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Can ulcerative colitis cause acne?

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 7/3/2009 4:35 PM (GMT 0)
I am a 22 year old male, I have had mild ulcerative colitis since I was 14. When I was 15 I had developed moderate acne that has persisted to this very day. Is it possible the acne is a direct result of my ulcerative colitis? I am wondering how the acne could be linked to the colitis... maybe it has something to do with the immune system? But I am not sure if it is due to a weakened immune system or an overactive immune system... Can anybody here shed any light on this?
Posted 7/3/2009 4:38 PM (GMT 0)
Some of the UC meds have a possible acne side effect
Posted 7/3/2009 4:49 PM (GMT 0)
I understand the medications can cause acne, but I am wondering if the disease itself can cause acne? I haven't taken any medication since I was 17 (Salofalk suppositories). My colitis (proctitis) is pretty mild, I have mild flares once and awhile but they go away on their own without medications. Hey, thank you for your response.
Posted 7/3/2009 5:26 PM (GMT 0)
Stress can cause acne and with UC being very stressful that could be the correlation but acne directly linked to UC is not officially noted anywhere from what I've read. UC or not many do have acne issues and things like stress, oily skin and even genetics can all be the culprit behind severe acne issues.

:)
Posted 7/4/2009 2:29 AM (GMT 0)
UC does not cause acne but like pb4 said stress can exacerbate acne. You should talk to a dermatologist if you haven't already. Acne just happens sometimes no rhyme or reason for it. I never had it too bad as a kid and one day as an adult I developed some noticeable acne and the dermatologist said nobody is too old or too young for acne and it just happens sometimes. I ended up going on Accutane to clear mine up but be careful if you try that drug because it's pretty powerful and has been linked to causing IBD actually. My GI said I should be fine on it since I already have UC and I didn't notice any difference in my bathroom habits and such while on it. But first...do you have excessively oily skin? Do you touch the areas that have the acne often? Acne is pretty much dirt and dead skin stuck in your pores so oily skin and touching those areas with dirty hands will definitely create a breading ground for it. My derm also said that every time you pop a pimple you just push dirt right back in it so be sure to clean your hands and face thoroughly before you touch the acne and I recommend cleaning the area after you've picked at it. From my experience that works best. Also was your face a few times a day if you have oily skin. I use the Neutrogena Rapid Clear daily treatment pads. I think those work great to clear up current acne as well as help stop acne from developing.
Posted 7/4/2009 3:24 PM (GMT 0)
It's possible you just have acne and it's unrelated...
Posted 7/4/2009 4:51 PM (GMT 0)
I have some acne too but I think it's unrelated. I've had it since long before I got UC.
Posted 7/4/2009 5:22 PM (GMT 0)
I've never had acne before, but got mild acne after getting diagnosed with UC. It's fine now, but I do think that UC could cause acne as inflammation can show up in many forms.
Posted 7/8/2009 3:04 PM (GMT 0)

I think your skin condition can be a sign of what's going on inside your body. I have read that eliminating grains and sugar can clear up acne conditions. See article below.........

  http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/03/28/Simple-Ways-to-Stop-Acne-Naturally.aspx

Posted 7/8/2009 3:25 PM (GMT 0)
My UC can be horrible at times and has never caused acne. But when I was on prednisone I got acne on my face and all over my back. The only other thing that gives me pimples is when i touch my face or somebody else does. The oils on hands cause acne. Like if I'm leaning my head on my hands like i'm bored then i'll get pimples near my chin. I think Acne and UC are totally unrelated.
Posted 11/9/2011 6:14 PM (GMT 0)
same probs here ....

acne developed all over the face . i thought its just because of maesacol/asacol , so i stopped the medication for couple of days . but horrified , it grew more .

even though i use to have bad throats frequently.
i dont know why , if anybody can help me out , has it had to something with UC ??
Posted 11/13/2011 7:55 PM (GMT 0)
What worked for me was using head and shoulders anti-dandruff shampoo every day. I am not on any steroids though.
Posted 7/22/2013 9:04 AM (GMT 0)
doors12 did you leave the head & shoulders on for a certain amount of time, or just put it on while having a shower and scrubbing it
Posted 7/22/2013 9:49 AM (GMT 0)
I'd be inclined to say its more hormonal, based on the age you got it. I'm using a product for my hormones, it's all nautral. It's cleared my skin completely. I'm a lot older but I've suffered since the age of sixteen. Long long before this illness. I also used roaccutane. I'm not sure if this product is available in your country but it's worth a try for anyone with PMS, perimenopause, adolence PMS. Balancing male hormones. It's called Anna's wild yam cream..
Posted 7/22/2013 12:27 PM (GMT 0)
I am in an active flare right now. I took out all the chemicals (workout supplements), alcohol, energy drinks, etc. I am eating very clean right now (fruits, veggies). All of my acne on my back and shoulders have cleared up completely. Like it went from people commenting on it to now non-existent.

