Acne can lead to low self-confidence and a sense of isolation. It is important to get treatment from it to improve confidence on the sufferer.
Acne commonly occurs on the face, arms, back and chest. The onset of acne is usually around puberty, but in a minority of cases it may also start in adulthood. About 80% of teenagers will have some degree of acne between the ages of 13 and 18 years.
In puberty, acne occurs because of changes to hormone levels, which cause the sebaceous glands to produce increased amounts of sebum. Together with dead skin cells, the sebum blocks the hair follicles, which enables the formation of spots ranging from blackheads to painful red nodules.
Dealing With Acne in Puberty
As with the other physical changes that happen during puberty, acne usually corrects itself over time. In most cases it should get better without treatment, but in some people this may take many years and can potentially cause permanent scarring. However, a variety of treatments are available.
Acne spots appear in areas of skin that have a large number of sebaceous glands. They appear most often on the face, but can also form in other places such as the neck, shoulders, behind the ears, on the chest, on the buttocks and on the upper back.
Types of Acne
Acne consists of several different types of spot, which can be roughly divided as follows:
- Blackheads - tiny dark coloured blocked pores. The black of the blackheads is due to skin pigment, not dirt.
- Whiteheads - small, firm bumps with a white centre.
- Pustules - pus-filled spots with an obvious balloon of white pus, which may turn yellow as the spot begins to heal.
- Nodules - hard lumps under the skin that can be very painful, go deep into the skin and often cause scars. These are the most common type of spot found in very severe acne, and they often run together in groups. When they heal, they may leave scars.
Acne that begins at puberty is the result of increased sensitivity to the hormone testosterone, which is present in both boys and girls. Testosterone causes excessive sebum to be secreted from the skins sebaceous glands. Skin cells rapidly divide and sometimes block the opening of hair follicles. The resulting build up of sebum behind the blockage helps produce blackheads and whiteheads.
At puberty changes in skin acid levels also encourage the growth of bacterium, which can become trapped in the hair follicles. This produces a deeper infection, in the form of pustules and nodules.
Other Causes of Acne
- Acne sometimes seems to run in families, so there may be a genetic factor that makes certain people more likely to have it.
- Acne may become worse in times of stress, although it is not clear why. It may be because stressed people touch their faces more, spreading the bacteria, or because they are sweating more.
- In girls, outbreaks may be affected by the hormonal changes that occur during the menstrual cycle.
- Another cause may be excessive production of androgens (hormones like testosterone), resulting not from puberty but from conditions such as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).
- Certain drugs such as corticosteroids, anti-epileptic medicines like phenytoin, and oral contraceptives containing levonorgestrel or norethisterone, may aggravate acne.
- Anabolic steroids, sometimes used by body-builders, can cause acne as a side-effect.
- Exposure to dangerous chemicals called dioxins can cause a rare form of acne called chloracne.
Common Misconceptions of Acne
Eating greasy foods or chocolate does not cause acne. Having poor hygiene is also not a direct cause, although if you do not wash your face or remove make-up, bacteria will be able to multiply on your skin.
Acne is not infectious and it is not caused by poor hygiene. However, a build-up of sebum and dead cells on the skin surface may increase the risk of blocked follicles and allow bacteria to multiply. People can help prevent this by washing the face with a gentle cleansing product, and making sure that if make-up is worn, it is washed off before going to bed.
There is no evidence that wearing make-up causes spots, but the less the skin is touched, the fewer bacteria will be spread on the skin. To prevent the spread of bacteria, wash hands before touching the face (for example to apply make-up).
There is also no evidence that certain foods, such as fried foods or chocolate, cause or aggravate acne. A good balanced diet is, however, important to help the body work properly and keep people healthy.
Source:
The National Health Service online facility
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