Acne Solutions

by Edgar MT fotos

Having Acne Isn’t The End Of The World

What Is Acne?

Acne is a skin condition that occurs due to the overproduction of oil by the oil glands of the skin. Acne is not a serious health threat but, it can cause scars. The most common form of acne is ache vulgaris, but there are other types caused by irritants such as heat and humidity or exposure to certain pesticides. Acne is so common that it’s considered a normal part of puberty. Don’t think that because it is common, treatment is unnecessary. Though acne is supposed to go away after the teens, it can persist for many years. The question of whether or not it is possible to prevent acne is very common.

What Are The Different Types Of Acne?

Acne is a disease that affects nearly 85% of people between the ages of 12-24. Although acne is very prevalent among teenagers,adult cna be the ones that suffer the most. The very first thing you must understand when trying to cure your acne is the type of acne that you actually have. Acne is generally placed into one of three categories; mild, moderate or severe. All acne is a disorder of the pilosebaceous unit, which is made up of a hair follicle, sebaceous gland, and a hair.It is actually a defect in the skin called retention hyperkeratosis. This type of acne is located on the face, chest, back, buttocks, upper arms and thighs. Acne is often treated by dermatologists (doctors who specialize in skin problems).

What are the different types of medication available for acne? Isotretinoin (Accutane) is a powerful medication available for scarring cystic acne or acne that doesn’t respond to other treatments. A dermatologist may recommend a topical ointment or oral medication to decrease inflammation and prevent the spread of acne. Accutane is a very strong medication, that is only suitable for those who suffer from severe and persistent acne. This type of medication should always be mediated by consulting a physician. Benzoyl peroxide is also a familiar medication for acne.

There is also a variety in the form of the medication, such as: gels, lotions, creams, and medicated pads. These types of medications is used to treat mild to moderate acne. Avoid applying near the eyes, mouth, or open cuts since this medication can irritate sensitive skin.

Acne is mild for some, harsh for others. That is a question which is debatable but it is the general agreement of physicians that acne is not curable but it can be controlled. Get facts and info on what acne is and what can be done about it. The best way not to get acne is to prevent it. Once the existing acne is out of your system your skin will naturally clear up. On the whole,laser therapy in curing acne is the most acceptable line of treatment as on date. The most important thing to remember is to do your research and choose your treatment accordingly

by duncan

Know Your Type Of Acne

While it is bad enough that acne is such a common problem, it is perhaps worse that there are so many different kinds of acne. You are probably familiar with some of the commoner varieties of acne, such as acne rosacea or acne vulgaris, even if you have never suffered from either of them.

But when you are really looking at effective remedies for acne, it helps to know enough about your condition to be able to target your problem specifically. So let us take a look at the different kinds of acne and see what we are actually dealing with here.

Exploring the acne spectrum. Broadly speaking, let us start with adult acne, which can be caused by a diverse range of factors, such as hormonal imbalances, pollutants, elements related to stress and responses to medications of different kinds.

These are just a few of the many causes of adult acne. Research has indicated that there may be a definite link between hormonal disturbances and the eruption of acne in women between the ages of 30 and 60 years.

Next on the list is Acne Cosmetic, which as the name suggests, is related to the kind of cosmetics you may have used which perhaps did not agree with your skin. In this kind of acne, your skin and pores have reacted adversely to various ingredients contained in your cosmetics.

Then there is Acne Congoblata, which is normally caused by hereditary factors. This kind of acne causes severe scarring on the face and back. Worse still, there is not very much that you can do about it.

Acne Detergens, as is evident from the name, is caused by the irritant effect of soaps and cleansers on the skin.

Acne Excoriee is the direct result of acne sufferers picking at the pimples on their faces and bodies. This is one of the worst things that anyone suffering from acne can do.

Then there is Acne Fulminans, a rather serious form of acne, in which the eruption is accompanied by fever and body ache. This kind of acne mainly affects males and erupts suddenly. Other symptoms of this kind of acne include a high white blood cell count, as well as loss of appetite and deep scarring.

You may have had enough by now, but unfortunately, there is more as this ghastly list goes on and on.

Acne Keloidalis is generally found among people of African stock. Most of the eruption in this kind of acne is concentrated around the neck.

