Acne/spots on top of back/chest - prom deadline approaching!

[kenyancowgirl]

Can I suggest a good strong probiotic for all young people that have acne. VSL#3 is a pharmaceutical grade one with 450 billion live bacteria. It is a bit pricy (to say the least) but 30 days of that should suffice, followed by something multi-strain in the 30 billion region such as UDO's as a maintenance. Healthy gut flora implicated in making sure that the immune system does it's job effectively. Probiotics should be taken with a meal.

Blimey, that really is a nuclear strength probiotic! I don't think I've taken anything stronger than 4.5 billion organisms per capsule. Are VSL#3 quantities guaranteed by the time it reaches end user, or just at the time of manufacture?

Given how potent VSL is, it's not really that expensive at all, compared to everything else on the market, which is a much lower strength. I had a look on VSL's website and they say they dispatch it in boxes with ice packs inside to keep it cool; in fact, it's probably best to order it while outdoor temperatures are still pretty low. Apart from VSL direct, do you know of other suppliers who might be a bit cheaper but would store it in low temperatures and send it out in cooled packaging? Somehow I don't think ebay sellers would be doing that, but maybe I am wrong.

The American website for VSL says this:
"In the USA, all formulations of VSL#3 are medical foods and must be used under medical supervision. Therefore, please make sure that if you are considering VSL#3 to talk to your healthcare professional"

Their double-strength sachets are a prescription-only item. I think the US has a bit stricter regulations than the UK when it comes to supplements, but given how strong this stuff is, is it safe to self-prescribe, especially for children? If someone has never taken any probiotics, would it be a good idea to start gradually, on lower doses, for the body to get used to it? Just wondering...

+1 Purple duck...I would advise caution...as with anything that is to be "taken", I would suggest the OP gets PROPER medical advice for her child as there may, of course, be contraindications with any other medicines being taken, and/or any medical conditions!

[scary mum]

Sorry, I'm being really dim here but am interested in this. Are we talking probiotic as in supermarket chiller cabinet but in super duper strength? and how do they help acne?

There is some scientific evidence that healthy gut bacteria=healthy skin, but the jury is still out. Most scientists would agree that there probably is a link, but that more work needs to be done. No-one except the manufacturers and the acne forums on the internet is suggesting mega doses of probiotics as a cure.

[doodles]

Thanks scary mum, he has a very healthy balanced diet with occasional probiotics from the supermarket and drinks plenty of water. Think we will stick to that for the meantime.

[PurpleDuck]

Sorry, I'm being really dim here but am interested in this. Are we talking probiotic as in supermarket chiller cabinet but in super duper strength? and how do they help acne?

It's about probiotic supplements, i.e. dry-frozen 'good' bacteria that lives in the gut. They usually come in capsules or lose powder in sachets. The quantities of live bacteria per capsule are many times greater than what you would get from a bio-yogurt so supplements are more likely to provide a noticeable benefit. I tend to buy bio-yogurt only, (e.g. by Onken, Yeo Valley, Rachel's etc - those that contain live cultures have them listed in the ingredients), but take probiotic capsules as well.

Most probiotic supplements have to be stored in a fridge, simply because they die in room temperature and become useless. The benefit comes from taking active/live bacteria, so that they can colonise the gut. If you want to buy them from a health food shop and they don't keep them in the fridge, don't buy them there.

I am not a medical professional, but this is what I understand about it:
'Good' or 'friendly' bacteria in the gut are important for many reasons, one of them being that they prevent bad bacteria from over-growing and colonising the gut and their toxins causing all sorts of inflammation processes in the body. This inflammation can manifest itself trough skin conditions, such as acne, eczema etc., so the thinking is that if you can reduce that internal inflammation and the level of toxins in the body, the skin condition will improve. There is some information about it on this website: http://www.livescience.com/46502-probio ... tions.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Having said that, there are all sorts of reasons for skin conditions so it is important to seek proper medical advice to find out what exactly is causing it.

There is anecdotal evidence (i.e. various testimonials) that probiotics help ease symptoms of IBS and reduce bloating; there are also some studies reporting that they improve ulcerative colitis, but I don't think that anyone would say that either of these conditions can be treated with probiotics alone.

From personal experience, probiotics can help treat sickness from food poisoning. I once got a really bad stomach bug on holiday, the local doctor prescribed probiotics to get me back on my feet and they did help. To this day, if I think I've eaten something that does not quite agree with me, I take extra probiotics capsules just in case.

In some countries, doctors prescribe probiotics after a course of antibiotics, as antibiotics kill off everything, whether bad or good; this is one of the reasons why antibiotics can cause diarrhea as a side effect. Probiotic supplements in such cases are needed to re-instate the lost intestinal flora and bring the system back into balance.

