Re: Grieving father spends $1 million nest egg to investigate Accutane

Thanks for this news. It's sad really.
But my take is this. It is not accutane that makes someone suicidal.
It is this: When someone is already prescribed with accutane, that sufferer must have thought he/she had Acne beyond help. It is more of the psychological effect Acne has on the sufferer. Over a long period of time being depressed over Acne, the self-esteem, self-confidence drops tremendously. Even when Accutane is used, the Acne could have been "cured". But acne scars deeper than the skin. It has psychological scars as well.

What we need to be educating our youths and children is that, it's okay to have acne. What is important is we live to the fullest. A person with acne is no lesser than someone else with acne.

We have to educate, and not medicate, as this site suggest, especially for acne.

I know a friend who didn't take accutane but already had suicidal thoughts. He felt as if he wanted to use a knife and cut off the skin off his face. I almost break down and cried for him. I feel so helpless for him. Why was he thinking that this way? He even wanted to kill himself. He said what's the point of living? He does not feel good about himself at all.

I kept telling him it's not the end of the world with acne. There are people with far more terrible fate than him. He has acne but he still has a family, a full life ahead of him. There are others who do not even have the chance to live because of poor living conditions. I kept drilling this into his head. I got him a girlfriend. Told him, if he was ugly, why would his girlfriend be attracted to him. And, he's changing now. I think what is important is the support group.

Beauty is only skin deep. We are living in a world where what matters is how one is looked upon in terms of outlook appearance. We have been exposed too much to Hollywood and celebrities. They make us look and feel ugly. They set the standard for how human beings should look like.

Education is more important than medicating for acne sufferers. Acne sufferers who get over this stage of depression, usually becomes a stronger person because of it.
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