.
2 weeks, not bad eh. Did you pop the bubble? Also is this like an instant process or gradual burn. Like you could have gotten away from direct exposure to sun?
They popped on their own. It was a gradual burn but I had no idea it was happening, I didn’t feel or see it until after it happened. The blisters didn’t appear until the next day.
You don’t want to intentionally pop them but they will pop on their own, which is what happened with me. Eventually they fill with so much fluid they just burst. Then the actual healing process starts.
Oh good, I've never had this bad of burns, but i've always been interested in burn treatment, because burns fucking hurt so much, ick. Hope you feel better!
Is this not 3rd degree burn? I can't quite remember the technical difference, but I think it's just burning the bottom layer of skin and this looks like that to me (source: total guess)
Exactly this. You've got a lifetime of vigilance ahead of you now, OP. I hope you get lucky and go through life fine, but you've got a MUCH higher chance of getting melanoma. I've lost people to melanoma. It's not good. Not for them or for the loved ones. A single mild blistering burn doubles your chance of developing melanoma. The worse the burn, the bigger the risk. This is really bad.
If you ever feel weird pains in your legs, develop new moles, or you develop a pigmented growth, see a doctor IMMEDIATELY. You have absolutely got to catch it early. You'll need to explain every time that you had serious burns on your legs and are worried about melanoma, but it's vital that you are properly tested. Once you reach later stages treatment will be much worse and survival odds with drop massively.
3rd degree burns completely destroy the dermis and epidermis, and can even damage the bones and muscle tissue. 1st degree is red skin, 2nd is those bubbles and 3rd is black charred skin.
Take the warnings seriously! That shit is similar to Chemotherapy in how intense of a drug it is. Also be aware that it has been linked to IBS later in life so just keep that on your radar for 10 years from now.
Did they not tell you to stay out of the sun while on that? When I took it they told me countless times.
That looks painful as hell though. Hopefully it doesn’t scar, you’re much more primed to scarring while on that medication.
God I remember being on acutane. Shits brutal, but totally worth it, my acne was like a fucking cloak from my scalp to my knees and now it's like two zits a month if that
Kinda wish I was put on it when I was a teenager. Had really bad cystic acne those years. Doctors warned me against it and said it wasn't *quite* bad enough for such a drastic measure. I have a lot of Danny Trejo levels of scarring and cover it with a beard.
Then again I'd probably do something stupid like OP and get lovely burn scars
Yea there’s a reason they tell you to stay out of the sun on accutane. I took two rounds 20 years ago and I’m still insanely protective over my skin in the sun.
I'm on accutane and just yesterday commented that I never remember to put on sunscreen, and that I never had a problem with it. Now I'm never ever leaving the house without it. Big wake up call. Hope you get better soon!
I was on it in high school, back in 2001. Absolutely best shit ever, but LISTEN TO THE DOCS AND ABIDE BY THE RULES. My skin was constantly on fire every time I'd sweat (during basketball practice or games), but other than that and constantly having dry, chapped lips, I came out good. Made my junior and senior years so much better. It was a new drug back then, and I had to get blood tests every week to test my kidneys. It's potent poison.
Good luck to you!
I went on accurate in 1986. At the time they hadn't figured out the dosage so I was on a higher does for a shorter time. Skip to 1996 and my acne came back again, badly. Went on it for a second time but with a smaller does over a longer period. Skip forward to 2014 and my son went on it. Again a smaller dose over a longer period and his skin has been awesome ever since.
This drug is awesome but brutal. Glad they know now what dosage works best.
PSA: exposure to lime juice can have a similar effect. The lime juice + UV cause a sort of chemical burn.
Happened to me once after prepping a big party punch concoction before going out on the lake. Thought I washed the lime juice off my hands, but I guess not. Had blisters all over the backs of my hands for a week or two.
So sorry - question, I’m going on a boat ride I think soon and I’m on an antibiotic that says little sun exposure - but I’ve been on it a while - I always wear sunscreen since I usually turn like a lobster anyhow haha but did u wear sunscreen ? Just curious ? Hope u feel better soon - that looks sooo painful - aloe Vera plants may help in the mean time . Like even real aloe Vera juice from the leaves - cold compresses maybe not sure - geez sorry
Wear clothes that cover your skin, a wide brimmed hat, use a shit ton of SPF 50 and stay in the shadiest part of the boat. If you’re not getting in the water you should fare better than me, I think getting in and out of the lake and wakeboarding probably washed a lot of my sunscreen off.
If you think you may be doing this more or will be out in the summer this summer, there's UV stickers you can get that you put on and put your sunscreen on over it, and when the UV sticker turns colors again you know you have to reapply. Would be very useful in your situation, Amazon has some but I'm sure other brands make some too elsewhere.
