Sunday, March 20, 2011

Breaking news! Stop the presses!

When Dr. Grumpy was a teenager he had...

(head down, whispers)

zits.

Yes, that horrible scourge of adolescence. I had zits.

The pimples, as always, popped up at the worst time. Like the big honker on my nose just before a date. Or asking Suzy Weintraub out. Or other (by teenage standards) major-league events.

And yes, it was depressing. It made me feel ugly. And so (like many other teenagers) I invested my hard earned money in whatever product promised results. Because what girl would want to go out with a guy with a zit the size of Sheboygan on his forehead?

And, although you were ashamed to talk to other kids about zits, EVERY teenager obviously felt the same way. Hence, the enormous success of Zitzaway! and other skin care products aimed at adolescents. Hell, zits even had their own page in the unofficial puberty bible "What's Happening to Me?"

So, obviously, zits are a longstanding, well-known, part of adolescence, impacting emotions and confidence. Right?

Of course, actually having gone through puberty, or having kids doing so, just isn't good enough. Someone actually had to STUDY THIS!

And they found that (SURPRISE!) having zits in adolescence can effect the way you feel about yourself!

Really. Here's the article.
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30 comments:

  1. AnonymousMarch 20, 2011 at 10:52 AM

    OMG! Who would'a thunk? Only any teenager in the universe.
    Reading the article gave me a zit on my butt, maybe there's a correlation there worthy of a federal grant to study.

    ReplyDelete
  2. OMDGMarch 20, 2011 at 10:54 AM

    So what you're saying is that you DON'T have zits anymore. I f-ing hate you. It's totally unfair that I have zits AND wrinkles at the same time.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Grumpy, M.D.March 20, 2011 at 10:55 AM

    Believe me, I still have them. And gray hairs. And wrinkles.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousMarch 20, 2011 at 11:00 AM

    zits, grey hairs, and wrinkles. all on my ass.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Not HouseMarch 20, 2011 at 11:32 AM

    Zits. From ingrown chest hairs.

    Checkmate.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Kat's KatsMarch 20, 2011 at 11:35 AM

    Shhhhh!! Don't tell my bipolar/ADD/Asperger's son!! The one with zits on his face & back! ::rolls eyes:: Seriously, someone needs to do a study about the problems inherent in the difficulty in finding subjects on which to do research in the 'publish or perish' world.

    ::bangs head over and over on laptop::

    ReplyDelete
  7. AmyMarch 20, 2011 at 11:55 AM

    Well, I'm all for the study if it helps keep Accutane on the market. When I was a teenager, Accutane gave me my life back. I'm terrified it will be taken off the market and other unhappy teens will just have to suck it up and be ostracized and miserable.

    ReplyDelete
  8. KejiaMarch 20, 2011 at 11:59 AM

    If you found who FUNDED the study, I bet you wld find a pharmacy that makes acne medicine. Advertising, quoting this study, is sure to follow.

    ReplyDelete
  9. AnonymousMarch 20, 2011 at 2:49 PM

    Accutane IS off the market, however, the generics are not.

    ReplyDelete
  10. AnonymousMarch 20, 2011 at 4:19 PM

    Does anyone know of a time when someone studied an axiom and DISPROVED it? The only one I can think of is something I read in Scientific American years ago, where someone studied whether bullies have low self-esteem and found they have high self-esteem instead.

    ReplyDelete
  11. MooseMarch 20, 2011 at 4:30 PM

    Just think -- you could have my hormone issues and be in your late 40s and STILL have zits.

    Please dear lord let mental-pause come soon.

    ReplyDelete
  12. JonMarch 20, 2011 at 7:30 PM

    You still have hair?!?

    ReplyDelete
  13. RehabRNMarch 20, 2011 at 8:14 PM

    Hey, Grumpy, I'm with you! 40+ and still keeping good ol' acne products available.

    They have them for us old people you know, and they call it "mature acne".

    And here my mother told me I'd grow out of it!

    I'm sure that study was drug-funded. You'd think they'd have something newer than Accutane after all the bad PR (birth defects, suicide, etc.)

    Isn't there another monoclonal antibody someone's not using (sure seems like there everywhere!)

    ReplyDelete
  14. AnonymousMarch 20, 2011 at 8:46 PM

    "Believe me, I still have them. And gray hairs. And wrinkles."

    well, at least you still have hairs.

    ReplyDelete
  15. AnonymousMarch 20, 2011 at 8:52 PM

    Moose,
    Mental-pause does not guarantee lack of zits. I'm post-menopausal and still get zits. Along with gray hair and wrinkles.
    Think my acne is actually worse now compared to my teenage years.