Having said all that, taking anything needs to be done with caution, especially with children - as Kenyancowgirl has pointed out, there can be all sorts of medical conditions which may make particular supplements unsuitable for an individual. Even vit. C in very high doses can be damaging, as it has been found to cause kidney stones. The patient information leaflet that came with one of my probiotics says that excess intake can cause stomach pains and bloating. I've always followed recommended intake levels and neither I or the rest of my family (children included) have ever suffered any ill-effects from them, but the strongest capsules I've ever taken were up to 4.5 bn organisms per capsule and were recommended by DC's paediatrician. The ones we're using now are 3 bn per capsule and the maximum recommended dose is 3 capsules a day. Personally, I would hesitate to take mega-strength supplements of any sort without doctor's advice.

EDIT: cross-posted with doodles

[doodles]

Really interesting and I do only buy such yoghurts and those little probio shots like yakult andaptimel. He had a dr appt next week so will see what he says.

Having had acne myself as a teen I remember one of the things that helped me was drinking water.

[PurpleDuck]

Yes, lots of water is definitely very good, as, apparently, is sleep! (which I never got enough of) I was quite spotty myself, and well past my teenage years, so I can sympathise. I hope the doc will come up with something helpful.

[Eccentric]

Can I suggest a good strong probiotic for all young people that have acne. VSL#3 is a pharmaceutical grade one with 450 billion live bacteria. It is a bit pricy (to say the least) but 30 days of that should suffice, followed by something multi-strain in the 30 billion region such as UDO's as a maintenance. Healthy gut flora implicated in making sure that the immune system does it's job effectively. Probiotics should be taken with a meal.

Blimey, that really is a nuclear strength probiotic! I don't think I've taken anything stronger than 4.5 billion organisms per capsule. Are VSL#3 quantities guaranteed by the time it reaches end user, or just at the time of manufacture?

Given how potent VSL is, it's not really that expensive at all, compared to everything else on the market, which is a much lower strength. I had a look on VSL's website and they say they dispatch it in boxes with ice packs inside to keep it cool; in fact, it's probably best to order it while outdoor temperatures are still pretty low. Apart from VSL direct, do you know of other suppliers who might be a bit cheaper but would store it in low temperatures and send it out in cooled packaging? Somehow I don't think ebay sellers would be doing that, but maybe I am wrong.

The American website for VSL says this:
"In the USA, all formulations of VSL#3 are medical foods and must be used under medical supervision. Therefore, please make sure that if you are considering VSL#3 to talk to your healthcare professional"

Their double-strength sachets are a prescription-only item. I think the US has a bit stricter regulations than the UK when it comes to supplements, but given how strong this stuff is, is it safe to self-prescribe, especially for children? If someone has never taken any probiotics, would it be a good idea to start gradually, on lower doses, for the body to get used to it? Just wondering...

You can order it from Boots or Lloyds Chemist and yes it is the only pharmaceutical grade probiotic that I know of, presumably pharmaceutical grade means that it's probiotic numbers are checked.

[Eccentric]

Here is some information http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3038963/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I think you may be able to get VSL#3 prescribed by your GP if you have a friendly one (not certain) but I think it is prescribed for Crohns disease.

Yes do tread with caution. I probably should not have recommended in the way I did, however I can tell you that I gave it to my 12 year old daughter and it helped her eczema. I have taken it myself post antibiotic and I know a number of people who have had great success with it for IBS and one who swears that it improved her depression. I would certainly give it to my daughter if she develops acne. I am convinced that it will be the next breakthrough in medical science. Just for the record I am not a believer in taking vitamins willy nilly however there is no evidence of any problems with probiotics as far as I know, they are not vitamins but they have been proven to improve vitamin and mineral absorption. Perhaps someone with more medical knowledge who knows more than I do, could comment.

I don't think that Yakut and the like are much cop. I started my journey when my daughter contracted e-coli 0157 which she did not appear to be able to shake I am not sure if it was coincidental or not but she was clear within 2 weeks of taking it (after a horrific 3 months of continual positive blood tests), it was recommended to me by an anaethetist friend.

[scary mum]

Pharmaceutical grade is likely to mean a more reliable CFU count but the word pharmaceutical is deliberately misleading. In this country there is no legislation covering supplements so manufacturers can claim more or less anything they fancy. I believe there should be regultaion. Can you tell this is a hobby horse of mine?

[PurpleDuck]

Pharmaceutical grade is likely to mean a more reliable CFU count but the word pharmaceutical is deliberately misleading. In this country there is no legislation covering supplements so manufacturers can claim more or less anything they fancy. I believe there should be regultaion. Can you tell this is a hobby horse of mine?

I wonder whether 'pharmaceutical grade' it could also have something to do with the actual strength and licensing. Most probiotics on the market provide 1-3 bn CFUs per capsule, VSL#3 is 450 bn per sachet - maybe they need a different licence to market something this much stronger?