About Acne


EXACT CAUSE OF ACNE continues to evade researchers. We do know that the sebaceous glands secrete an oil that changes to a solid white substance called sebum. This travels to the opening of a hair follicle and erupts on the skins surface. This process may be due to an infection of these glands or to excessive amounts of male hormones called androgens. Blackheads appear when sebum mixes with skin pigments in plugged pores. They are a mixture of sebum and skin scales that have closed off a hair follicle.

ACNE IS A DISORDER OF THE SKIN

Some teenagers find this condition so distressing that they can develop emotional problems. Three out of four teenagers have acne and about 80 percent of all teenagers will develop it. If you have acne you have a lot of company.

NON-INFLAMMATORY ACNE
Most teens who develop acne have the milder form, called non- inflammatory acne. They just get a few blackheads or whiteheads and a pimple now and then. Pimples usually do not scar unless squeezed or picked which may lead to infection. It can injure skin and underlying tissue. So it's advisable not to pick or squeeze. 

INFLAMMATORY ACNE
Some people suffer from inflammatory acne. With inflammatory acne, the whiteheads become inflamed. Pimples and pustules develop and there will be a constant outbreak covering the face, and sometimes the neck, back, chest and groin. These pus filled pimples can cause disfiguring cysts, deep pitting and scarring. 

Prescription drugs and sometimes surgery may be needed to treat severe inflammatory acne if all other treatments have failed. 

ADULT ACNE
More adults today find themselves dealing  with acne, something they thought they had long outgrown. According to information from New England Journal of Medicine's publication Health News, one in five adults between the ages of 25 and 44 experiences acne. It's estimated that nearly half of all adult women experience mild to moderate acne. 

Adult acne can often be more persistent than teenage acne. It can be especially depressing for those who were not effected as adolescents. But, what ever your age, acne doesn't have to control you. You can control it with the right treatment and a little persistence. 

WHAT CAUSES ACNE ?
No one knows for sure, exactly what causes acne. There are many factors that interact to produce acne vulgaris ( is the medical term ). We do know heredity plays an important roll. If one of your parents had acne, there is a very good possibility you will also. 

The overproduction of oil is a contributing factor, the irregular shedding of dead skin cells and the buildup of bacteria that lives in the sebaceous glands, which breeds in the hair follicles. 

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Copyright (C) 1998 All rights Reserved. Revised: January 03, 2005.