Acne is one of the most frequent skin diseases. Almost all of people are familiar with this skin disorder. However, people do not know the actual causes behind the acne and always look for the answers regarding their curious questions about acne. This section will cover all the common and general questions about acne that may arise in the minds of people. Keep in mind that your dermatologist or skin specialist can guide you best regarding acne information and treatments of the kind of acne you suffering for.
Questions and Answers regarding acne:
- What Causes Acne?
Acne causes are related to the physical changes that occur in one’s body while you travel your path of life from childhood to puberty. There are certain hormones in the human body that bring physical changes and maturity in your body. These hormones also activate sebaceous glands to produce more oil. Due to active sebaceous glands skin produces more sebum that may block the pores of skin causing acne. Androgens have greatest effect on the growth and oil production of sebaceous glands. Androgens are present in both male and females. However, their number is higher in males as compared to females. Sebaceous glands are present in the sebaceous follicles that contain a hair shaft along with sebaceous glands. When the puberty approaches the cells in the hair shaft start shedding rapidly. These cells stick together to form a small lump of cells. These lumps when mixed with increased amount of sebum produced by the glands create a force that burst open the small opening of the follicle. Extra sebum along with clustered cells burst open on the surface of the skin in the form of acne. In addition to sebum and cell clusters skin bacteria called P. Acne starts multiplying rapidly in the sebum filled follicles. These bacteria cause inflammation of the acne due to production of toxins and harmful elements. Bursting of the follicle opening spreads the inflammation on the surface area of the skin. This inflammation causes acne to spread along with creating blackheads, white heads and nodules on the surface of the skin.
- Can Washing Face regularly helps in getting rid of Acne?
A number of people are of the view that acne develops due to accumulation of dirt, grime and pollutants on the surface of the skin. They wash their face a number of times each day to get rid of acne. However, the truth is that washing face alone will not help in reducing the acne. The real cause of acne lies deep inside our body. Real culprits behind the acne are a number of biological factors that are beyond the control of washing face. People use chemical rich cleansers, medicated face washes and harsh soaps to wash their skin in order to avoid acne. Using chemical products can cause drying of your skin. All you need to do is to wash your face with a mild soap twice daily and use an effective medicine to treat acne.
- Is Stress a Reason Behind Acne?
Stress in not directly related to produce acne as blamed by a number of people. However stress is harmful for mind and body it produces a number of physiological and psychological changes in a person. It may disturb the natural balance of hormones in a person that may cause acne breakouts. If you treat your acne intelligently with medicines and acne curing tips stress cant leave an impact on your acne.
- No Acne at Teenage, Why I am suffering from them in Late Twenties?
Most of the people suffer from acne during puberty and get relief from them in early twenties. However, in some cases acne attack a person in his or her late twenties. This is most severe kind of acne that not only affects face but also internal functioning of body. In women these kinds of acne are related to the menstrual cycle of the female. Acne that does not persist to adult hood affects women more as compared to men. The pattern of hormones changes with age in majority of females and this transformation in hormones may result in acne. Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and complex pregnancy may also lead to formation of acne in women. Discontinuing the birth control pills can also result in production of acne in women. Some times the use of cosmetics rich in oil results in activation of sebaceous glands that may cause acne.
- Role of Diet in formation of acne?
Food is not direct culprit in formation of acne or in other words food does not causes acne. A number of people are of the view that rich foods such as chocolates, fizzy drinks, eggs, dry fruits and other fatty foods cause acne and following an oil free and light diet can help you in getting rid of acne. Scientific research shows that there is nothing like a direct relation ship between food and acne and food does not have any influence on acne. Eat a balanced diet and include plenty of water in your diet to get a healthy skin along with maintaining overall health of your body.
- Can Tanning Prevent Acne?
Some people think that direct exposure to sunlight helps in reducing their acne lesions and they are of the view that ultra violet rays from the sun can help in reducing acne. Dermatologists say there is no proven record showing that sunlight cures acne. Direct exposure to sun may cause skin cancer and also results in premature aging of the skin in form of wrinkles and dark spots. So, exposing your skin to direct sunlight in order to cure acne is not a recommended treatment of acne when there are a number of other acne treatments are available.
- What is The Best way to Cure Acne?
Each individual has his or her own kind of acne that must be treated individually. Instead of using acne relieving products at your own you must visit a dermatologist to get a proper and effective acne treatment. Dermatologists will suggest a best treatment for you after analyzing your acne.
- What type of cosmetics and cleansers an acne patient must use?
If you are suffering from acne always look for non-comedogenic cosmetics and cleansers. These products are manufactured in such a way that they do not promote acne. Using acne medications and cosmetics at the same time can worsen your problem as cosmetics and medications can together make your skin dry, rough and brittle. Ask your dermatologist or skin specialist before choosing the cosmetics and cleansers for your acne prone skin.Avoid using heavy and creamy foundations as they worsen the condition of your acne. Use compact powder instead of foundations, as it is less irritating to the acne-affected skin. Use powder blusher and powdered eye shadow as they provide a soothing effect to acne-affected skin. Use color-blending techniques to camouflage the redness of acne by applying green under-cover cosmetics on the acne.