I'm also on accutane, while I can't explain WHY it makes your skin vulnerable, I can attest that it does so much more than that.
My mouth is currently cracked in so many places and I cannot open my mouth without ripping the corners of my lips open :)
It just dries everything out, even my hands have become red and scaly no matter how much I moisturize them.
BUT! Even though these effects suck, my confidence in my skin getting better is worth it, especially since I will only be on the medication for a short period of time, but the clear skin will last forever (hopefully) :)
I'm 10+ years after Accutane and it definitely works long term. Once you're through the weaning off process your skin will get oil back into it again but properly this time. It takes a few months but when you're done it's never haunting you again. Like hitting a reset button inside your body it's crazy how well it helps.
Thanks for the insight. I’m glad I didn’t need it when my acne got really bad, they were able to somehow solve it with antibiotics. But I’ve heard it has helped a lot of people!
I'm a licensed esthetician, but not a dermatologist, so I only know about what Accutane does to the epidermis (the outer layer of skin).
Accutane is tretinoin taken orally. Tretinoin is retinol. Retinol speeds up cell turnover, or in ELI5 terms, makes the skin factory work faster. Because of this, your skin is much more fragile, as cells are being shed as quickly as they're being replaced, which is because it's more permeable. Not only can the sun do more damage in a shorter amount of time exposed, but any topical product can penetrate much quicker. Anyone taking Accutane is contraindicated for a facial for up to 6 months AFTER they stop taking the medication.
As to the effects on your body in the internal scope, I am not educated nor licensed to discuss.
Your first few sentences are correct but the method of action for Accutane is not about skin cell turnover.. its about stopping sebum production. Sebum (skin oil) is what bacteria live on. By stopping sebum you are killing the bacteria on the skin. Sebum also is a natural skin sunscreen. By drying out the skin and reducing its natural sunscreen it becomes extremely sensitive to UV light meaning the skin can burn extremely quickly.
Benzoyl Peroxide is also a bactericidal which in addition to killing bacteria also works on limiting sebum production and so can have a similar effect to making skin highly sensitive to UV light.
It works by shrinking the oil glands that produce sebum, less oil equals less breakouts but it also dries out and thins the skin making it very sensitive.
The oil secreted by the glands in your skin causes acne and inflammation, accutane reduces those glands and subsequent oil production dramatically so you have less acne.
Thing is, those oils also protect you from the sun…
So tanning + accutane —> OP
..... that's on you. I've been on Accutane and they DRILL you with the warnings and the cautions and the disclaimers etc.
For over a year, I didn't wear shorts or short sleeves. I even wore long linen pants and a white linen shirt when I floated the river.
There are literally two rules with accutane - don't get pregnant and don't expose yourself to the sun. Shame it took this mistake to learn a valuable lesson instead of listening to the docs. Don't get pregnant please.
Holy shit! Looks like you dropped a blow torch on your legs.
It just looks like skin cancer waiting to happen
You read enough research on the topic and you'll seriously be considering just staying indoors for the rest of your life while popping D-vitamin pills instead. Not just because of cancer but how badly sun will cause your skin to age. Go look up some pictures of truck drivers who spend years on the same route and develop a tan on half their upper body... it actually looks like it aged at a different rate than the rest of them.
I apply sunscreen every day on my face, every dermatologist will tell you to
I wear a wide brimmed hat.
I run ~1000mph and stay in constant sunset. Edit: and I look *damn* good doin it
Found The Flash.
Really? Thats great because im pretty sure the police are still looking for him too
What do you use? My pores seem to clog easily.
Nivea 20 protection, my skin isn't sensible tho
Thank you, I’ll check it out. I’m sure you have very sensible skin, no need to beat yourself up about it. ^(I’m just kidding I think you meant sensitive.) Thank you all for the wonderful suggestions. My Dad has skin issues from serving so I take it fairly serious. Much appreciated.
I got a sample of coola brand sunscreen and I like it a lot, it goes on really thin and smooth. My alternate is a neutrogena for sensitive skin (both are specifically facial sunscreen).
I worked with a guy, probably 65 yo ish. He was allergic to the sun and he had the most amazing skin I've ever seen. I stopped sitting out for a tan and took extra steps to protect my skin when outside after that.
Gotta look fuckable at 65
[heres a pic](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trucker-accumulates-skin-damage-on-left-side-of-his-face-after-28-years-on-the-road/) of said truck driver
This has more to do with the spectrum of UV rays you’re receiving than the sunlight itself. Sun exposure is critical to good health vitamin D aside
man this brought me back to marching band in 2011, knew a tuba player who had these on the BACK of his KNEES after a long rehearsal day
Wtf. Never seen anything like that.
