Abstract
An online survey was conducted in 1,256 mothers whose first child was a student in fourth-year elementary to third-year junior high school to investigate their experience and knowledge of acne and its care for themselves and their children. Among the responses, 29.4% of mothers responded that they had experienced acne themselves and 49.7% responded their child is currently suffering facial acne. Among these children, 33.0% received medical treatment. Efficacy of medical treatments for inflammatory lesions were recognized by 82.4%, and for comedonal acne by 71.4%; 78.5% of the mothers were unaware that the current treatments of acne are different from those used at the time they were in their adolescence. More mothers (55.2%) who recognized the progress of recent acne medications obtained medical treatments for their child than those whose did not (25.1%) (P <0.05, chi-square test). More than 50% of mothers advise “washing face” for their children whose symptoms are mainly comedonal (54.9%) and mild (51.3%) acne. For moderate to severe acne, more than 70% of mothers recommend medical consultation.
In response to a question as to whom their child felt most comfortable talking to about acne, 89.6% replied “their mother.” This survey revealed many mothers had insufficient knowledge about acne treatment. Mothers who recognized improvements in acne medications were more likely to seek medical treatments for their children, and those who did not were more likely to manage mild acne with skin care without medication. Mothers were the main source of advice about acne for their child. These results suggest that educating mothers regarding recent acne treatments may lead to their obtaining medical treatments for their children at an early stage of acne.
