The Student Room Group

acne treatments: erythromycin and PanOxyl

Has anyone used erythromycin (tablets) and PanOxyl 5 (cream). If so, how effective are they?
The doctor said I should use the cream for my whole face, but on the instructions it says 'on affected areas' does anyone know which one? (And no, my face isn't complete acne infested).

cheers :smile:

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Personally i wouldnt recommend any creams or pills gven, they all contain steroids and mess your skin up over time, i would stick to natural like tea tree oil, works for me!
Reply 2
I used both and to be honest they were both rubbish. I cannot believe your doctor instructed you to use panoxyl on your face at all - its strictly not for the face although i have used in there in the past - it will really dry out your skin and make it ache.

To be honest the absolute best thing you can do is get out in the sun and expose the affected areas for a bit - obviously becareful with all the problems that can arise with too much sun exposure.

Also drink plenty of water throughout the day and try not to touch your face or the affected areas although i know some people do out of habit. Shower at least once a day and it will get better.

From my experience the above has worked 100% better then anything the doctors supply.

Good Luck, Ad
Reply 3
How about using zineryt? It really stings your face and leaves your face very dry after using it.
Reply 4
swifty
How about using zineryt? It really stings your face and leaves your face very dry after using it.


yeah, used it. Complete *****. I've also used oxytetracycline which worked for a month or two, then I was useless. My body probably built an immunity to it or something.

The doctor gave me these two and also referred me to the dermatologist
Reply 5
Zineryt didn't work for you? I thought it was quite effective, different skins then I assume.
Reply 6
Panoxyl 5 does not contain any steroids. The active ingredient is benzoyl peroxide at a concentration of 5%. Benzoyl peroxide is proven to be more effective than tea tree oil. From what I've read, Panoxyl is far too drying, therefore I suggest you use Quinoderm 5 instead, or look into purchasing a 2.5% benzoyl peroxide product, (e.g. from http://www.acne.org ).
Reply 7
eggnog
therefore I suggest you use Quinoderm 5 instead.


used quinoderm as well! All it does is it gives me patchy red, dry marks
Reply 8
Did you use the 5% or 10% stuff?

It would cost you $15 for 4 oz. of the 2.5% gel from acne.org ,(that includes shipping) which is ~£8.50 .
adamu
I used both and to be honest they were both rubbish. I cannot believe your doctor instructed you to use panoxyl on your face at all - its strictly not for the face although i have used in there in the past - it will really dry out your skin and make it ache.

To be honest the absolute best thing you can do is get out in the sun and expose the affected areas for a bit - obviously becareful with all the problems that can arise with too much sun exposure.

Also drink plenty of water throughout the day and try not to touch your face or the affected areas although i know some people do out of habit. Shower at least once a day and it will get better.

From my experience the above has worked 100% better then anything the doctors supply.

Good Luck, Ad


PanOxyl is not for the face when sold OTC (over the counter). However, the doctor can recommend things for different purposes if necessary. It's like things such as Ibuprofen, they can't be sold to people who are asthmatic OTC because of the risks of an asthma attack, but if prescribed by a doctor, are fine to supply.

I'd try the PanOxyl and erythromycin, though to be honest none of that worked for me :smile: It works for lots of people, though.
I got Nicam Gel and some other tablets yesterday.

I was on Oxytetracyline last August and it got rid of the massive spots but now, I've got the redness of the spots.

I tried the Freederm cream, although that wasn't effective.
Reply 11
Not really an expert so can't comment on the various pills / creams, but I'd say work out the cause(s) of your acnes. Is it your diet that's causing the problem? Hormonal imbalance? Personal hygiene? I'm just brainstorming here. I just think that if you know what caused your acnes in the first place they'd be easier to deal with.
Reply 12
Davie_Moyes


I was on Oxytetracyline last August and it got rid of the massive spots but now, I've got the redness of the spots.



yeah, im in the same position. My GP gave me the erythromycin and I keep on think that if I come off oxytetracycline it would get worse. The thing is I don't no the degree of effective of oxytetracycline, so coming off it maybe risky, unless I take both antibiotics, which I don't think is a good idea.
Reply 13
Is your acne cystic, or is it just a few surface spots?