Acne Mallorca is the result of too much exposure to the sun.

Acne mechanica is caused by friction between bare skin and different materials such as clothing, bag straps etc.

Acne Medicametosa occurs as a side effect of some medications. These include oral contraceptives, as well as other drugs that contain potassium iodide, potassium bromide and chlorine.

Acne Neonatorium is also commonly known as baby acne. It is caused by the transfer of hormones from mother to child, which stimulates the secretion of sebum in baby skin.

Last on the list is Acne Pomade, so called because it is brought about by the use of oils found in hair care products. What happens here is that this oil is transferred from the hair to the forehead, where it ultimately irritates the skin and clogs pores, causing acne to develop.

Generally speaking, it is a good idea to avoid touching your face in any case, and particularly if you are suffering from acne.

Now that you know the whole sordid tale, you will be in a better position to judge which kind of acne you have and take appropriate precautions. Before you recoil in horror at the different kinds of acne you are up against, remember that you only need to identify the one that concerns you.

Do not forget that you can look to your doctor or your dermatologist, perhaps both, for guidance on how to tackle your problem. It is not as bad as it looks, so do cheer up!

by Minirobot

Effective Natural Acne Treatments

Acne is caused by the clogging of the follicle of a skin gland causing a pimple to grow. As a registered nurse, I’ve learned a lot over the years about acne, acne scars, and acne treatments. By their mid-teens, nearly 35% of teenagers have acne severe enough to require some treatment from a medical professional.

Acne vulgaris is most commonly experienced around puberty, typically of the face, shoulders and chest. Most pimples are found on the face, neck, back, chest, and shoulders. Several factors have been suggested to influence acne including diet, menstruation, sweating, UV radiation, stress, and occupation.

Numerous studies have revealed that acne is not simply a problem of the young: it also afflicts people of many ages, and it affects daily life. Acne is the most common skin disease.

As time goes by, more research may help determine just how male and female hormones influence acne and the role diet plays. Experts just can’t agree on what causes acne. The cause of acne is really unknown. Check your shampoo to make sure it isn’t causing pimples or other breakouts on your forehead.

Try not to touch your skin to eliminate possible contamination. Treatment with raw apple cider vinegar will work better on your skin if it isn’t already noticeably irritated from acne medicines, acne products or other failed treatment.

One treatment method some people have used is applying cornstarch, egg whites or milk of magnesia as a facial mask. For a good acne treatment, that has worked for many, try applying virgin coconut oil daily, but on a small test area first.

Popping pimples can cause infection and scarring. A new treatment using red light and blue light has been extremely successful on severe acne. You want to avoid squeezing, pinching, or picking your pimples because it can cause scars or dark spots on the skin.

Healed acne leaves scars in some people however, and it isn’t easy to predict who will end up with scars after an acne outbreak and who won’t. See your skin doctor, dermatologist or dermatological surgeon for the best acne scar treatment for you. Acne scars resulting from loss of tissue are more common than scars resulting from increased tissue formation.

The liver sluffs off toxins from bad foods, drinks, drugs and chemicals and sends them through your skin resulting in skin eruptions, acne, pimples and other skin disorders. In any case, no matter what skin or acne treatment you choose, whether it is chemical, drugs, alternative, or natural methods, changing your diet will result in your overall good health!

Some alternative doctors recommend eating raw cloves of garlic daily for acne. Drink lots and lots of pure, filtered water.

The two most common, sluggish, digestion culprits that affect your skin are not enough water and not enough fiber. Put 2 tablespoons of coconut oil in your smoothies. Eat foods that contain essential fatty acids.

Many skin conditions can be converted into healthy skin using natural home remedies. The skin must be regularly cleaned or it’ll become cracked or inflamed.

Be assured, scientists are constantly looking at new non-invasive ways to treat acne. You should see the results of your acne home treatment remedies with improved skin within just a few days. One should always think about alternative, natural, effective treatment methods to get the best cure or solution to their acne, zits, pimples and blackhead problems.

