Accutane Scarring Question

[Scarring]

Hi, I have been on Accutane for almost 4 months now.  I have acne on my back and a little on my chest.  It is starting to clear up, but when the pimples start to go away, some of them form small rise-up type things that look like pimples.

I am wondering if they are keloid scars or are still pimples.  Do you know anyway I can tell which they are?  Also, if they are keloid scars is there anything I can do to get them to go away?  I was searching the web, and i came across this cream.  I was wondering what you thought about it.

http://www.abateacne.com/

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[thelaststraw]

A related discussion, how to heal a tca spot peel while on accutane was started.

[snood]

i have been off accutane for almost a year and a half now. i have some scars that are left on my face that are very noticeable because of my treatment, but i dont have acne anymore. i have tried many diferent things to get rid of these scars via rose hip oil is my lastest. i have been using it for about one month, and it seems to help a little bit, but sometimes i get acne form it, and others my face turns very red, making acne more noticeable. i was reading about dermatique, and wondered if this would help reduce my scars without turning my face red or giving it acne? Also, i was wondering that if i left my face alone, would the effects of accutane continue to help my scars go way, or would the use something else help even further?
                          
                                             Thanks,
                                              Snood

[dermnurse]

Since you are on accutane, you should be seeing your dermatologist on a monthly basis, ask him to check out your spots (which should be done anyway to monitor your progress on accutane per federal regulations).
Remember that with accutane, it takes 5 to 6 months of treatment and that acne scars will fade for up to one year after treatment.

[Scarring]

So you don't know how I could tell if they are keloids or not?  Also, what about on the back/shoulders?

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

Bumps on the torso may well be keloids; bumps on the face probably aren't.  Keloids are forever, unless you treat them.  There's no harm in waiting 6 months to see if they go down on their own.  If they don't, injections of cortisone can help.  Creams don't.  But wait a while--even bumps that go away last a lot longer than the end of Accutane therapy.

Best.

Dr. Rockoff