What is acne?
Acne vulgaris or acne is a common human skin disease depicted by parts of skin with seborrhea (scaly red skin), blackheads and whiteheads, pinheads, pimples, nodules, and scarring. It affects skin with the most number of sebaceous follicles, like the face, upper part of the chest, and the back. In addition, it can be either inflammatory or non-inflammatory.
It’s often prevalent during adolescence, and usually continues into adulthood. Increase in testosterone causes acne to emerge. Generally, acne disappears over time for most people, or at least decrease, when they reach their early 20s. There is no way to determine the life of acne before completely disappearing — some carry them into their 30s and even later.
Scars from acne form due to inflammation within the dermis. These scars are often referred to as “icepick scars” because they usually create an indentation on the skin surface. Other types are box car scars that are similar to chickenpox scars, rolling scars (that make the affected skin look wavy), and hypertrophic scars that are considered to be keloid scars. Scars also appear pigmented at times if there are nodular and cystic acne. These leave behind an inflamed red mark.
Acne takes shape from follicle blockages. The following are several observed causes for acne production:
- Hormones – Menstrual cycles and puberty may promote the development of acne. In puberty, male sex hormones, called androgens, make follicular glands to enlarge and produce more sebum — a substance that commonly blocks sebaceous glands. Acne in adult women may be an indicator of an underlying condition, like pregnancy or disorders, such as polycystic ovary syndrome or Cushing’s syndrome.
- Genes – Acne production can be linked with historical occurrences of acne in the family. For instance, young boys with acne usually have other family members with acne as well.
- Psychology – Research advises that increased acne is greatly associated with increased stress levels — although, this connection is still in debate. However, The National Institutes of Health in the USA considers stress as a driving forces that can make an acne flare.
- Infection – Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes) is widely accepted to cause acne as its colonal sub-strain has the capability to change perpetuate, or adapt to the abnormal cycle of inflammation, oil production and insufficient separation activities of dead pores.
- Diet – A high carbohydrate diet and cow’s milk have been linked with accelerated acne rate.
Medications that can treat acne include benzoyl peroxide, antibiotics, retinoids, antiseborrheic medications, salicylic acid, alpha hydroxy acid, azelaic acid, nicotinamide, and kera-tolytic soaps. These substances work different from one another and may help by normalizing shedding into the pore to avoid clogging, destroying P. acnes, giving anti-inflammatory effects, and hormonal manipulation.
Clinical procedures are also available to prevent acne from flourishing and ultimately make existing ones go away. Options include dermabrasion, phototherapy (use of blue and red light, photodynamic therapy, and laser treatment), as well as surgery for cystic acne.
The use of natural substances for treatment like tea tree oil has been used with some success, with effects similar to benzoyl peroxide except for the lack of excessive drying, but the aloe vera that has been mentioned an ingredient in a working product had gained little observation from studies to be warranted a viable alternative.
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