What Is Acne?
Acne is a problem for over seventeen million people in America. It is so common among young teens going through the life changes of puberty, that is has become accepted as a rite of passage from childhood to adulthood. That doesn’t mean you should just ignore it, but that you need to learn how to deal with it. The way to begin is to understand what it is.
Acne, which encompasses multiple skin conditions, is caused when the pores in a person’s skin become blocked by dead skin or body oils. These oils, called Sebum, normally do the job of keeping your skin or hair from drying out. The most common acne in teenagers is
The clogged pores actually become infected and that is when the pimples come up. When this happens one of four things may occur — the infection either comes out as a whitehead, a blackhead, a pimple or a cyst. Although most people see these as the same, they are actually different.
A whitehead is a caused when the pore gets blocked and remains closed. A blackhead is just the opposite — a blocked pore that has remained open. A pimple, which usually looks pink or reddish, is what happens when the blocked pore finally erupts allowing everything that was blocking it to get under the skin. Finally, a cyst is like a pimple but is what happens if the pore bursts deeper under the skin. The deeper the infection is the more swelling there is likely going to be.
Now that you know what is on your face, shoulders or back what are you supposed to do about it? To begin with when you wash your face, or wherever the acne is, do it gently using warm water and a mild soap. This can help to contain the infections and often will go a long way to getting rid of the problem. Dermatologists will tell you not to pop them, don’t squeeze them or pick at your acne. This can be very difficult when you feel that it’s the only thing that might improve the way it looks. But skin doctors claim that by doing that you only risk spreading the infection from the oils and bacteria on your hands. This also can potentially make for scarring.
One other cause of acne can be a reaction to certain medications and for this one it doesn’t matter how old you are. Some of the medicines that can be a problem are seizure medications or drugs that affect hormone levels. If you suspect this might be your problem talk to your health care provider. They may be able to suggest another medication that doesn’t cause this reaction.
