Butfirst, I have a questionforyou, Beth. Mildormoderateacneisverycommoninteenagersandyoungadults. So, accordingtotheUK's NationalHealthService, whatproportionofpeopleaged 11 to 30 experiencesomeamountofacne? Isit… a – 75% b – 85% c – 95%
DrSharonCritchlowis a dermatologistoriginallyfromBarbados. Assomeonewhogrewupwithacne, sheunderstandstheimpactitcanhaveon a person's mentalhealth, assheexplainsheretoBBCWorldServiceprogramme, TheConversation.
Well, weknowforsurethatitdoestendtoarisefrompubertyonwards, sothebiggestcohortofpatientsisintheteenageagegroup. However, a proportionofpatients, upto 20 orsopercent, arecertainlyinfemales. Itwillpersistwellintothe 30s, 40s, muchlongerthanpeopleoftengiveitcreditfor. Andwealsoknowthatithas a hugepsychologicalimpact, soevenmildtomoderateacne, becauseitaffectsteenagerswhoarequiteemotionallyvulnerable, itaffectstheirfriendships, theirpeergroups, andsoitshouldneverreallybetrivialised.
Acnetendstostartduringpuberty, thestageinpeople's liveswhentheydevelopfrom a childintoanadultbecauseofchangesintheirbody. Hormonessuchastestosterone, whicharereleasedintothebodyduringpuberty, oftencauseacnetoappear.
I didn't havetheluxuryofbeingabletosee a dermatologistwhen I wasyounger. Myfamilysimplycouldn't afforditso I hadtogetthroughitasbest I couldandyoujust, youknow, triedeverythingoverthecounter, etc. And I justfeltif I couldhelppeoplewithsomethingthathasbeensuch a baneofmylife, andhavingthatinsideexperienceaswell, so I wouldoftentellmypatientsprettymuchanything I recommendtothem, I'vetrieditmyself, I cantellthemitworks. Growingup, DrCritchlowdidn't haveanyonetohelphergetthroughacne. Ifyougetthroughsomething, youmanagetosurvive a difficultexperienceorchallengingperiodoflife.
Instead, shegotwhatevermedicineshecouldbuywithout a doctor's prescription, knownasover-the-countermedicines, fromherlocalpharmacy.