Why is my back breaking out so bad

00:00Hi, I’m Dr. Chad Hartmann, a board-certified  dermatologist with U.S. Dermatology Partners,  

00:05and today I want to talk to  you about chest and back acne. 

00:09Acne and chest and back acne are predominantly due  to genetic factors and I think it's important for  

00:15people to understand this because commonly I’ll  have a patient who comes into the office with acne  

00:19and feels that the acne is their fault because  they're not cleaning the area enough or I’ll  

00:24have a parent who brings in their child and thinks  the acne is due to the child not washing the area  

00:29or because their hair is going over the area  causing the acne and this is rarely the case and  

00:35unfortunately this can lead to a  delay in diagnosis and treatment  

00:39and when treatment is delayed this can  result in scarring which is permanent. 

00:43Chest and back acne is treated  similar to other forms of acne,  

00:47however, sometimes chest and back acne tends to  be a little bit more stubborn and not respond to  

00:52treatment and it's also sometimes more difficult  to treat simply because of where it's located.  

00:57It’s hard to apply topical agents to these areas. How we treat acne is normally determined by the  

01:03severity of acne, if the acne is mild often  times we'll start with topical treatments  

01:08such as a cleanser or a topical  antibiotic or a topical retinoid. 

01:14When the acne is more moderate then we'll normally  need to use an oral agent or something by mouth.  

01:19Typically we'll use antibiotics by mouth  and in female patients, we can consider  

01:25either an oral contraceptive pill or a  hormone-blocking agent when it's appropriate.  

01:32If the acne is more severe or in patients who  don't respond to less aggressive treatments  

01:37Accutane is normally a very effective treatment in  these patients. If you or someone who's suffering  

01:42with chest or back acne please reach out to  one of our U.S. Dermatology Partners locations.