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Online consultations with Dr Tara Treacy, a GP with postgraduate training in clinical dermatology and additional training in advanced acne treatment. Personalised care across Ireland, with the same doctor throughout.
Ages 14 to 17 | Video consultation | Parent or guardian present throughout
If you have a question first you can book a free acne chat
Most parents who book a teen consultation with me have already tried a lot. Chemists' products, whatever the pharmacist suggested, maybe a cream from the GP that helped for a while and then stopped. By the time they get to me, they are not worried about spots. They are worried about scarring, and they are worried about a teenager who has stopped wanting to be in photographs.
Teenage acne is a medical condition, not a phase to be waited out, and not something your child caused by eating the wrong thing or not washing their face. It responds to proper treatment. The difficulty in Ireland is getting to someone who will look at it properly and stay with you while it clears.
That is what this is.
One thing I would say plainly: acne scarring is very difficult to reverse and much easier to prevent. The window for preventing it is while the acne is still active. That is the reason not to wait this one out.
This is not the right place for: children with eczema, under 14, anyone outside the Republic of Ireland. You do not need a referral, and you do not need to have tried anything first.
I will be straight with you about what is on the table, because it depends on age.
Prescription topical treatments are first line for this age group, and where acne is more inflammatory, prescription tablets alongside a topical treatment. Used properly they work well for most teenagers. What matters is that the treatment is correctly chosen, correctly dosed, and reviewed regularly with a clear plan of what happens next. The most common reason teenage acne treatment fails is that it is started and then never reviewed. Treatment needs adjusting as it goes.
Everything above, and where acne is severe or scarring and has not responded to previous treatment, the Advanced Acne Programme becomes an option. This is a structured programme with monitoring throughout. We meet monthly to check how the treatment is working, manage any side effects, keep an eye on mood and adjust as needed. Blood tests are done locally at a clinic of your choice and paid for there directly, so the cost depends on what is needed and where you go. Where hormonal factors are contributing, we can talk through those options too.
I will not put your child on something stronger than they need, and I will tell you honestly if I think we should try something simpler first.
Book a time that suits. Evening and weekend appointments are available, so it does not have to mean missing school.
Tell me about the skin. If you can, upload a few photos and fill in a short questionnaire beforehand through our secure patient portal. It helps, but if your teenager would rather not, that is fine and we will work with what we have on the day.
The consultation. On video, from home, with a parent or guardian there throughout. I will assess the skin, go through what has been tried, and answer your questions and your teenager's.
You leave with a plan. A written treatment plan and a prescription sent to your nominated pharmacy where appropriate. You will know exactly what to do and what to expect.
We review it. Acne treatment is not a single appointment. Most teenagers continue on a monthly care plan so the treatment can be adjusted as the skin responds, and I will explain exactly how that works at the consultation.
A parent or guardian needs to be present for every consultation, whatever your teenager's age. You do not have to be on camera the whole time, but you do need to be there.
If your child is 16 or 17, they consent to their own treatment. In practice a lot of teenagers want a few minutes to talk without a parent listening, and I will usually offer that. You stay contactable and we bring you back in before any decisions are made.
Practical things: find a quiet room with decent light, no makeup on the day if possible, and have any current or previous treatments to hand so we know exactly what has been tried.
This is the question I get asked most, and it is a fair one. Mood is part of what I check at every review, not an afterthought. Acne itself affects mood in a lot of teenagers, which is often why families come to me in the first place. If anything changes during treatment, I want to hear about it early, and we act on it rather than waiting.
I see patients from 14. Below that, acne is usually best looked at by your own GP in the first instance.
Yes. That is the point of it. Most teenagers hate sitting in a waiting room about their skin, and a video consultation from home removes that entirely.
No, not unless it is genuinely needed and appropriate for their age. For 14 and 15-year-olds, treatment means topical treatments and, where needed, prescription tablets. Stronger options only come into the conversation from 16, where acne is severe or scarring, and only with you involved.
Common, and not a problem. Plenty of teenagers say about four words to me in the first consultation. I will direct questions to you where I need to, and they usually open up by the second review.
I will write to your GP at the start and end of treatment, with your agreement so your child's records are complete. Your GP does not carry any responsibility for the treatment.
Yes. Treatment is designed to fit around normal life. Some medications need small practical adjustments, like being careful with sun exposure, and I will go through anything relevant to your child during the consultation. If your teenager is sitting the Junior or Leaving Cert, we can plan the timing around it.
Most treatments take 8 to 12 weeks to show a real change, which is why regular review matters. If we are at week 12 and nothing has shifted, we change the plan.
I will tell you. If your child's skin needs something I cannot offer online, I will say so during the consultation and point you toward the right route.