Because either way, it changes what you should be using for it.
Reply 14
Kunster1337
Personally i wouldnt recommend any creams or pills gven, they all contain steroids and mess your skin up over time, i would stick to natural like tea tree oil, works for me!

hmmmm, i tried to stick to that sort of thing, but after years of washing my face twice a day and using every treatment under the sun it became obvious they werent going to work.

went onto some kind of myocin type pill for 6 months, worked for 2 weeks then went back to normal.

i then went onto roaccutane which is the daddy of all antibiotics fro skin, which speeds the metabloism of the skin, making it change faster.

worked amazingly well cleared my skin totally. did make it dry, but moisturiser sorted that and were some side effects tiredness and slight depression when i first went on it, but was ok. a don't drink when ur on it, at best you will get a headache the next day, at worse you will wish u were dead :smile:

roaccutane works well, but you have to keep up with the washing ur face all the time, i missed a couple of days about a month after coming off the roaccutane and got some spots. now have quite a few spots under my chin, probably from shaving, and a few small ones and blemishes on my cheek, but nothing major.

is annoying that it came back, but i find that having 2 showers a say helps a lot, washing ur face both times. oxy on the spot has some short term effects but is useless long term.

tea tree was good when i used it years ago.

clearasil fluid stuff for pads is rubbish, but clean and clear is pretty good.

at the moment am using aloe vera gel for the blemishes on my cheek and they seem to be clearing so thats good too.

basically the light pills won't work, but you have to take them for 6 months before the gp can refer you to a dermatologist who will prescribe roaccutane if necessary.
Reply 15
gordon2002
yeah, im in the same position. My GP gave me the erythromycin and I keep on think that if I come off oxytetracycline it would get worse. The thing is I don't no the degree of effective of oxytetracycline, so coming off it maybe risky, unless I take both antibiotics, which I don't think is a good idea.

never mix antibiotics.

oxytetracycline i went onto after being on some thing else (petratetra maybe i dunno) and as i said in my mega post, it was effective for a week or so then it went back to normal.

i dont think the pills do anything, if you come off u will probably find no difference but never stop taking a course of medication without doctors permission, as this may have side effects.
Reply 16
swifty
How about using zineryt? It really stings your face and leaves your face very dry after using it.


Yep I use it :wink:

Doesn't sting my face too much.
Reply 17
Gexko


i then went onto roaccutane which is the daddy of all antibiotics fro skin, which speeds the metabloism of the skin, making it change faster.

worked amazingly well cleared my skin totally. did make it dry, but moisturiser sorted that and were some side effects tiredness and slight depression when i first went on it, but was ok. a don't drink when ur on it, at best you will get a headache the next day, at worse you will wish u were dead :smile:


Would you say that roaccutane can affect studying/school?

Herleif Arkadios
Is your acne cystic, or is it just a few surface spots?

Because either way, it changes what you should be using for it.


I used to get frequent nodules about a year ago, which have some scars (only seen when light at an angle). Now I only get the ocassional nodule, but they are annoying because they hurt!
Reply 18
Kunster1337
Personally i wouldnt recommend any creams or pills gven, they all contain steroids and mess your skin up over time, i would stick to natural like tea tree oil, works for me!

thats just great. you're an idiot.

I have a week left on zineryt. it sometimes burns after shaving, but normally it doesn't. amusingly, it seems to keep my face moist, which is nice as benzoyl peroxide, which i presumed to be similar, certainly didn't. I also took a penicillin based antibiotic for a week while on zineryt, for something else, but it supposedly would have helped. i've noticed only very slight improvement, so my doctor will now probably put me on erithromycin (sp?) tablets, which i will refuse since i've taken antibiotics and tried erithromycin in the form of zineryt. hopefully then i'll finally get the accutane, lol:smile:

actually, i might ask for another month of zineryt, since it seems to be working at the moment, though i know deep down it's probably just a fluctuation in how my skin goes...
gordon2002
Would you say that roaccutane can affect studying/school?



I used to get frequent nodules about a year ago, which have some scars (only seen when light at an angle). Now I only get the ocassional nodule, but they are annoying because they hurt!


Roaccutane didn't cause me any problems that were a departure from my normal self, and as long as you have someone to keep a watch out for the nastier side effects, I'd say it's worth a try.