Not sure if it's diet related or if it's because of the prednisone I'm on since it's a steroid.

So I would agree that it could possibly do with your body's reaction to certain types of food you're putting in your system.
Posted 7/22/2013 12:54 PM (GMT 0)
I believe there is a link between my acne and my UC. My dermatologist told me that UC can exhibit itself in the skin and I always get an acne-like rash on my lower right leg before showing any of the typical UC flare symptoms. I'm on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet now and it has done wonders for my skin, so I second the elimination of wheat and sugar. I also tried the diet for a couple weeks last fall while in a major flare and it cleared up my skin in less than a week that time as well, but the acne came back once I stopped the diet.

Of course, it could just be unrelated acne, but I do think it is possible that there is a link in some cases.
Posted 7/22/2013 6:12 PM (GMT 0)
Ummm ...

You got acne when you were 15. That's beyond common. It's still going on when you're in your early 20s. Also beyond common.

I got acne when I was 9. It's been almost 20 years and I still get acne if I let my skincare routine lapse (and even then, I get zits). Only two rounds of Accutane* even made my skin manageable.

Basically, what I'm saying is that acne is super common starting during puberty and it doesn't necessarily go away when you're older. My friends in their 30s still get acne (and it got worse when they turned 30), and my mother and aunt went on Accutane in their 40s because they were tired of having acne.

* My doctors (4 different GIs that specialize in UC) do not believe that Accutane caused my UC, and neither do I. I don't really feel like getting into it here.
Posted 7/23/2013 7:57 AM (GMT 0)
@science girl, I've had acne for about 5 years now, right about when i was having troubles with food poisoning(campylobacter) and when I THINK my UC was developing. I'm 21 now... and still have bloody pimples all over my shoulders back, chest and a decent amount on my face.. i believe that uc has something to do with them.. funny thing is when i'm on pred they start to clear up lol! preds supposed to give you pimples... but some how when i'm feeling better they go away ! its confused me like hell.
Posted 7/23/2013 12:25 PM (GMT 0)
Pred can give you acne and clear it up depending on the dose and how long you've been on it. My favoriate side effect of the UC and the meds has to be the mouth sores both on my lip and inside my mouth. Fun times
Posted 12/2/2013 11:27 PM (GMT 0)
it shows that you have inflammation - your gut inflammation can directly show up on your skin.
Posted 12/6/2013 4:45 PM (GMT 0)
on one of the FMT sites there was a teenage boy with (think it was crohn's and not UC) and acne and the FT resolved both issues
Posted 12/6/2013 5:34 PM (GMT 0)
I had acne long before I had UC. I remember when I was a teen I would get huge, awful cystic pimples. I wouldn't want to show my face. I would also get bullied a lot over it... I still get them if I don't take some kind of hormones to regulate things. I really thought the topical stuff I've been using was helping but recently I tried to stop taking spironolactone and my skin got really bad really quickly. Just goes to show, all the stuff I've been buying OTC hasn't done crap for my skin. Typical waste of money.

Birth control pills can be extremely helpful but they have to be 3rd or 4th generation. So desogesterol or drospirinone (orthotricyclen can help and it's 2nd gen but it's touchy compared to the others). Unfortunately, estrogen seems to be required to keep my skin fully under wraps and I take a desogesterel minipill containing no estrogen. This is great for UC/strokes but won't keep my skin 100% controlled. If I took Yaz or Mircette, that would probably keep it under wraps but it gives me massive migraines during the week of placebos. I've been taking the minipill + spirno with good success for controlling acne. Mine is adult acne but i've been dealing with zits since i was in HS and I don't think it's related to UC or UC meds. I've tried lots of topicals, Aczone, Diffren, Retin-A, Clindymacian, ziana, glycolic acid, saylacilic acid... I feel like i've tried everything and nothing works besides hormones.
Posted 12/7/2013 2:00 AM (GMT 0)
Puberty causes acne, and it's just a myth that acne goes away after your teens. Highly unlikely that your acne is related to anything except being human.
Posted 12/7/2013 3:50 AM (GMT 0)
I rarely have a spot now, unless I am on steroids. I had moderate acne in my late teens and 20s. My skin got a lot better after I quit smoking. I think I did grow out of it to some extent too.

My poor son (17) has horrible acne on his face and shoulders. :(
Posted 12/7/2013 4:03 AM (GMT 0)
he's probably spending too much time in the bathroom with a Glamour magazine .............. or not enough :-)
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