Laziness isn't cured with a Rx
So my OSS has an acne problem. He's 14 and going through puberty and of course with that comes zits. Daily, my DH and I have to "remind" him at night to "wash your face". This drives me crazy. My DH will do it and then if DH isn't home he will text me, "did you remind OSS to wash his face?" The kid is 14...he can look in the mirror and SEE he has pimples everywhere, big, fat, pussy ones. I don't have to remind my BD14 nor my BD12 to wash their faces. It's part of hygiene and at this point in their lives they should be able to do that themselves. DH and I have discussed bringing him to a physician for a Rx (at MIL's incessant discussion) and I told DH that a lot of the Rx's they give have side effects that in reality the kid doesn't need (sometimes a steroid...mood swings, anger issues, etc) and that all the medicine in the world isn't going to help if the kid doesn't wash his face. He still needs to wash his face. When he starts being responsible enough to wash his face regularly (with the plethora of OTC acne washes I purchase and astringents, etc for the kids) and it doesn't clear up we can look at that route. As it stood, his face gets significantly clearer when he is in our home because of the "reminding" and making him do it where BM doesn't say a word...half the time the boys don't even shower over there.
Well BM, in her pursuit of MOTY award, took SS to the doc. He got an antibiotic to take, and a cream to apply to his face AFTER he washes it with plain water and pats it dry.
So last night...I'm home with the boys alone. OSS comes into the kitchen...
ME: did you take care of your face?
OSS: I took my pill
ME: Okay, but did you wash your face like your supposed to?
OSS: Not yet. I'll go do it right now.
LITERALLY 30 seconds later he comes back into the kitchen.
ME: You washed your face already? (mind you our bathroom is UPSTAIRS and he is supposed to wash with plain water, pat dry and then apply cream)
OSS: Yeah I put the cream on.
ME: So in that short amount of time, you washed your face with water, patted it dry and applied cream?
OSS: Um...no. I put the cream on. I didn't wash my face
AND THERE IT IS LADIES AND GENTLEMEN....HE IS TOO LAZY TO TAKE CARE OF IT PROPERLY WHICH IS WHY HE HAS THE ACNE AND WHY I WASN'T GOING TO RUN AROUND TO DERMATOLOGISTS.
I just looked at him and said, you got this medication, but you did get instructions of what you need to do. Taking a pill and applying cream alone is not taking care of yourself. You NEED to wash your face.
UGH
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Bactine does the trick. My SS
Bactine does the trick. My SS next to refused to wash his face too so we had him apply bactine twice a day and his acne almost completely cleared up. Lol until they go back to their BM's... Some teenagers are just gross with their lack of washing.. :sick:
can not fight lazy or should
can not fight lazy or should I say crazy
SS12 is like this. It's a
SS12 is like this. It's a constant battle to make him wash his face and brush his teeth. DH and I absolutely refuse to get him braces because he won't brush his teeth. SS admitted that he NEVER brushes his teeth at BMs so I doubt he'll be getting braces in December. He whined to DH that some girl he likes doesn't like him and I said to DH "maybe he should wash. Girls don't like boys that smell and have zits all over"
I'm not trying to disagree
I'm not trying to disagree with the point about good hygiene, but washing your face does not prevent acne and in some cases can make it worse. I'm 37 and I've battled with acne pretty much ever since I was a teen. I washed my face two a day and still got pimples.
Think about it, there are some people that never wash their face but don't have a single pimple, others wash their face religiously AND use OTC acne washes and STILL have acne.
Also, astringents can make acne worse. It over dries the skin out, making it produce more oil, which causes more acne.
Acne is caused by hormones, all the face washing in the world will not stop pimples from forming. OTC face creams and washing your face will help SOME, but will not clear his face up the way prescription medicines will. The ONLY thing that worked for me was Accutane.
And I really don't want him
And I really don't want him to take Accutane. I am not comfortable with the side effects.
I agree with you that there certainly are people who OTC meds will not work. My brother was one of them. My SS is NOT. My SS's issue is he doesn't WASH. When he washes, it clears up. I am almost 40 and still fight pimples, so I know all about it. He doesn't want to put in the effort to take care of his skin. Which is evident by the fact that he IS supposed to wash with water and pat dry and apply the cream, as the doctor prescribed, and he's NOT bothering to wash...just slather on cream and skip the whole washing part
I hear ya on the side
I hear ya on the side effects. There are other prescription meds he could try that don't have such bad side effects, though.
But then again, I'm thinking if he can't be bothered to wash his face, why would he bother to take a pill every day?
I think you may have to let peer pressure take it's course on this one.
I think you're right. The
I think you're right. The problem is that his BM is a slovenly woman who doesn't have any pride in her personal appearance or hygiene either, so it is a losing battle and the friends he hangs with don't seem to be any better either.
What is going on with kids these days? Specifically young males??
Been this route with Bio. It
Been this route with Bio. It was 3 products and a pill and he never did it with consistency. Over 200 every single time. I finally stopped. I figure when girls say something, he will mature with this. Now SS, same thing.
It is on them.
It's not important enough to
It's not important enough to him ~ plain & simple.
Pick your battles Hanging !
When the right girl comes along ~ watch and see the difference
Yup! Exactly how I feel. I'm
Yup! Exactly how I feel. I'm not going to be bothered with it. I'm not going to ask anymore or remind. It's ridiculous. And I won't be the one forking out the $$ for the Rx if he isn't going to be taking any true responsibility for following through.
The skids have ONE more week at their BM's before the school year starts and they stay with us full time...I'm still hanging on to hope that they will start the "We want to live with BM" or at least EOW. Although when BM brings that up, the answer will be, oh no, it's you primary and us EOWE and one midweek visit or it stays the way it is. I'm hoping the dollar signs will light up in her eyes and think "full custody!! That's worth way more $$" but sadly, the type of mother she is, she will most likely drop it like a hot potato if she thinks she has to have the full time.
OMG - same thing with my SD
OMG - same thing with my SD when she was younger. Her BM took her to many different doctors to get different prescriptions. Once when she was over, I asked her what she used to wash her face (I was going to give her suggestions on what worked best for me). I shit you not, she laughed and said, "I don't wash my face. It's easier to take medication."
Sickening.
I understand that this doesn't cure ALL acne but AT LEAST get the kid to use basic hygiene before you go putting extra chemicals into their bodies!
Ugh. We're going through the
Ugh. We're going through the same thing with SS15. This kid has acne BAD. I'm talking all over his face, his shoulders, his chest and his back. It's gross. He asked DH to put sunscreen on his back during our vacation and DH said later he felt bad, but he was so skeeved out by it. We took SS to his pediatrician about a year ago, and he said SS needs to make sure he's washing his face and body twice a day with this special acne wash. We picked up the body wash, SS used it as directed for about three days, and never touched it again. We sent it with him when he went back to BM's and apparently he never touched it there. This kid won't even shower without a fight.
He bitches about his acne. But we told him it's on him. We did our part by taking him to the doctor and getting him a prescription. I f he can't be bothered to use it, to keep up with his hygiene, then he'll look the way he does. Apparently it doesn't bother him all that much or he'd step up and keep himself clean.
You hit the nail on the head, OP. It's pure laziness. SS15 can't be bothered with anything that might actually, you know, benefit him.