Tag: White Blood Cells

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.

Getting Rid Of Acne Scars

Whenever body suffers any injury, the body rushes its soldiers to protect itself. Acne infection is also an injury that needs repair and body sends white blood cells and other molecules that fight the infection and repair the infected site. After the repairing job is completed, a scar forms that is the sign of repair. Skin never becomes as smooth as it was before the acne. Some scar is always left. Let us find out more about acne scars and how doctors can repair them so that you get something similar to your earlier look again.

Types Of acne scars- before we discuss about the type of scars, let us also note that everyone has different tendency of scar formation. Some people develop very less scars, while others may have major scars for the same type of acne. Acne scars are of two types- scars that are caused by loss of tissue and scars caused by increased tissue formation.

Depressed Scars- these scars may be of different types such as Ice-pick scars, depressed fibrotic scars, soft scars and macular types. As the cyst expands with pus, bacteria, oil and dead skin cells it ruptures and attacks the dermis. to protect the dermis the white blood cells rush in. This rupture may cause loss of collagen giving rise to deep recess or depression. The skin above is left unsupported because of loss of tissue below it and a saucer shaped or jagged ice pick scar is formed. Ice pick scars are more common on face.

Keloids- In some people the scar forms in a reverse fashion. With the loss of collagen, body triggers fibroblasts that produce excessive collagen producing scar tissues called keloids. Keloids are more commonly found on male torsos. Other type of increased tissue formation scar is called hypertrophic scar. Hypertrophy means overgrowth.

Scar Treatment- scars can be treated by your dermatologist using different treatments. Before proceeding for scar treatment, you have to discuss your feelings about the scars with your doctor. The cost involved may also play a role in choosing the treatment. What results you desire is the third factor. The severity of the scar, the location and type of treatments that can be done are other factors that have to be used to treat acne scars.

The common treatments for acne scars are- collagen treatment, laser treatment, dremabrasion, microdermabrasion, skin surgery, skin grafting etc. Keloids may be left untreated if it is felt that treatment will form further keloids. Injecting with steroid injections may also treat keloids.

This article is only for informative purposes. This article is not intended to be a medical advise and it is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult your doctor for your medical concerns. Please follow any tip given in this article only after consulting your doctor. The author is not liable for any outcome or damage resulting from information obtained from this article.

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.

All You Need to Know About Lymphoma

When you think about Lymphoma, what do you think of first? Which aspects of Lymphoma are important, which are essential, and which ones can you take or leave? You be the judge.

Whenever you get sick, whats the first thing that you do? Know what you have. Either its a simple fever or a complicated illness, the very first device that you do is to gather information to find out your current condition. The same thing with lymphoma, whether you research things on your own or go to a doctor ( although this should always be the case whereas self diagnosis can bring you only so far ) for cure, your target is to get all you need know about the disease.

Lymphoma is basically a cancer of the lymphatic system. The cut is composed of various nodes or glands situated in different places of our build. These glands are connected by vessels that carry the lymph fluid or the white blood cells which help fight diseases. As you might have remembered in your high school biology class, the white blood cells help fight the bacteria and diseases that enter our body. And because these glands are connected to each other, once lymphoma hits a gland, theres a good chance that the cancer cells spread throughout the body via the lymph vessels. You should know this fact out front: no cure has been discovered someday that would terminate the disease. Nonetheless, there are new techniques, medicines and medical procedures that have brought more positive treatments for people with lymphoma.

There are two kinds of lymphoma, namely Hodgkin’s lymphoma and Non Hodgkin’s lymphoma ( NHL ). The first one, the Hodgkins disease owes its name to Thomas Hodgkin ( 1798 – 1866 ). He was the first one who published a paper about the disease. This kind of lymphoma is capable of spreading from one lymph node to another. It is again observed that people diagnosed with Hodgkins lymphoma has the presence of Reed – Sternberg cells which can apart be detected by the aid of a microscope.

The other kind of lymphoma is the non – Hodgkin indulgent. This kind is described as having larger than normal lymph nodes and is accompanied by fever and weight loss. There are about 16 sub – types which do not fall under the conditions described by Hodgkins lymphoma. These sub – types are grouped according to aggressiveness which basically means the cancer cells are fast – growing. NHL lymphomas include chronic lymphocytic leukemia / small lymphocytic lymphoma ( CLL / SLL ), Burkitt lymphoma, mantle cell lymphoma, follicular lymphoma, diffuse large B – cell lymphoma and immunoblastic large cell lymphoma.

Treatment is either radiation therapy or chemotherapy. The flourish, manliness and stage of the cancers development plays a role in determining the kind of treatment patients will undergo. Early detection is crucial. Most of the patients do survive the treatment especially if they have been diagnosed during the early stages of the lymphoma.

Some of the more common symptoms of lymphomas include painless swelling in the lymph nodes of the glance, underarm, or groin. People with lymphomas also might experience fever, tiredness, weight loss, itchiness, red patches on the skin, nausea, vomiting and sometimes abdominal pain.

Those with low – grade lymphomas will encounter a very calm growth of the cancer cells and will familiarity very few of the symptoms. The problem with low – grade lymphomas is that even though they respond well to chemotherapy, they often return and is considered incurable unlike high – grade lymphomas. With the latter, treatment involves chemotherapy, with or without radiation therapy.

Admittedly, the information above is not all that you need to know about lymphoma. There are more facts that you need to find out for yourself especially if you have been diagnosed with having lymphoma.
The day will come when you can use something you read about here to have a beneficial impact. Then you’ll be glad you took the time to learn more about Lymphoma.