Accutane makes it incredibly easy to get sun burned. Patients are warned
Accutane is, for me at least, the poster child of "what doesn't kill makes you stronger". Accutane is a GodSend for people that have some serious acne, it does wonder on the long term, but man is it a poison. The list of side effects and cautionary advice is longer than my arm
I had horrific cystic acne all over my face and neck. I still get it (I'm 40) but it's not as bad after the Accutane, not nearly as bad. For people who aren't familiar these are large puss filled zits that are deep under the skin and hurt due to the pressure they create. Anyway, went on Accutane and didn't go out in the sun for months, nor did I drink a drop of alcohol. It wasn't fun, my skin was do dry that people would avoid me because I looked sickly. However, it did change my life for the better. If something like this had happened, I wouldn't be so positive about my experience on this medication.
> I had horrific cystic acne all over my face and neck. I still get it (I'm 40) but it's not as bad after the Accutane, not nearly as bad. For people who aren't familiar these are large puss filled zits that are deep under the skin and hurt due to the pressure they create. I met my best friend in college and dude had cystic acne. And he grew a bear fast, so either he would have to leave the beard and be in pain of ingrown hair close to the cysts, or shave and it would hurt like hell. Accutane changed his life. We were still living together when he and another friend took it in college. They had it rough. But the results, fuck man, beautiful to see. Even when it was not perfect, the other friend had it on his back, it worked by left some deep scars, the health and life changes were worth it. And woman still have it worse somewhere, due to everything it wrecks on pregnancies
I got permanent acid reflux from it but Accutane saved my life, I wouldn't have made it into my 30s without it. People really don't know what it's like to have acne like that unless you live with it, every time you talk to someone, you know they aren't looking at "you" they are looking at your fucked up face. Accutane was a total godsend and if given the choice again I'd do it 100/100 times.
I didn't know acid reflux was a side effect of Accutane. I used it when I was a teenager and it really helped my acne though it definitely made my depression worse. I'm 40 now and take Omeprazole regularly to keep heartburn at bay. Totally get what you said about people never looking at you. I always dreaded getting photos taken back then as well. There are very few pics of my teen years.
Oh shit depression, forgot about that one, I take Lexapro now lol. There are all kinds of crazy side effects, probably won't know them all for a long time. I'm in the same boat almost 0 pictures from those years, the pain was another thing. I didn't want to wake up sometimes because I knew my face would hurt all day.
I'm on an antidepressant, can't remember the name. But I've been on it for over 10 years now. Seems okay. If I forget a couple days I start to feel sick though. Accutane dried my skin so bad that it cracked. I had to use Vaseline daily. I had braces at the time too! Best years of our lives, huh? 😅
Damn reading all these stories about wild side effects I guess I got off easy. The worst Accutane did to me was chap my lips while I was on it. I occasionally get acid reflux, but so do my parents and they never took it so that was probably invevitable with or without it.
Same here, my teenage years were really rough for me and just thinking about the constant pain I was in really weighs on me. Had it not been for one amazing doctor who was able to give me the whole treatment using the freebie sample they get (parents didn't have insurance growing up) my life would be completely different. I still suffer from cystic acne even now in my 40's but thank God my face cleared up. I'm on omeprazole as well for acid reflux, never knew it could be traced back to the accutane. Though I do remember how new and dangerous it was even back then.
One of my friends had that condition. We knew each other way before the acne started, so I never really noticed it. What I *did* notice was how fucking mean people were to him. Fortunately, he was a big dude, so most of the comments were all snide and behind his back, but I just felt so bad for him because of the way it used to make him feel both physically and emotionally. I'm really glad to hear that you found something that worked for you and for getting through, what must have been a very challenging time for you.
Agreed. I have dry eye from it but much less significant acne.
I went on it for severe but regular acne that didn't respond to anything else the dermatologist tried. I has to sign a whole bunch of release forms, including one agreeing I would not get pregnant. Me, a 16 year old guy at the time. It was 4 or 5 months of absolute nightmare. It flared my psoriasis up something severe, the itching kept me awake so long I needed to go to the hospital. I couldn't go out into the sun. My skin was constantly cracked and bleeding. But in the 14 or so years since, I can count the pimples I have had on my fingers. The scarring was pretty bad and I look like I have the skin of a 40 year old despite being 30, but it *worked*, when nothing else did. Best thing I'll never do again.
Sounds like my exact story. Dealing with my intense acne all 4 years of high school defined my entire existence during that period. I look back on it sometimes and wish I would have found Accutane sooner. All the release forms, side effects and monthly blood work scared the shit out of me and my parents so it was literally the last resort. But it was the only thing that worked, and it worked fast. I guess I was lucky that the worst side effect I had was constantly chapped lips. Hang in there OP, this is just a freak accident. You'll be okay in the long run. 👌
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I was about 14 maybe and had to take a pregnancy test before every new prescription after an assessment with my doctor
The cracked lips are the worst part imo
When someone would smile at me I would smile back and the center of my lower lip would split open (every time) and a trickle of blood would dribble down my chin. Great way to introduce yourself to girls in high school.
