What is Acne and How Can I Treat It?

Let’s begin with the fact that acne per se is not life-threatening. But it is a condition that more than anything else affects the looks of the person who is suffering from it. That in itself, however, may be a fact that can cause depression, which in some cases is followed by suicide. You got to know that it’s usually adolescents who suffer from this condition, and particularly in puberty a reduced self-esteem may lead to stupid acts. It is therefore recommended to begin an aggressive treatment right at the onset of acne so that the psychological impact is diminished.

Acne, or acne vulgaris as it is known in medical circles, is a skin condition that is caused by a change of that skin structure which houses the hair follicles. Those follicles are basically the ‘birth place’ of each individual strand of hair. When bacteria or dead cells get trapped in the follicles that’s when acne occurs.

The follicles can not only be found in the obvious places where hair grows, as on the scalp, the arm pits, chest and genital area, but are found everywhere on our body. Each square inch of our skin has 65 hairs and 100 sebaceous glands, among a lot of other elements. And it is when these follicles and accompanying glands get blocked that acne occurs. The densest population of sebaceous follicles is found on the back of a person, the upper part of the chest and the face. That’s why acne outbreaks occur usually on these parts of the body and are, obviously, most visible on the face and accompanying areas like throat and neck. It can manifest itself in a non-inflammatory form, looking therefore less severe, or it can be inflammatory acne with papules and pustules, which in layman’s terms are called pimples.

Image via Wikipedia

It isn’t really known why some people get acne and some not, but statistics show that 89% of adolescents suffer in one form or another from this condition. It usually abates with the advent of adulthood, since acne itself is caused by an over-production of male sexual hormones (in boys and girls), an over-production which stops once puberty has ended and the person turns into a man or a woman. The underlying cause of why most teenagers develop acne but others don’t aren’t really known. It might be on the one hand genetic, that it runs in the family. Another reason, albeit not fully accepted by the medical community, is the connection between stress and acne. Adolescents have to learn far more in our modern times, are under much more pressure, and the stress it causes them may lead to an outbreak of acne.

Let’s have a look at what you might expect from traditional acne treatments. You basically want to look for products that are developed by experts in both organic chemistry and dermatology. You want a product that is mild enough for extra sensitive skin on the one hand and that on the other hand gets rid of the existing acne cists. You want to kill those bacteria and get rid of the dead skin cells when using topical drugs. Take into consideration whether it is a mild, a moderate or a severe case of acne.

Apart from administering drugs proper self care is very important. You want to keep the skin free from oil and other obnoxious radicals by continually cleaning the affected area with a  simple cloth and water. Eating nutritional food that excludes dairy products, caffeine and processed food is very important. The diet you should choose instead should consist of raw foods and should be high in fiber.