Is It a Cold, the Flu, or Covid?
December is prime time for seasonal respiratory viruses. As a parent, are you ready to identify the health concerns surrounding your child and other family members from cold, flu, or Covid-19? We’re here to help.
Helping Your Child Deal With Acne
Acne is very common, but this can be little consolation for children. And while the pimples may seem to be the primary problem, there may be a secondary issue as well. Acne often comes at a time when children start becoming concerned with their appearance and how they’re perceived by others.
This blog can help you as a parent deal with both fronts.
Smita Tandon, MD, of Dr 2 Kids in Fountain Valley, California, is an expert in dealing with acne. In this blog, she explains how you can help your child deal with acne, both physically and mentally.
Show support
The changes of adolescence are significant enough without the potentially devastating interruption of acne. It’s a time of self-consciousness for many children, and acne may offer a focal point for the confusing thoughts and feelings.
Supporting your child may mean taking the time to understand the questions that are on their mind. Just as acne may serve as an emotional focal point for your child, your support of their efforts to control their skin condition could represent your wider support for them as people.
Explain the cause
It’s natural for a child to think that a skin condition, such as acne, might stem from something they have done “wrong,” such as diet or personal hygiene. This is incorrect. While acne generally stems from an excess of skin oils mixing with dead skin cells to plug up pores, this situation occurs because of oil overproduction.
The underlying causes are far more likely to be due to hormones and genetics rather than not washing enough or eating too much greasy food. Help your child understand that acne is a biological process, not something that’s their fault.
Help them get treatment
If your child is concerned about acne, they’ll likely seek out information on how to treat it from convenient sources, such as websites and their friends. Since this information could be wrong, help them get the right information. This would be a great time to make an appointment with Dr. Tandon, who could evaluate their acne and go over their treatment options.
Remain positive
Most acne treatments take time to become effective, which can be difficult for teens. So keep an optimistic attitude and help them become future-focused.
Without a focus on the future, some teens may get overzealous and wash and scrub their faces compulsively, expecting more cleaning to equal fewer pimples. Aggressive cleaning or overuse of anti-acne products could damage their skin and make the problem even worse.
Despite the resistance your child may express when you attempt to keep them on track, you’ll quietly become a hero when the routine begins to work. And remind them that for most people, acne is temporary and will end at some point.
If your child has acne, Dr. Tandon can help. To learn more, book an appointment online or over the phone with Dr 2 Kids today for an in-person visit or telehealth meeting.
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