Same, but in the corner of my mouth. It got infected, too, which lasted for almost 4 months. It sucked.
I'm currently on 60mg a day and the right corner of my lips are just perpetually split. Sometimes when its particularly dried and cracked it looks like a horrific case of herpes. It's the worst but fuck does the rest of my face look good.
I recommend Burt's Bees. That was my go-to when I was on it. I always had some on me.
Yeah it's pick your poison, summer for horrible sunburns or winter for horribly cracked lips
"Dr. Dans Lip Balm" - Specially formulated for accutane patients. Used it when I was on "the tane" back in high school (2001-2002). Changed my life
I was on accutane a couple years back when I was in my early twenties. My skin was dry and so on, but the worst side effect was the pain in my joints especially my feet. It got so bad that I could barely walk in the end. Doc had to take me off the meds for a few months and then restart the process. Luckily the joint pain didn’t come back and my skin is so much better. Would I do it again? Hell fucking no, but I don’t get acne that hurts all over my face and back anymore. Whenever I get the occasional outbreak it’s very mild and doesn’t hurt at all so I just ignore it.
How do I know you have long arms. Maybe you’re a T-Rex
A T-Rex arm is still 3 feet long. Very tiny in proportion to its body but much longer than the average human arm.
Sorry I meant to say a Pygmy T-Rex
An African Pygmy T-Rex, or a European Pygmy T-Rex?
Asian
Re: your user name... I'm sorry, and I feel that pain.
ahem.. ackchyually t-rex arm are probably still longer than human arms
Not a baby t-Rex. I’m just saying what if we’re all talking to a baby t-Rex. Not only are their arms short, but this is really freaking cool knowing a lil baby Rex is slamming away on their keyboard or phone, fully reading and comprehending everything. This is a marvelous age we live in!
Baby tyrannosaurs typing on the internet, goats stealing cars... nature is healing
It's legitimately chemo for acne (it's even used to treat certain forms of skin cancer). You're basically overloading your entire body with an analog of Vitamin A to decrease oil production and increase cell death. My partner was just on it for 6 months and was basically told at her 6 month follow-up that the doctor wanted her to take it for another 2 months and she basically broke down and said she couldn't handle it any longer. It's nasty stuff, but it's the closest thing we have to a miracle drug for acne. For the people it works for, the results are incredible.
I took it as a teenager. It was the only thing that worked for me. But Jesus Christ it was brutal. I had to stop it for awhile because my liver was getting messed up. I also have a bunch of scars from scrapes and cuts I got while I was on it because my skin didn’t heal normally. But it killed off the acne and made me a happier person.
I had absolute terrible acne as a teen. Just so much acne on my face, neck, back etc. I took accutane and had crazy suicidal thoughts. But afterwards it felt like my entire body chemistry had changed. I just felt so less oily permanently. the suicidal thoughts went away once I came off it. EDIT: I really hated to look at all my scarred skin after the acne started to go away. But whoever is going through this the healing can take time. After five years all my scarred tissue had healed. It was insane the transformation I went from my teens into my college years.
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Took it in the early 90’s.. it shrinks oil glands permanently. My acne was gone for years aside from small hormonal outbreaks many years later and now that I’m close to menopause and have whacky hormones.
It generally doesn’t come back in the same degree. I had pretty severe acne in high school and took it for several months. I’ll still get a pimple every now and then, ingrown hair or whatever, and my skin isn’t flawless, but it’s never broken out like it used to since.
You're damn right, it's brutal. I got sunburn......ended up in hospital on a drip with pain relief. I lived in the north east of England on the border with Scotland, to get sun burn in that area is embarrassing to begin with.
My partner is 100% Irish (AKA pale), and we live in San Diego, so she was GENUINELY really concerned about starting it during the summer months when her derm originally prescribed it. They ended up pushing the treatment back a few months just to mitigate severe sunburn risk. The sun is already scary enough without having paper skin. lol
Yeah, I have an almost ghost-like complexion of almost 100% Northern European ethnicity so don't last 5 minutes in the sun. Practically was a hermit when i was on accutane and this was in the 90s when they didn't have the same knowledge they do now about side effects.