- Is squeezing or popping acne can leave harmful affect on my skin?
Squeezing or popping acne is highly discouraged by dermatologist as it make your acne worse and leave ugly marks on your skin. Squeezing results in deepening the infection as the infectious material travels deeper in the skin. Squeezing may also results in irritation and permanent scarring.
- Can Acne scarring be cured?
Scarring treatment varies from person to person and depends upon the intensity of scarring. Treating acne with proper medications can prevent scarring. Each patient is treated individually depending upon the type and intensity of scarring. There are different types of chemical treatments such as laser treatments, chemical peels and dermabrasion. Before alleviating, scarring your acne must be well controlled and cured.
- How long I have to use acne medication to show their visible results?
The time for improvement of acne depends upon their intensity and the type of product. It may require weeks or months instead of days to cure acne completely. According to recommendations the acne medications are used daily for 4 to 8 weeks to acquire a visible and positive result. Do not be discouraged or discontinue the acne medications, as the time frame to cure the disease is relatively longer as compared to other disease. However, if you do not feel a cure or visible change in the intensity of your acne you may ask your dermatologist to change the medications.
- Would Frequent Use of Medicines than prescribed help in curing acne faster?
No- it can make condition of your acne even worse. Always use medicines as prescribed by the dermatologists as frequent use of medicines may cause irritation of your skin along with making your skin dry and brittle. Excessive use of medicine may induce redness and follicle plugging that may slows down the process of clearing of acne. There is a greater chance of emergence of side effects with the excessive use of tropical medications for acne.
- I keep on getting new acne breakouts and blemishes along with using medicines. What should I do?
In order to get rid of acne and blemishes completely you need to apply medications at entire areas of your skin. You must apply medications on your entire face instead of applying them on individual lesions. Treat all areas such as cheeks, chin, forehead and neck equally to get rid of acne completely and permanently.
- Should I stop using acne medicines after my face is cleared up?
Don’t stop using medicines unless your dermatologist asks you to do. Most of the acne medicines come in the form of complete course and you need to complete the course in order to achieve a perfect and permanent result. Sometimes your acne flares up in worse condition if you stop using medicines at once. Ask your dermatologist before stop using a particular medicine. If you are using multiple products stop using them one by one so that you can find out the affect of individual medicine on discontinuing.
- Does time matters for effectiveness of the medicine?
Your dermatologist will brief you about the timings regarding the intake of the medicines. If you are taking antibiotics it better to take them in morning or midday for proper effect. Pick one time of the day to take your medicines and take medicine at the same time each day. Spread doses of your oral medicines evenly on entire day so that they can prove effective. Follow the recommendations of your dermatologist to get appropriate and best results.
- What is a good way to remember how and when to take oral medicines daily?
Associate your medicine in take with your daily routine. Such as take medicine before you are going to brush your teeth or take medicine daily before applying makeup for going outside. Put the medicines closer to the area where you place your makeup products so that you remember to take them along with applying makeup. If you miss a dose of your medicine do not take double dose but keep your daily regime as it is.
- Are blue marks around the lesions due to the use of acne medications such as benzoyle peroxide? Are these marks side effects of the acne medications? Are the marks permanent?
These blue or brown marks show that your acne lesions are healing. You cannot make any statements about the side effects of the acne medicines as each medicine acts differently on an individual person. If your acne medications include some antibiotics you may experience some discoloration and spotting on your skin. You must consult your dermatologist to get an expert advice on spotting and discoloration.
- In some patients pigmentation appears as blue or brown marks around the fresh acne breakouts or around the scars of previous acne lesions.
- Discoloration appears in the form of “Muddy Skin” that covers most of the area of the body.
- Brown pigmentation of the feet and the lower legs
- Can Acne scarring be cured?
Some times people suffering from acne also experience unique pigmentation. This pigmentation is common in the people that use acne medications rich in minocycline. There are various patterns of these pigmentations.
Pigmentation and discoloration gradually disappears with the passage of time after discontinuation of the antibiotic medications.
- My physician says retinoid is a treatment of acne that is related to Vitamin A. Can I cure Acne by taking Vitamin A supplements instead of taking retinoid?
Vitamin A is an important factor in maintaining a healthy min and body. Vitamin A is essential for the good and proper vision of a person and its deficiency can cause blindness or poor vision. Its deficiency also leads to dry and scaly skin. However, if Vitamin A is taken in excessive quantity its results can be catastrophic. If its intake exceeds from Recommended Dietary Allowance it may cause skin peeling and formation of blisters.
