Tag: Severe Acne

The Basics of Acne

We see it and we obsess over it but do we know anything about it?

Acne is a skin condition brought about by a host of factors that all contribute to its development. It starts off with an excess production of oil on the skin due to the over activity of bodys skin glands. The bodys hormonal havoc may lead to the plugging and clogging of the pores. When these oils interact with the dead skin cells that line up the pores and the dirt that accumulates from the environment, outbreaks may occur especially when bacteria begins to accumulate.

Genetics play a role in acne. People whose family members have acne will most likely develop acne or have children who will develop the condition. The bodys internal hormonal system also contributes. This is the reason why teeners are more predisposed to it than adults.
Acne does not only occur on the face, although they are much visible there. Acne may crop up in different parts of the body but the most common is of course in the neck, at the back and on the shoulders.

There are five different types of acne, or one may also call them stages of acne. The first one is the most common form, acne vulgaris. This is actually the mild to moderate version of acne problem. Do not get be confused. If your only problems is some zits that you can count with your fingers then this is not your problem. Acne vulgaris involves all the works, whiteheads, blackheads, papules and pustules, which are quite visible as they often have a white or a yellow center. In severe cases of acne vulgaris, the person may also experience the development of nodules and even cysts that are filled with pus. These are the forms of acne that when not treated carefully may lead to scarring.

Another form of acne is the Acne Rosacea, which may appear as the red rash that covers the spaces in between pimples and other blemishes. The condition occurs more often in women than in men and may require specialized treatment and care compared to Acne Vulgaris.

Acne Conglobata, on the other hand, is more severe as it occurs as an interconnected leasions that are dotted with pimples, whiteheads and blackheads. Because of the severity of the condition, this often leads to scarring.

The fourth one is the Acne Fulminans, which is actually similar to Acne Conglobata except that it occurs suddenly. The acne oozes out and the body is even affected, frequently resulting in aching muscles and joints. Males are more affected by this than women. To treat the condition, doctors often recommend the use of Accutane, which is very effective in completely stopping the breakouts altogether. This however is not often prescribed and only as a last resort because of the side effects that it can cause in the body especially for women who have just gotten pregnant.

The last type of acne is the Pyroderma Faciale, which can be often seen in women, 20 to 40 yeatrs old. This is actually quite severe as it often involves the presence of nodules, sores and some pustules, which will no doubt all lead to scarring in the future. Still, if treated well, the condition will rarely continue or last for longer than a year. The important is to have it treated as soon as it crops up.

Acne Scars Is There Hope?

It is estimated that eighty percent of people between the ages of fourteen and twenty suffer from acne. For most of us, acne is a short-lived annoyance during certain periods of our lives. Unfortunately, for some people acne is painful long after the pimples have been treated. Scarring from acne is most common for those who have suffered from severe acne, but scarring can affect anyone who has experienced acne.

If you are one of the millions of people living with acne scars, theres good news. There are many options available to diminish these unseemly blemishes. All of these techniques work to restore the normal, healthy appearance of scarred skin; it may not always be possible to get rid of all acne scars, but with the right treatment for you, no one will ever know you were scarred. Acne scar treatments vary in their approaches depending on the severity of your scarring and your budget. You should discuss all of the available options, costs, and side effects with your dermatologist.

Before we talk about the treatments available, we should take a look at why acne can cause scarring. The primary reason for any kind of scar is tissue damage. When body tissue is damaged, our body tries to heal and protect it from infection. In the case of acne, dead skin cells block the bodys pores, preventing the secretion of natural oils in the skin. This creates a perfect environment for bacteria to grow, which irritates the skin and causes acne. When acne is aggravated due to harsh scrubbing or other forms of physical attention, it further aggravates the condition and harms the sensitive skin tissue. When the skin finally is able to heal, a scar is left behind.

One of the most popular acne scar treatment techniques is injecting collagen under the surface of the scarred skin. Collagen puffs out the skin and evens out the scarred area, making acne less noticeable. Another important acne scar treatment technique is what is called autologous fat transfer. This process makes use of your own bodys fat. Fat is taken from another part of your body and is injected into the affected part, filling up the scar.

This technique requires repeated applications because the fat is eventually absorbed into the body, making the scar noticeable once again. Your dermatologist may suggest you try laser treatments or dermabrasion. Both of these techniques are very effective. In the most extreme cases, skin grafting and skin surgery may be considered.

Keep in mind that these are only a small number of the options available for acne scar treatment.

Acne Cysts And Their Treatment

Deep cysts, inflammation, extensive damage to the skin and scarring characterize severe acne. It often requires an aggressive treatment regimen and should be treated by a dermatologist. Severe forms of acne can require years of treatment and may experience one or more treatment failures. However, almost every case of acne can be successfully treated. There are five popular treatments for acne cysts. There are many effective treatments that are available currently.