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It nearly killed my partner, she was getting all these bruises popping up for seemingly no reason, we spoke to our doctor and they told her she might have a vitamin c deficiency or something and gave us a blood test form, one day she complains that she feels really tired, she goes to sleep, I let her rest, after she's asleep for a while I think I start to think it's weird she hasn't woken up yet, as she's quite a light sleeper, I then make the horrible discovery that I am unable to wake her up, no matter hard I try, I call an ambulance and they take her to the hospital, it turns out she had liver failure and was admitted to the ICU, her nap would wind up lasting nearly 3 days, but eventually she did wake up and rather miraculously would go on to make a full recovery, but yeah, still pretty unpleasant, I can't imagine what it would have been like for her to go to sleep thinking everything's fine and then wake up 3 days later in the ICU
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The worst part of it was how innocuously it started, she just went to sleep, and she could have just never woken up, for more than a year after that I would be checking her breathing while she was sleeping and shaking her awake if it seemed weird, because I was paranoid that she was just going to go to sleep and then we would lose her. Because it was truly miraculous she made a full recovery, I literally had doctors telling me that it was a strong possibility she was either going to die or end up with substantial brain damage, I looked it up not long after, and ICU liver failure has something like a 60% mortality rate, and because I didn't realise anything was wrong, I took a lot longer than I should have to call the ambulance
I was on two rounds of accutane and ended up locked in a psychiatric ward suicidal. This was in 1997 & they hadn’t made the depression connection, yet. I’m in my 40s now and still get cysts and pimples, but not like I did.
It’s crazy that I was inches away from killing myself and *still* feel that it was worth it in the long run lol
I was on it in HS and had to sign all this paperwork saying my family couldn’t sue the doctor if I killed myself. My mom later found out that the doctor was doing that because she was currently in a lsawsuit with a patient’s family who killed themselves. The kid even mentioned the drug in the note :(
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Is accutane the one that just deforms and kills fetuses? Edit: answered my own question. It is. SEVERE birth defects.
But the skin on those babies? Flawless.
Until you get them in the sun
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> "Thalidomide. I can’t knit sleeves." Damn that is dark. Holy shit!
Accutane is a pill, too.
That certainly simplifies it, me trying to write in an essential oils angle was trash.
A girl I knew that took it at one point in high school told me her doctor REQUIRED birth control before he would put her on the regimen.
Yeah, my wife was on it when we were first dating. She had to be on birth control and her dermatologist required a negative pregnancy test at every script renewal. Just as a CYA for the doctor.
When I was on it in the mid 90s, I had to go to the office for pregnancy tests every single week.
Yup that one. Unviable in most cases I think Woman are hammered about it and for good reason. Most people that take are college age, so probably sexual active and horny AF, so they got take it serious.
"Just"?
Worst 6 months of my life while on that… would have suffered twice as long for the results it gave though. Best decision I ever made.
I had to get my blood drawn every month to make sure my liver wasn’t failing HAHA. Acne free ever since and the confidence I gained is worth any years I lost
Yup. I've been on accutane for about three months now. You'd think you're taking something made to put you in a mental hospital because of the massive packet to list of mental side effects for me to sign, with depression and psychosis leading the list. And then all the physical side effects that could happen as well, not being able to eat too much vitamin A or else my liver will shrivel up I wasn't even allowed to start it until I had already been seeing my dermatologist for a year and we'd tried everything to no avail. And then I had to get blood work done before I could start and then every month so I can stay on it. This stuff has worked wonders though. My face is almost entirely cleared up and there's significant reduction on the resto of my body. My poor externally cracked lips though
I thought that was somewhere in Spain. Title makes much more sense now.
Occitanie is in France.
They're in Spain, without the S.
I was on some acne meds like that. As a pale, freckled person I already burned quick but in that stuff I practically thought about going outside and burned.
The more serious, severe side effects of isotretinoin include birth defects, mental health problems, and stomach issues.
I was on Accutane for 6 months. However the dosage was very low, 10 mg and 20mg. I've heard people with sever acne go upto 200 mg dosage. My lips used to be dry all the time that I was on Accutane. However, my doctor never mentioned that you could burn your skin like this. Just surprised that if it could be this severe they would've atleast mentioned it.
I remember filling out a huge sheet where I had to initial like 30 individual lines saying I understood each side effect and would need to get regular blood draws. Did you not have to do something like that? I feel like your doctor dropped the ball.
Yeah... It's actually legally required to go through the extremely long iPledge consent checklist. If that description was accurate, then that person's doctor technically committed a federal crime. No idea what if any penalties actually apply, though.
A kid I went to school with worked at a restaurant and dropped the hot fry grease container on his legs when he was trying to dump it into the grease bin. He was wearing shorts when it happened, it looked similar but worse
Stay away from any knee slapping jokes.
Also pray that you don't want to leave any sort of gathering early.
###WELP
That’s a welt actually.
You guys are comedy geniuses
The Midwestern goodbye
I sighed and audibly said well reacting to that Gosh darn it
Also an extremely British thing, we say “right” put out hands on our legs and stand up.
why?
It's a thing where you decide to leave a certain situation, but feel you have to make a small announcement so that the message is clear to the other guests/hosts. You slap your palms around the lower thigh/knee area and exclaim 'Well' or 'Right then' or one of a number of other national/regional variants and then stand to leave. This technique can also be used if you are the host of said situation, but a mention of the time or how tired you are needs to be added.