Tropical Retinoid contain a carefully examined and controlled amount of Vitamin A and is used to treat severe to moderate acne. These kinds of tropical treatments are prepared under full control so that they can effectively shed the lining of sebaceous glands that result in over production of oil in the skin causing acne. Only expert dermatologist prescribes and monitors the use of such tropical medicines.
There are certain side effects of the use of tropical retinoid. These side effects include redness, drying and scaling of the skin, itching and irritation of the skin.
- Are there special acne treatments for dark skin? Is this kind of treatment harmful for dark skin?
There are no specific treatments for acne of dark skin. There are general ace treatments that work well on both the dark and the light skin. Some acne treatments may result in the lightening of the dark skin for a specific period of time. Dark skin is usually less moisturized than the light skim. Acne medicines containing benzoyle peroxide may result in drying of the dark skin to the greater extent as compared to light skin. Acne medicines on a dark skin must be used under strict observation by a dermatologist.
Dark skin may develop post inflammatory hyper-pigmentation due to the bleaching effect of benzoyle peroxide. It may results in formation of severe dark spots on the surface of the dark skin. These spots will be removed gradually with time and you may ask for a cosmetic solution to make these spots less prominent while they resolve completely. Tropical retinoid and azeliac acid are recommended by the doctors to fade the pigmentation and discoloration.
Chemical peeling or laser treatments to remove acne scar may result in darkening or lightening of the dark skin for the time being. You must discuss the after-affects with your dermatologists before undergoing the treatments.
- Is Adult Acne or Adolescence acne different from one another?
Acne is caused due to abnormal behavior of sebaceous follicles. This definition of acne is applied to all kinds of acne that appear at any stage of life. However, there may be some different causes of acne in different parts of age.
Briefly describing acne is formed when sebaceous glands secrete excessive oil. Abnormal growth of cells and their death in sebaceous follicles results in follicle plugging where follicle bursts out with sebum, dead cells, zit, pus and other cellular debris. There is a production of bacteria in the sebaceous follicles that result in irritation and inflammation of the skin. The transformations and pathogenic events in the sebaceous follicles are believed to trigger due to the abnormalities of the androgen or male hormones.
- Should I try to remove sebum from my skin to avoid acne?
No sebum is an essential ingredient to keep your skin healthy and fresh. However, it cause when produced in excessive quantity as it may results in blockage of the skin pores causing acne breakouts.
- Why acne starts at Teenage?
There is no certain reason behind the fact that why acne starts at teenage. The sole known reason behind this is that sebaceous glands become large at teenage or puberty and start producing sebum that may cause acne.
- Why skin affected with acne breakouts turns red?
Our body shows and inflammatory response towards acne breakouts that causes the redness in the skin. Inflammation is a signal that indicates that your immune system is working against the infection. However, inflammation itself can go wrong and results in swelling, irritation and even scarring.
- If I suffer from redness and inflammation does it means I am going to get scars?
No. Usually inflammation response leaves no permanent scars on your skin. No doubt your skin remains red or itched for months or sometimes for more than a year but it will become normal with the passage of time.
- What is meant by free radicals?
Free radicals are the substances that are produced as byproducts in the process of oxidation in body. However, free radicals if remained un-recycled can cause loads of damages such as skin damage and other problems. Antioxidants help in preventing the accumulation of these fee radicals.
- Can diet alter the over production and rate of secretion of sebum from sebaceous glands. Can alteration of diet cure acne by controlling over production of sebum?
Diet is never directly related to production and formation of acne. Dietary alteration can help in treating a number of other disease but not acne, as food does not have a direct relation ship with acne. Although food does not cause acne but certain oily and fatty foods may worse acne in some of the people. So, people suffering from acne must avoid from oily and fatty foods such as chocolates, fizzy drinks and junk foods. Other factors that are related in worsening of acne may be:
- Abnormal Maturation Cycle in females
- Extreme Emotional Stress
- Grease and excessive oil from cosmetics, pollution
- Over work
- Imbalance hormones in both males and females
- Is there is still much to learn to find out the real causes of acne vulgaris?
There are different myths and truths associated with acne. However, acne appears from the age of 16 to 30 and may be sever, mild or moderate kinds of acne. you may experience a flare up in your acne during certain period of time such as during menstruation cycle or during pregnancy.
Adult acne is stubborn and most difficult to treat as they reoccur even after a number of acne treatments. Adult acne is usually treated with drug isotretinoin that is a potent systematic drug for treatment of recurrent acne. Hormonal imbalance during menstrual cycle and pregnancy may also results in formation of acne. Excessive use of steroids can also lead to acne breakouts. Anabolic steroids used by athletes to build up stamina can also lead to acne formation. Other drugs such as iodine containing drugs, anti-tuberculoses drugs, lithium containing drugs may also lead to production of acne. Chloracne is another form of acne that is caused due to chlorinated industrial chemicals. Chronic pressure on the skin such as a tight bra or tight backpack may induce the acne mechanism.
You must take an expert advice from a dermatologist or skin specialist to treat your adult acne that appears for the first time.