Related Acne Articles

by C-Monster

Treating Your Acne Through Topical Retinoids

Acne vulgaris is a skin condition that commonly affects adolescents and young adults, including athletes. Acne rarely precludes athletic participation, except in cases as described above. Athletes using anabolic steroids may develop recalcitrant cystic acne on their backs and shoulders. Occasionally, acne is indicative of systemic illness, such as polycystic ovary syndrome. Most commonly, however, acne is a skin problem resulting in poor cosmetic appearance. Although poor cosmesis may seem of minor importance to the physician, this may be quite devastating to patients.

Identifying the correct subtype and severity of acne will allow the practitioner to tailor a treatment strategy to each patient’s specific needs. Physicians have a wide variety of options available for the treatment of acne, and some are more effective for particular acne subtypes than others. Side effects of acne therapy are generally low, although oral antibiotics and isotretinoin carry potentially significant side effects. Appropriate therapy will allow the athlete with acne to continue participating in sports, minimize medication side effects, and improve self confidence as well as the appearance of the skin.

Although the diagnosis of acne vulgaris is fairly straightforward, other acneiform disorders must be included in the differential diagnosis. Hot tub folliculitis, Malassezia folliculitis, and rosacea are common disorders that may be confused with acne vulgaris.

Hot tub folliculitis is a self-limited condition caused by colonization of follicles with Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The condition generally develops after the patient sits in a communal hot tub, and it resolves spontaneously within 1 to 2 weeks.

Another type of folliculitis is caused when the yeast Malassezia ovale colonizes the follicles. It is characterized by pruritic follicular papules and pustules on the trunk, back, and upper arms. Absence of comedones and response to antifungal creams helps differentiate this condition from acne vulgaris.

Although rosacea is a distinct condition, it is a chronic disorder affecting the face that commonly coexists with acne vulgaris. Early stages of rosacea are characterized by persistent erythema and development of telangiectasia. Later stages of rosacea involve the development of papules and pustules that may be mistaken for the lesions of acne vulgaris.

Initiating Treatment

Effective acne therapy begins with patient education. Myths surrounding etiologic factors are widely believed by adolescents. A survey of teenagers revealed that many believed that consuming greasy food (64 percent) or chocolate (50 percent) was responsible for the development of acne.

Dispelling these widely held misconceptions and instructing the patient on an appropriate gentle cleansing regimen are cornerstones of acne therapy. For most patients, washing twice a day is sufficient. Patients must also be counseled to avoid comedogenic substances found in many cosmetics, whenever possible. An exception to this advice is the use of sunblock for athletes competing in outdoor activities and for patients using oral antibiotics that cause photosensitivity. Some sunblock and sunscreen lotions contain comedogenic substances; in general, an oil-free water-based sunscreen is best.

After educating the patient, the physician may choose to start therapy with medications, including topical retinoids, topical antimicrobials, oral antimicrobials, and oral isotretinoin. These medications are effective in treating acne vulgaris by one or more of four key mechanisms of action: correcting altered follicular keratinization, decreasing sebum production, reducing bacterial colonization, or producing an anti-inflammatory effect.

Topical retinoids, derivatives of vitamin A, treat acne by promoting normal epithelial desquamation. These medications act as keratolytics and reduce comedo formation. Topical retinoids are first-line agents for comedonal acne, and, because comedones are precursors of inflammatory lesions, they are effective adjuncts in the treatment of inflammatory acne. Commonly used topical retinoids are adapalene, tazarotene, and tretinoin.

Use of the topical retinoids for treatment of both comedonal and inflammatory lesions is supported in the literature. A randomized controlled trial comparing the effectiveness of tazarotene 0.1 percent and 0.05 percent gels with a placebo gel noted a 52 percent reduction in total lesions with tazarotene versus a 33 percent reduction with placebo for mild to moderate facial acne.

The topical retinoids vary slightly in efficacy when compared with one another. A meta-analysis of five randomized trials involving 900 patients with mild to moderate acne vulgaris revealed that with monotherapy, total lesion counts dropped by 53 percent with tretinoin 0.025 percent gel and by 57 percent with adapalene 0.1 percent gel. Adapalene demonstrated more rapid efficacy and considerably greater local tolerability than tretinoin.

