Acne is a skin condition that occurs when your hair follicles become plugged with oil and dead skin cells. Acne usually appears on your face, neck, chest, back and shoulders. Effective treatments are available, but acne can be persistent. The pimples and bumps heal slowly, and when one begins to go away, others seem to crop up.
Acne is most common among teenagers, with a reported prevalence of 70 to 87 percent. Increasingly, younger children are getting acne as well.
Depending on its severity, acne can cause emotional distress and scar the skin. The earlier you start treatment, the lower your risk of lasting physical and emotional damage.
Symptoms:
Acne signs and symptoms vary depending on the severity of your condition:
Whiteheads (closed plugged pores)
Blackheads (open plugged pores — the oil turns brown when it is exposed to air)
Small red, tender bumps (papules)
Pimples (pustules), which are papules with pus at their tips
Large, solid, painful lumps beneath the surface of the skin (nodules) Painful, pus-filled lumps beneath the surface of the skin (cystic lesions)
CAUSES:
Four main factors cause acne:
Oil production
Dead skin cells
Clogged pores
Bacteria
Acne typically appears on your face, neck, chest, back and shoulders. These areas of skin have the most oil (sebaceous) glands. Acne occurs when hair follicles become plugged with oil and dead skin cells.
Hair follicles are connected to oil glands. These glands secrete an oily substance (sebum) to lubricate your hair and skin. Sebum normally travels along the hair shafts and through the openings of the hair follicles onto the surface of your skin.
When your body produces an excess amount of sebum and dead skin cells, the two can build up in the hair follicles. They form a soft plug, creating an environment where bacteria can thrive. If the clogged pore becomes infected with bacteria, inflammation results.
The plugged pore may cause the follicle wall to bulge and produce a whitehead. Or the plug may be open to the surface and may darken, causing a blackhead. A blackhead may look like dirt stuck in pores. But actually the pore is congested with bacteria and oil, which turns brown when it’s exposed to the air.
Pimples are raised red spots with a white center that develop when blocked hair follicles become inflamed or infected. Blockages and inflammation that develop deep inside hair follicles produce cyst-like lumps beneath the surface of your skin. Other pores in your skin, which are the openings of the sweat glands, aren’t usually involved in acne.
Factors that may worsen acne:
These factors can trigger or aggravate an existing case of acne:
1. Hormones. Androgens are hormones that increase in boys and girls during puberty and cause the sebaceous glands to enlarge and make more sebum.
2. Hormonal changes related to pregnancy and the use of oral contraceptives also can affect sebum production. And low amounts of androgens circulate in the blood of women and can worsen acne.
3. Certain medications. Drugs containing corticosteroids, androgens or lithium can worsen acne.
4. Diet. Studies indicate that certain dietary factors, including dairy products and carbohydrate-rich foods — such as bread, bagels and chips — may trigger acne.
Acne myths: These factors have little effect on acne:
1. Greasy foods. Eating greasy food has little to no effect on acne. Though working in a greasy area, such as a kitchen with fry vats, does because the oil can stick to the skin and block the hair follicles. This further irritates the skin or promotes acne.
2. Dirty skin. Acne isn’t caused by dirt. In fact, scrubbing the skin too hard or cleansing with harsh soaps or chemicals irritates the skin and can make acne worse. Though it does help to gently remove oil, dead skin and other substances.
3. Cosmetics. Cosmetics don’t necessarily worsen acne, especially if you use oil-free makeup that doesn’t clog pores and remove makeup regularly. Non-oily cosmetics don’t interfere with the effectiveness of acne drugs.
Risk factors:
Hormonal changes. Such changes are common in teenagers, women and girls, and people using certain medications, including those containing corticosteroids, androgens or lithium.
Family history. Genetics plays a role in acne. If both parents had acne, you’re likely to develop it, too.
Greasy or oily substances. You may develop acne where your skin comes into contact with oily lotions and creams or with grease in a work area, such as a kitchen with fry vats.
Friction or pressure on your skin. This can be caused by items such as telephones, cell-phones, helmets, tight collars and backpacks. Stress. This doesn’t cause acne, but if you have acne already, stress may make it worse.
When to see a doctor:
If home care remedies don’t work to clear up your acne, see your primary care doctor. He or she can prescribe stronger medications. If acne persists or is severe, you may want to seek medical treatment from a doctor.
some popular non prescription acne lotions, cleansers and other skin products can cause a serious reaction. This type of reaction is quite rare, so don’t confuse it with the redness, irritation or itchiness where you’ve applied medications or products.
Seek emergency medical help if after using a non-prescription skin product & you experience: Faintness, Difficulty in breathing, Swelling of the eyes, face, lips or tongue, Tightness of the throat.
PREPARING FOR YOUR APPOINTMENT
If you have acne that’s not responding to self-care and over-the-counter treatments, make an appointment with your doctor. Early, effective treatment of acne reduces the risk of scarring and of lasting damage to your self-esteem.
Here’s some information to help you get ready for your appointment:
What you can do: List your key medical information, such as other conditions with which you’ve been diagnosed and any prescription or over-the-counter products you’re using, including vitamins and supplements.
List key personal information: including
o major stresses or recent life changes.
Your doctor is likely to ask you a number of questions. Being ready to answer them may reserve time to go over any points you want to talk about in-depth. Your doctor may ask:
When did you first develop this problem?
Does anything in particular seem to trigger an acne flare, such as stress or — in girls and women — your menstrual cycle?
What medications are you taking, including over-the-counter and prescription drugs as well as vitamins and supplements?
In girls and women: Do you use oral contraceptives?
In girls and women: Do you have regular menstrual periods?
In girls and women: Are you pregnant, or do you plan to become pregnant soon?
What types of soaps, lotions, sunscreens, hair products or cosmetics do you use?
How is acne affecting your self-esteem and your confidence in social situations?
Do you have a family history of acne?
What treatments and self-care steps have you tried so far? Have any been effective?
These all help us in selection an individual medicine for you which helps you to live a healthy life.
Homoeopathic Approach:
With homoeopathic medicines it helps balance Hormones & natural metabolism thus helping get rid of it on permanent basis.
Few remedies helpful for are:
- Radium brom. – when there is itching skin with burning like fire with swelling and redness.
- Sulphur – recurrent acne where itching increases the complaints, acne with tendency to pus.
- Calc carb – acne due to imperfect nutrition, with deep pus and in people with tendency to weight gain.
- Ant. Crud – acne due to dry skin, pustular eruptions.
- Pulsatilla – acne at puberty mostly related to mentrual irregularities in female.
Thus, you need to visit a Homoeopathic physician who, understanding your individual personality will select a best suited remedy for you, which will treat acne from within, naturally without any side effects.
Some basic care patient should take:.
• Wash your face with simple water 3 to 4 times a day. Don’t use any product for the acne
• Add fruits, green veggies, sprouts, salads, milk, butter-milk, curd.
• Brisk walk / some exercises daily for 40 to 50 mins.