    ReplyDelete
  16. AnonymousMarch 20, 2011 at 9:11 PM

    Hey, I just turned 49 and I've had zits since I was 11.
    My kids have them too. One of the worst parts, as they point out, is that people who don't get zits assume that people who do get zits must have poor hygeine practices. Anyone who gets zits knows that isn't true and that in fact overzealous face-washing is likely to make the problem worse.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Frantic PharmacistMarch 20, 2011 at 10:19 PM

    There are a lot more options for acne nowadays, which is a good thing, but Accutane always scared me a little -- the depression thing in a teenager, especially. I know some adults who have long term side effects from using it (chronic dry eye, for example.) I am very glad there are some other things to try though (Differin, oral antibiotics, Retin-A, etc.) Beats the heck out of Clearasil.

    ReplyDelete
  18. AnonymousMarch 20, 2011 at 11:33 PM

    OMG, it wasn't just one study--it was a review of SIXTEEN studies! *facepalm*

    Yeah, zits and wrinkles. I'm in the special club too.

    ReplyDelete
  19. AnonymousMarch 21, 2011 at 2:01 AM

    Where the Hell does all of this money come from to do these lame ass studies???

    Late 30's still get pimples on my face. Didn't get them as a teenager - go figure??? I currently have 3 around my jawline... I blame them on stress, and the fact that I tend to touch my face a lot.

    I swear by exfoliation with a scrub cloth and a cleanser that has salicylic acid in it...

    ReplyDelete
  20. AnonymousMarch 21, 2011 at 9:38 AM

    Crap. I wish you would have posted this sooner....I've been TRYING to get zits in order to become more popular. And my popularity has only continued to fall.

    I really need to read those medical journals more closely.

    ReplyDelete
  21. PackerMarch 21, 2011 at 10:24 AM

    I wish you would tell us something we didn't know.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Library-GryffonMarch 21, 2011 at 10:55 AM

    I agree with Kat's Kats, it's the publish or perish mentality. I remember an article in a library journal where the author had studied browsing and borrowing habits in public libraries, and discovered that folks were more likely to check out books shelved between waist and eye level, rather than the top or bottom shelf. Something the supermarkets have known for absolutely years (and done plenty of studies on too), which is why the cheap store brands are always top or bottom shelf - they make more money on the name brands.

    But some poor sod had to have a publication to his/her name to keep their job as librarian at big-name-research-university, so here we are investigation the bloody obvious that has already been studied.

    ReplyDelete
  23. AnonymousMarch 21, 2011 at 2:05 PM

    Dogs are supposed to have all kinds of 'good' anti-bacterial bacteria in their saliva, right? (So that they clean up their wounds and get on with life?) Waall, every time my dog licks my face...I get a pimple, does that count for a zit at age 50 plus? (Come to think of it, I have never seen a dog with zits.)

    ReplyDelete
  24. AnonymousMarch 21, 2011 at 3:15 PM

    Warning: Grammar Nazi ahead!

    "And they found that (SURPRISE!) having zits in adolescence can effect the way you feel about yourself!"

    ...can AFFECT the way...

    ReplyDelete
  25. Just a little snarkyMarch 21, 2011 at 3:49 PM

    I never used special meds for zits. I just used Bactine. It was cheap and lasted a LONG time.

    ReplyDelete
  26. AnonymousMarch 21, 2011 at 6:15 PM

    Zoladex and Nilandron cleared me right up; teen age boys should be put on them until age 18

    ReplyDelete
  27. AnonymousMarch 21, 2011 at 11:35 PM

    Are you from Wisconsin? I was thrilled to hear you reference Sheboygan.

    ReplyDelete
  28. CMarch 21, 2011 at 11:39 PM

    anonymous- poodles and schnauzers and some other dogs are prone to sebacious cysts....lots of hair... :(

    ReplyDelete
  29. jMarch 22, 2011 at 2:56 AM

    I found out sugar causes zits for me. Wish I knew that 20+ years ago!

    ReplyDelete
  30. kate sweetenMarch 23, 2011 at 1:07 PM

    The pharmacutical and cosmetic industries have made a small fortune off of me and my acne...I was always told that I would grow out of it. Well, I'm nearly 30. I can grow out of it any day now :)

    Oh, and how rude is it that they have to call it "acne vulgaris". I mean, jeez, I get it! It's gross looking. No one likes it...but to call it "vularis"? Just mean. Your face is covered in "*shudder* vulgaris" :(

    ReplyDelete

So wadda you think?