A randomized controlled trial comparing tazarotene 0.1 percent gel and tretinoin 0.025 percent gel found a 54 percent reduction in the number of inflammatory lesions with tazarotene compared with 44 percent with tretinoin. Another randomized controlled trial revealed that tazarotene 0.1 percent gel reduced inflammatory lesions by 70 percent and noninflammatory lesions by 71 percent, compared with reductions of 55 percent and 48 percent observed with adapalene 0.1 percent gel. Both treatments were well tolerated, and tazarotene was more cost effective.

Common side effects of topical retinoid therapy include photosensitivity, erythema, dryness, and desquamation. Adapalene 0.1 percent gel was compared with isotretinoin 0.05 percent gel and 0.05 percent tretinoin cream for treatment of inflammatory acne in two recent studies. All three preparations significantly reduced inflammatory lesions, but adapalene was associated with significantly fewer side effects. Tazarotene is associated with more local inflammation when compared with adapalene and tretinoin.

In summary, the topical retinoids have been shown to be effective monotherapeutic agents for comedonal and mild inflammatory acne. The greatest reductions in total lesion counts were observed with tazarotene 0.1 percent gel. Adapalene 0.1 percent gel induces fewer adverse effects, which may improve patient compliance and overall outcomes. Because topical retinoids induce photosensitivity, active patients must avoid excessive sun exposure and liberally use sunblock when participating in outdoor venues.

by Edgar MT fotos

Acne – Teenage Torment

More than 80% of all teens get acne in some form. From the ages of 12 to 22, the chances are high that most will have some type of acne problem to deal with. Since it varies in severity from those who have just 1 or 2 pimples during the teen years to those who have severe acne, treatment options are different.

Acne is usually triggered by the onset of puberty. The hormones become more active and stimulate the sebaceous glands in the skin. These glands, which normally produce the right amount of sebum (oil) to lubricate your skin and hair, produce too much of it due to this stimulation. This excess oil can mix with your dead skin cells and clog the pores, leading to the growth of bacteria. This causes the formation of the redness, pain and swelling that we call acne.

The type of acne that teens get is called acne vulgaris or common acne. There are other types of acne such as acne rosacea, acne cosmetica and cystic acne. But acne vulgaris is the type associated with the teenage years and normally appears on the face, back (also called “bacne”), shoulders and chest.

The lesions (called comedones) that form because of acne vary in type and severity. The lesions that become clogged but remain open and darken are called blackheads. The ones that close up and tend to bulge outward are called whiteheads. A small, red and inflamed bump on the skin is called a papule. And red areas that are pus-filled are called pustules. The pus that collects is the body’s response to the bacteria. All of these lesions are commonly referred to as pimples or zits.

The most serious type of acne lesion is called a cyst or nodule. They are large, painful and pus-filled lesions that are set deep in the skin. Cystic acne almost always requires the intervention of a physician, and frequently leaves scars. Fortunately, most cases of teen acne are not of this sort.

Managing acne requires a daily regimen so that you can control existing acne and prevent future outbreaks. Wash your face twice a day and be sure to you scrub gently. Rubbing roughly or using harsh abrasives or cloths can irritate acne and actually make it worse. And washing too often can dry the skin, creating more dead skin cells to clog your pores.

This cleaning routine is even more important if you have long hair that touches your face, or you use gels and creams that can contribute to your acne problem. Any oils, creams, sprays or other foreign substances that get on your skin can exacerbate acne.

And try to use non-comedogenic cosmetics so that your makeup doesn’t aggravate the problem. Those that are labeled oil and fragrance free are ok to use as well. Those that contain lanolin or other greasy concoctions should be avoided.

If you have acne, there are lots of over the counter treatments available. Most contain either benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid as the active ingredient and are applied topically to the skin. Always use as directed to avoid any side effects like redness, peeling or dry skin. These medications come in different strengths, so you may need to experiment to find the best one for you.

If your acne is persistent or more severe then you may need a dermatologist. They can use stronger medications, sometimes coupled with antibiotics to tackle any acne problem. So if your case is not responding to home remedies or over the counter medicines, then a visit to a skin doctor may be in order.

Acne is a part of the teen experience that most of us have to contend with. It’s just one of those things that happens and you shouldn’t let affect you emotionally. In nearly all cases, those with teen acne outgrow it.