Acne affects nearly 50 million Americans, making it the country’s most common skin disease. Anyone who’s ever suffered from acne knows just how tough it can be on mood and self-esteem, and a new survey now backs them up.The Skin Matters Survey, commissioned by Retin-A Micro Pump and conducted by Harris Interactive (please note I’m not affiliated with this company), asked dermatologists, adults and teens about the social effects of acne and contained a few surprising results:

But perhaps the most surprising revelation of all is how few sufferers turn to the one person who can help the most — a dermatologist! Only 18 percent of adult respondents had ever seen a derm for acne treatment.

If you suffer from acne, please don’t lose hope. Dermatologists have a huge arsenal of acne-fighting tools to draw from and can give you prescription medications that are more powerful than what you can buy in the drugstore. In many cases your insurance will even cover it. 

Have you ever changed social plans or felt down because of a breakout? I’d love to hear your story in the comments.

Wishing you great skin!

By Leslie Baumann, M.D. – Nov 10, 2009