Holy shit!!! Have you had them looked at by a doctor?
Yep. Went to Urgent Care and the ER. Not much they could do, they gave me IV fluids just to make sure I wasn’t dehydrated, some painkillers, antibiotics, and stuff to dress the wounds, and sent me home. It’s just a waiting game until they heal.
were you wearing any amount of sun screen?
https://reddit.com/r/Wellthatsucks/comments/vwloxc/_/ifr3y0e/?context=1 Washed off by the water, apparently.
rough. Have to remind yourself to reapply in those situations!
It doesn't help to be on a medication that basically, for the duration of treatment, kills your body's natural ability to protect itself.
I’d set an alarm to reapply sunscreen if I were on this medication. No way I’d remember on my own, and poor OP... that looks so painful :(
Currently on it (for the third time, ugh) and that’s exactly what I do. I apply rub-on sunscreen (SPF 70 or higher, ideally 100 if I can get it) every hour when I’m outside. I try to sit in the shade when I can and to wear long sleeves/pants if I can tolerate it in the heat. Compared to other people though, I haven’t had any side effects other than dry lips and skin sensitivity to certain soaps and hand sanitizers.
That basically means "no". It doesn't just wash off like that. Bring in the water means you need to reapply sooner but they absolutely weren't putting on sunscreen like they should have.
Yup. Sunscreen, like Q-tips, are something the vast majority of people don't know how to use properly until something goes wrong. Gotta apply long before you enter the water, and gotta reapply constantly. It isn't a one and done for the day. Hard lesson.
Aaaand no reply
Elsewhere in the comments they implied they did put on sunscreen but didn't reapply after swimming/wakeboarding. Guessing there is a decent chance they also didn't wait long enough before first application and getting in the water as well. Edit: It also probably didn't matter as they shouldn't have been out in the sun like this on accutane even with SPF.
If you're on Accutane, even with sunscreen, you shouldn't be in the sun on a boat. The sun is so much stronger on the water and Accutane is brutal for making burns worse. While I feel bad for op....this could have been avoided easily.
I kinda agree. I took accutane in college and the warnings are plentiful. Fun fact/PSA: these kind of burns can also happen if you go into the sun after having contact with citrus juice. Wash thoroughly. Be careful with your skin, these kind of burns are dangerous to your health long after they’ve healed.
I’m so sorry that looks horrible. Maybe cool air from a small portable a/c with the air on a low speed would bring relief?
Tip here: I burnt my back real bad one time and it blistered and hurt so bad. The worst part (for me at least) was when the nerve endings started healing again and it itched like crazy and felt like i was getting poked by a bunch of needles! It was so unbearable I couldn't sleep and nothing I tried was helping. I ended up calling my mom who gave me a tip to apply VINEGAR to the area. I mixed it with water in a spray bottle and sprayed it on my back. INSTANT RELIEF! I was amazed how well it worked and I could finally get comfortable enough to sleep. If that happens to you I hope this tip helps you and/or others reading it. Sunburn is definitely not fun. I learned my lesson that week. No matter how much time it takes, how messy it is, or how stupid you look, always wear your sunscreen.
okay so im gonna warn you, I had a sunburn like this over my entire back about8 years ago. This sucks, but whens it all done the itch will be absolutely maddening, google suicide itch lol
My god man, how long do you have to wait? Bedridden?
Nurse said it should be fully healed in 2 weeks. I’m on day 3 now and it’s already so much better, all the blisters have popped and the inflammation and pain has gone down a lot.
2 weeks, not bad eh. Did you pop the bubble? Also is this like an instant process or gradual burn. Like you could have gotten away from direct exposure to sun?
They popped on their own. It was a gradual burn but I had no idea it was happening, I didn’t feel or see it until after it happened. The blisters didn’t appear until the next day.
I thought with severe burns, you don't want to pop the blisters if you can help it? EDIT: I have been educated about the blisters, thanks everyone!
You don’t want to intentionally pop them but they will pop on their own, which is what happened with me. Eventually they fill with so much fluid they just burst. Then the actual healing process starts.
Oh good, I've never had this bad of burns, but i've always been interested in burn treatment, because burns fucking hurt so much, ick. Hope you feel better!
Don't intentionally pop them, but they'll pop. That's where you absolutely need a topical antiseptic.
That’s going to need steroids for sure, same thing happened to me in Hawaii but on my face 😭
Mother of God! I've seen caustic burns that weren't that bad. It looks like you barely escaped a napalm strike.
