October 13th, 2009Acne is Not Spots
There are several different forms of acne, depending on how or why the acne developed. Some of the types of acne are: acne conglobata (chronic boils); acne fulminans (an extreme form of conglobata); acne cosmetica (caused by cosmetics); acne keloidalis nuchae (from shaving); acne medicamentosa (caused by starting or stopping a medication); acne rosacea (redness on the face); baby acne; hormonal acne; cloracne and the common variety, acne vulgaris (also known as ‘puberty spots’). In this article, we will concentrate on acne vulgaris.
Acne vulgaris can be described as: ‘an inflammatory disease of the skin, caused by changes in the pilosebaceous units (skin structures consisting of a hair follicle and its associated sebaceous gland). Acne lesions are commonly referred to as pimples, spots or zits’ (from Wikipedia).
Acne is most often found in white Western teenagers, although it does occur in every country in the world, so there could be a genetic predisposition to it. It is possible that it may be an abnormal reaction to quite average levels of testosterone. For most afflicted, the condition lasts only until adulthood, probably only a few years or at the most ten. For other people, however, it may be a life-long affliction. It most often affects the face, upper-chest, upper-arms and back. However, an occasional spot does not constitute acne.
Acne vulgaris manifests itself in different many forms, including: whiteheads, resulting from pores which are completely blocked, trapping sebum (oil), bacteria, and dead skin cells, causing a white spot on the top; blackheads, caused by pores which are only partially blocked, allowing some of the trapped sebum, bacteria, and dead skin cells to slowly drain to the surface (the black colour is not a result of dirt, but is a reaction of the skin’s own pigment, called melanin, with the oxygen in the air); papules, which are inflamed, red, tender lumps with no head and pustules, which are similar to whiteheads, but are inflamed, and look like red circles with a white or yellow centre.
Whiteheads do not often last long; blackheads do last a long time and pustules are what people call spots. Severe acne vulgaris is characterized by nodules and cysts. A ‘nodule’ is a much larger and more painful type of pustule and can sometimes last for months. Nodules are large, hard bumps under the skin’s surface. They frequently result in scarring and should never be squeezed, which could cause them to last for months longer still.
A ‘cyst’ may appear like a nodule, but it is full of pus and has been defined as having a diameter of at least 5mm and, again, can cause scars and cause irritation. Squeezing an acne cyst may cause a more severe infection and more acute inflammation which will last quite a lot longer than if it had not been squeezed. Skin experts have ways of lessening the swelling and avoiding scarring with both nodules and cysts. It is just a myth that acne sufferers are not meticulous about cleanliness.
In fact, over washing can exacerbate acne. There are many, many false ‘treatments’ on the market and many, many old wives’ remedies. However, any honest skin expert would advise you that there is no sure-fire cure for acne and that the sufferer should follow a religious regimen of cleansing until the acne just ‘disappears’ of its own accord.