Suggest Treatment For Severe Acne

Brief Answer:
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Detailed Answer:
Hello and welcome,

I took a look at the two pictures you sent. It looks like it may be inflammatory type acne. Hives are usually inflamed blotchy "wheels" and are intensely itchy.

Are these bumps new to you or have you had this for awhile?
Do they itch?

The reason that I am thinking it may possibly be inflammatory acne is that in addition to the small bumps, I see some dark spots that I am assuming were where previous bumps were, which left hyper pigmented spots. However, inflammatory acne usually looks redder and more inflamed.

Treatment for acne goes in a step wise fashion:
Try benzoyl peroxide (such as is in over-the-counter Clearasil). It can take a few weeks (maximally a month) to see the benefits.
If that doesn't work, then the next step is to see a dermatologist for either antibiotic treatments, or treatment with retinoids. They have other things to offer as well.

You may want to skip the initial step of trying the benzoyl peroxide as we don't know exactly whether this is acne or not. But please let me know if the areas in question are intensely itchy as that would go with hives.

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Brief Answer:
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Detailed Answer:
Thanks for the additional information.

Then this is much more likely to be acne.

If you haven't tried the benzoyl peroxide before, give that a try. But if it doesn't help, then a dermatologist should be able to help.

Sometimes (but not always), acne can increase at certain times of the month due to hormonal changes. In some people it can increase in response to various foods. Also cosmetics, lotions, having hair hanging in the face, or anything that can clog up pores can increase it too, in some people. So if this is a new problem to you, you may want to do some sleuthing to try to figure out if anything is different.

I hope this information helps.

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