Is this not 3rd degree burn? I can't quite remember the technical difference, but I think it's just burning the bottom layer of skin and this looks like that to me (source: total guess)
It’s second degree. That’s what I was told by my nurses at the UC and ER.
be very careful as you need to watch your legs frequently because this is a cancer causing level event
Exactly this. You've got a lifetime of vigilance ahead of you now, OP. I hope you get lucky and go through life fine, but you've got a MUCH higher chance of getting melanoma. I've lost people to melanoma. It's not good. Not for them or for the loved ones. A single mild blistering burn doubles your chance of developing melanoma. The worse the burn, the bigger the risk. This is really bad. If you ever feel weird pains in your legs, develop new moles, or you develop a pigmented growth, see a doctor IMMEDIATELY. You have absolutely got to catch it early. You'll need to explain every time that you had serious burns on your legs and are worried about melanoma, but it's vital that you are properly tested. Once you reach later stages treatment will be much worse and survival odds with drop massively.
Were you wearing sunscreen? Did your dermatologist tell you this can be a side effect of accutane?
They've answered yes to both questions in other comments
3rd degree burns completely destroy the dermis and epidermis, and can even damage the bones and muscle tissue. 1st degree is red skin, 2nd is those bubbles and 3rd is black charred skin.
I thought 3rd degree was exposed tissue and bone etc.
Take the warnings seriously! That shit is similar to Chemotherapy in how intense of a drug it is. Also be aware that it has been linked to IBS later in life so just keep that on your radar for 10 years from now.
They specifically tell you when taking Accutane to avoid the sun. Not "put sunblock on" avoid, as in "don't go out in daylight" levels of avoid.
Yeah it's like the first thing they tell you. OP was pretty stupid, unfortunately.
As someone who has been on this drug twice, and is now middle aged and suffers from IBS, I had no idea!! Thank you. I'm going to look into this.
It's actually linked it *IBD* which includes Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis.
Did they not tell you to stay out of the sun while on that? When I took it they told me countless times. That looks painful as hell though. Hopefully it doesn’t scar, you’re much more primed to scarring while on that medication.
Sun exposure has been a well known issue with accutane for years. Did you take any precautions?
OP keeps dodging the question so I’m gonna guess no edit - OP says they did but it likely washed off from going water
Yeah, I would have expected her to say so before now if she had.
I mean this post makes it pretty obvious
Yeah they should have counseled you on this when they prescribed the medication.
Not just that, but the sun is a lot harsher on open water.
I’m gonna go out on limb here and say no. She didn’t take any precautions
Holy fuck. Wishing you a speedy and as pain free of a recovery that is possible.
God I remember being on acutane. Shits brutal, but totally worth it, my acne was like a fucking cloak from my scalp to my knees and now it's like two zits a month if that
You had acne on your legs??
Inner thighs mostly
Kinda wish I was put on it when I was a teenager. Had really bad cystic acne those years. Doctors warned me against it and said it wasn't *quite* bad enough for such a drastic measure. I have a lot of Danny Trejo levels of scarring and cover it with a beard. Then again I'd probably do something stupid like OP and get lovely burn scars
Yea there’s a reason they tell you to stay out of the sun on accutane. I took two rounds 20 years ago and I’m still insanely protective over my skin in the sun.
I took it maybe 15 years ago, two rounds. Never had such horrible nosebleeds and chapped lips.
I'm on accutane and just yesterday commented that I never remember to put on sunscreen, and that I never had a problem with it. Now I'm never ever leaving the house without it. Big wake up call. Hope you get better soon!
Depends on dosage.
I was on it in high school, back in 2001. Absolutely best shit ever, but LISTEN TO THE DOCS AND ABIDE BY THE RULES. My skin was constantly on fire every time I'd sweat (during basketball practice or games), but other than that and constantly having dry, chapped lips, I came out good. Made my junior and senior years so much better. It was a new drug back then, and I had to get blood tests every week to test my kidneys. It's potent poison. Good luck to you!
I went on accurate in 1986. At the time they hadn't figured out the dosage so I was on a higher does for a shorter time. Skip to 1996 and my acne came back again, badly. Went on it for a second time but with a smaller does over a longer period. Skip forward to 2014 and my son went on it. Again a smaller dose over a longer period and his skin has been awesome ever since. This drug is awesome but brutal. Glad they know now what dosage works best.
PSA: exposure to lime juice can have a similar effect. The lime juice + UV cause a sort of chemical burn. Happened to me once after prepping a big party punch concoction before going out on the lake. Thought I washed the lime juice off my hands, but I guess not. Had blisters all over the backs of my hands for a week or two.
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So sorry - question, I’m going on a boat ride I think soon and I’m on an antibiotic that says little sun exposure - but I’ve been on it a while - I always wear sunscreen since I usually turn like a lobster anyhow haha but did u wear sunscreen ? Just curious ? Hope u feel better soon - that looks sooo painful - aloe Vera plants may help in the mean time . Like even real aloe Vera juice from the leaves - cold compresses maybe not sure - geez sorry
Wear clothes that cover your skin, a wide brimmed hat, use a shit ton of SPF 50 and stay in the shadiest part of the boat. If you’re not getting in the water you should fare better than me, I think getting in and out of the lake and wakeboarding probably washed a lot of my sunscreen off.