Drainage and surgical excision, inner lesion corticosteroid injection, isotretinoin (a potent drug for treating severe cystic acne), oral antibiotics, and oral contraceptives are the most popular treatments. Some people may choose a more natural treatment for severe acne, which will also be covered briefly in this article.

Drainage and extraction, or acne surgery as it is also called, should not be performed by patients and is used on some large cysts that do not respond to medication and require drainage and extraction. Dermatologists are trained in the proper technique and perform acne surgery under sterile conditions. Patient attempts to drain and extract acne cysts, by squeezing or picking, can lead to infection, worsening of the acne and scarring.

When an acne cyst becomes severely inflamed, there is a good chance it will rupture and scarring will occur. To treat these severely inflamed cysts and prevent scarring, dermatologists may inject such cysts with a diluted corticosteroid. This lessens the inflammation and promotes healing of the acne cyst. An inner lesion corticosteroid injection works by melting the cyst over the course of a few days.

Oral antibiotics have been a basis of therapy for severe acne for many years. Like topical antibiotics, oral antibiotics work to reduce the “P. acnes”. “P. Acnes” are normal residents on the skin, which decreases inflammation. Treatment with oral antibiotics usually begins with a high dosage, which is eventually reduced as the acne resolves. Over time, the “P. acnes” bacteria can become resistant to the treatment. When resistance occurs, another antibiotic can be prescribed or other treatment options may need to be explored.

Oral contraceptives have been shown to effectively clear acne in women by suppressing the overactive sebaceous glands. Oral contraceptives can be used as long-term acne therapy; however, this medication should not be prescribed to women who smoke, have a blood clotting disorder, are older than thirty-five or have a history of migraine headaches, without the advice of a gynecologist.

Spironolactone, a synthetic steroid, may be used in combination with oral contraceptives to treat acne in adult females. Spironolactone inhibits androgen, hormones that stimulate oil glands in addition to other effects on the body, production. There are possible side effects that may accompany Spironolactone treatment. A few side affects include irregular menstruation, breast tenderness, headache and fatigue.

Some people choose more natural ways to combat cystic acne. Some natural treatments are eating a whole foods diet that consists of only natural foods that have not been chemically or mechanically processed. Yoga or deep relaxation techniques may be used to reduce the amount of stress that is put on the body and the mind. Essential oils are another natural treatment that may be added to the diet of sufferers of severe acne.

Acne: A Basic Understanding

Statistics indicate that as high as 80% of the entire American population has ever had acne. Acne afflicts all genders, sexes and ages making it a universal skin disorder. As a form of skin disease, the good news is that acne is not transmittable.

Although acne is not contagious from person-to-person, it can spread to the whole face and can severely affect all the skin tissues that have pilosebaceous units. It is not true that acne just affects those going through puberty. Even infants or individuals who may be well over their forties, can develop this skin disorder. Acne infantilis is the term used for acne that grows on newborn babies, on the other hand acne rosacea is related to middle-aged people.

Acne has different classifications, according to the severity of the infection.

Comedo is the form where all severe acne cases originate. This is characterized by red swelling or small lesions on your skin. Whiteheads and blackheads are two forms of comedo. Conversely, blackhead is an open comedo. The coloration is due to the accumulation of dark skin pigments called melanin, plus hardened sebum and other skin debris and particles. This is the basic structure of whiteheads, however, the only difference is the coloration and these are deeply situated into the skin layers.

If you have sandpaper-like skin around the tissue of your mouth and on the surface of your forehead, chin and cheeks, you probably have papules. Pus-filled lesions are also termed as pustules.

Nodules on the other hand are similar with pustules. However, nodules are firmer and are larger acne growing deep in the skin. Inflammation may develop your pustules into containing semi-liquid or liquid materials composed of white blood cells (which are dead because of the acne-infecting bacteria named as Propionibacterium acnes), dead skin cells and active or inactive bacteria. This can result into more serious acne called cysts. In such situations, you may need the assistance of a skin dermatologist or physician.

What is the cause of acne? It is quite difficult to exactly determine what may have caused your acne infection as reasons differ case to case. Studies indicate that the skin disorder may be brought about by many factors, including poor diet, stress, weather elements, and hormone changes or may be genetically influenced.

Medically speaking, acne starts from the formation of hardened sebum, or the oily substance secreted to the skin through the sebaceous glands. This then will be permeated with acne-infecting bacteria, which in return will trigger the immune system to release white blood cells to obstruct the attack of the bacteria. As this happens, dead white blood cells and bacteria will accumulate in the hair follicles mixed with skin debris and dead skin particles, which then will inflame the lesions.

Most mild case acne may be treated with over the counter acne medications. They are generally topical drugs, which you apply on your skin for acne treatment. They may come in the form of soaps, lotions, gels and creams. Conversely, systematic acne medications are taken orally. The most common of which are the antibiotics.

Knowing that you are not the only one inflicted with acne at some point in life or another helps in that there will always be new research and new products coming on stream. Continue to read up on acne research and help your fight against it.