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What is Acne ?
Acne is a chronic disorder cased in
the hair follicles and sebaceous glands. This will come out in
the form of black heads, white heads, pimples, cysts and
sometimes scars.
Acne is caused mainly due to hormone imbalance. The imbalance in
hormone will affect the hair follicles and oil glands present in
the skin. This causes some outbreaks on our body and is called
as pimples. Acne occurs in face, neck, back, chest and on
shoulders. Acne is very much related with stress and emotional
problems. In some cases, more acne will cause permanent scar or
marks over the affected portion.
Acne is a disorder caused by the improper functioning of
pilosebaceous units (PCUs). These PSUs contains a sebaceous
gland that is inturn connected to a canal called as follicle.
This follicles contain small hairs. These PSUs are mostly found
in face, chest and back. An oily substance called Sebum is
secreted from sebaceous glands. Sebums generally appear in the
surface of the skin thereby opening the follicle. This opening
is referred as pore.
People with acne disorder will have
number of lesions on the face and some of them are as follows
• Papules these are the pink spots over the skin surface. It is
generally small in size and is soft to touch.
• Pimples these are red coloured lesions that are covered with
pus.
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• Nodules these are large and
painful lesions whose base lies deep inside the skin
• Cysts these are deep, painful lesions filled with pus and
cause scars.
The most important factor for the
formation of Acne is due to increase in the formation of male
sex hormones called Androgens. Acne may also be caused due to
hormonal changes during pregnancy, alteration in taking birth
control pills. Another important factor is that Acne is a
genetic disorder and it causes due to heredity disorders. Intake
of some drugs containing lithium content, androgens may cause
acne. Usage of sticky cosmetics also causes acne. Acne may occur
mainly due to hormonal changes in girls in their adolescent
period or during few days before menstrual cycle. Acne will
appear in a worst state due to pollution, humidity, scrubbing
skin very hardly, picking or squeezing the pimple. Formation of
acne becomes more because of stress. |
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Diet plays an important role for
causing as well as reducing acne. Foods containing more oil
content, fat content, chocolates, Ice creams etc cause acne.
Another important factor is dirty skin. Dirt present in the skin
causes severe acne, black heads and other effects because of
microorganisms. So it is very important to maintain a healthy
diet to keep away from acne, since healthy diet provides healthy
skin. In addition to these factors, stress also affects our
physical appearance. Research shows that stress does not cause
acne but it worsens the appearance of it.
Acne is common among adolescents and young adults. It has been
estimated that people between the ages of 11 and 30 are more
affected with acne. There are possibilities of the acne to
disappear for some persons when thy reach the age of 30, but
there are some people who suffer with acne even during the ages
of 40 and 50.
Treatments for Acne
Dermatologists usually treat acne
disorders and other skin diseases. The main objective of the
treatment is to heal the lesions caused by acne, to stop the
further occurrence of lesions, to avoid scars due to acne
outbreaks, to reduce stress caused by this disease, to reduce
increased oil production in the glands, to reduce infections due
to bacteria and other microorganisms, to reduce inflammations
caused by acne. In general, over-the-counter drugs and other
prescription pharmaceutical drugs are recommended for treating
acne. The medicine used may be topical (directly applied to the
skin) and some others may be oral medicines (taken by mouth).
Dermatologists may suggest using both oral and topical
medications for good effects.
Treatments for blackheads,
whiteheads, and mild inflammatory acne
There are some treatments used for treating mild stage acnes
like blackheads, whiteheads and mild inflammatory acne. The
medications recommended for acne are Over-the-counter drugs and
prescription topical drugs. The common drugs in use are:
• Benzoyl peroxide This chemical is used to control oil
production in the glands and helps to reduce acnes.
• Resorcinol this chemical is used for treating blackheads and
whiteheads.
• Salicylic acid this chemical also helps in treating blackheads
and whiteheads. Is also helps in cutting down the cells due to
shedding.
• Sulfur It helps in clearing blackheads and whiteheads
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All these chemicals are available in
many forms like gels, lotions, creams, soaps etc., this may suit
some people but may cause side effects like burning, scaling,
redness, peeling and discoloration of the skin in some people.
All these chemicals come under topical medicines and are very
effective when used regularly. It may take more than 8 weeks to
see considerable improvement.
Treatment for Moderate and severe
inflammatory acne
Persons affected with moderate and severe inflammatory acne are
treated with either prescription topical medicines and oral
medications or combination of both.
• Antibiotics it helps to avoid bacterial and other microbial
infections. It helps to reduce inflammations.
• Retinoids (Vitamin A derivatives) Some of the medicines with
Vitamin A composition available in market are tretinoin (Retin-A),
adapalene (Differin), and tazarotene (Tazorac). It helps in
reducing acne. |
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• Other drugs A few other
medications are used for reducing oil production, reduce bacterial
infection, and reduce inflammation. The examples are Benzoyl
peroxide, sodium sulfacetamide/sulfur-containing products, or
Azelaic acid (Azelex).
In most
Prescription Oral Medicines
Physicians often prescribe antibiotics as oral medicines. Common
antibiotics available in the market are
Antibiotic
Tetracycline Achromycin V
Minocycline Dynacin, Minocin
Doxycycline Adoxa, Doryx, and Monodox
Trade name
Achromycin V
Dynacin, Minocin
Adoxa, Doryx, and Monodox
Other oral drugs in that are rarely used are clindamycin (Trade
name: Cleocin), erythromycin, or sulfonamides (Trade name:
Bactrim).Usage of antibiotics may cause side effects like dizziness,
discoloration of skin, sensitivity to sun, cause sunburns and
stomach upset.
Treatment for Severe Nodular or Cystic
Acne
People suffering from severe nodular or cystic acne are given a
retinoid vitamin A derivative called isotretinoin. It is available
in market under the trade name Accutane. Isotretinoin is taken
orally and is prescribed to take twice a day continuously for 15 to
20 weeks. Isotretinoin reduces oil production thereby reducing acne.
The advantages of isotretinoin are that it completely cures acne in
18 to 20 weeks and prevents scars. The major disadvantages of
isotretinoin are that it creates birth defects in developing fetus
of a pregnant woman. The other side effects of isotretinoin are dry
eyes, mouth, lips, skin, itching sensation, bleeding in nose, muscle
pain, sun burns, vision problems in night, improper liver functions,
abnormal variations in blood sugar level or cholesterol leve
Treatments for Hormonally Influenced
Acne in Women
Acne is caused due to the secretion of male hormones called
androgen. This hormonal imbalance is identified with excess hair
growth on the face or body, irregular menstrual cycles.
Drugs prescribed for the treatment for women affected with
hormonally influenced acne are:
• Birth control pills: this reduced the amount of androgen produced
by the ovary.
• Low-dose corticosteroid drugs Some of the examples are prednisone
(Trade name: Deltasone) or dexamethasone (Trade name: Decadron,
Hexadrol). This helps to reduce the amount of androgen produced by
adrenal glands.
• Antiandrogen drugs Example is spironolactone (Trade name:
Aldactone). This helps to reduce oil production. A few side effects
like headache, loss of energy, tender breasts, and irregular
menstrual cycle may occur.
Other Treatments for Acne
Dermatologists also use other drug therapies to treat acne.
Sometimes they Inject corticosteriods directly in the affected part
to reduce the pain and size of cysts and nodules.
People should clean their skin gently, Avoid touching, rubbing,
squeezing the lesions often, should shave very carefully, should
choose cosmetics carefully to avoid acne.
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