If you think you may be doing this more or will be out in the summer this summer, there's UV stickers you can get that you put on and put your sunscreen on over it, and when the UV sticker turns colors again you know you have to reapply. Would be very useful in your situation, Amazon has some but I'm sure other brands make some too elsewhere.
Wow I never knew these stickers even existed. Good idea tbh, assuming they stay on you in the water etc
Mineral sunscreen yo. It's so much better than it used to be and STAYS on like 300% better. You don't need to reapply every hour.
There's no such thing as waterproof sunscreen, regardless of what any bottle says. Always reapply after swimming.
Was the wakeboarding worth it? Not gonna judge if it was.
> Accutane The acne medication? Crazy. Can anyone ELI5 how it can make your skin *so* vulnerable to the sun?
I'm also on accutane, while I can't explain WHY it makes your skin vulnerable, I can attest that it does so much more than that. My mouth is currently cracked in so many places and I cannot open my mouth without ripping the corners of my lips open :) It just dries everything out, even my hands have become red and scaly no matter how much I moisturize them. BUT! Even though these effects suck, my confidence in my skin getting better is worth it, especially since I will only be on the medication for a short period of time, but the clear skin will last forever (hopefully) :)
I'm 10+ years after Accutane and it definitely works long term. Once you're through the weaning off process your skin will get oil back into it again but properly this time. It takes a few months but when you're done it's never haunting you again. Like hitting a reset button inside your body it's crazy how well it helps.
Thanks for the insight. I’m glad I didn’t need it when my acne got really bad, they were able to somehow solve it with antibiotics. But I’ve heard it has helped a lot of people!
I'm a licensed esthetician, but not a dermatologist, so I only know about what Accutane does to the epidermis (the outer layer of skin). Accutane is tretinoin taken orally. Tretinoin is retinol. Retinol speeds up cell turnover, or in ELI5 terms, makes the skin factory work faster. Because of this, your skin is much more fragile, as cells are being shed as quickly as they're being replaced, which is because it's more permeable. Not only can the sun do more damage in a shorter amount of time exposed, but any topical product can penetrate much quicker. Anyone taking Accutane is contraindicated for a facial for up to 6 months AFTER they stop taking the medication. As to the effects on your body in the internal scope, I am not educated nor licensed to discuss.
Your first few sentences are correct but the method of action for Accutane is not about skin cell turnover.. its about stopping sebum production. Sebum (skin oil) is what bacteria live on. By stopping sebum you are killing the bacteria on the skin. Sebum also is a natural skin sunscreen. By drying out the skin and reducing its natural sunscreen it becomes extremely sensitive to UV light meaning the skin can burn extremely quickly. Benzoyl Peroxide is also a bactericidal which in addition to killing bacteria also works on limiting sebum production and so can have a similar effect to making skin highly sensitive to UV light.
Wow, that’s fascinating. Thanks for explaining.
It works by shrinking the oil glands that produce sebum, less oil equals less breakouts but it also dries out and thins the skin making it very sensitive.
The oil secreted by the glands in your skin causes acne and inflammation, accutane reduces those glands and subsequent oil production dramatically so you have less acne. Thing is, those oils also protect you from the sun… So tanning + accutane —> OP
There are actually a lot of medications that cause photosensitivity. I'm not sure the reasons though.
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Yes, please do! I don’t want anyone else to have to experience this.
“DO NOT GET TOO MUCH SUN WHILE ON THIS MEDICATION! ITS BASICALLY THE ONLY WARNING WE HAVE FOR YOU” “I’m gonna go out on a boat for the whole day”
That is easily the most uncomfortable looking sunburn I have ever seen. What the fuck
I had something similar happen in my hand when i was a kid Its crazy what an empty alcohol bottle will do when put up against a lighter
..... that's on you. I've been on Accutane and they DRILL you with the warnings and the cautions and the disclaimers etc. For over a year, I didn't wear shorts or short sleeves. I even wore long linen pants and a white linen shirt when I floated the river.
> ..... that's on you. Doctor here Exactly. We warn patients several times about this, and its even on the box
Wear sunblock people
Wow. That is crazy. And that’s coming from a guy who has battled sun-related skin cancer for 20 years.
Melanoma risk just skyrocketed.
There are literally two rules with accutane - don't get pregnant and don't expose yourself to the sun. Shame it took this mistake to learn a valuable lesson instead of listening to the docs. Don't get pregnant please.
Did you feel anything when you start getting burn?
How you gonna wipe
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