For many people, acne becomes a thing of the past once they hit their adult years. However, there is a large group of people who experience acne throughout their lives. The occasional pimple or full blown breakouts are all acne related.
Despite the fact that acne is so prevalent, most people do not know much about it other than it is annoying, embarrassing and they need to reach for the pimple cream. This article will highlight some of the most important facts about acne that you should know.
• Acne is caused by clogged follicles in the skin that get infected by the bacteria on your skin. This happens when the sebaceous glands overproduce sebum which is the oily substance meant to keep your skin from drying out.
• There are a few types of acne. Comedonal acne which is the presence of comedones that are either opened or closed but there is no inflammation. Mild acne is when there are a few papulopustules. Moderate acne is a little more serious and there are comedones, pustules and inflammatory papules. When the nodules are larger than 5mm in diameter, scarring will occur. This is known as nodulocystic acne.
• The type of treatment will depend on the severity and the grade of the acne.
• There are procedural methods for dealing with acne. There are many commercial products on the market that are actually superficial peels which use either salicylic or glycolic acid. Other methods include steroid injections and manual extraction of comedones.
• There are oral medications that can be used to treat acne too. The type of pharmacotherapy prescribed will also be dependent on the severity of the acne.
• Stress, lack of sleep, a poor diet, hormonal changes during the menstrual cycle, etc. are all factors that indirectly cause acne.
• The best way to cure acne is to prevent it from occurring. While creams, antibiotics and other methods are highly effective for dealing with acne, they are just addressing the symptoms. Only when you address the root cause of the problem can you eliminate it completely.
• Hormonal therapies can be used to treat acne too. Estrogen may be prescribed to female patients to deal with acne.
• Washing and cleansing the affected areas twice daily with a mild cleanser will work wonders because the excess sebum and bacteria will be washed away. Hygiene is of paramount importance when treating acne.
Acne while problematic, is not life-threatening. The worst effect of acne is the embarrassment and mental anguish it causes sufferers. They feel like their looks are affected and they are less desirable.
The best course of action will be to maintain a positive outlook because stress just worsens the condition. Next, look at your life closely to see what is triggering your outbreaks. In most cases, there will be a trigger even if your acne is caused due to genetics.
There is always a trigger. Find it, deal with it and you will control your acne problem and even eliminate it.
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