Acne? What Is It Anyway?

What is Acne?

Are you troubled and ashamed to go out with your peers because of your face breakouts? These breakouts are called acne. During adolescence, skin changes take place and because of these changes, teens develop acne. Acne is of different types and before you decide to treat it, you must first get the proper diagnosis. You need to visit your dermatologist so that you will know what to do with your acne problem.

Millions of people all over the world suffer from acne. Among the skin disorders known to the human population, acne is the most frequent problem. It is said that hormones cause acne. These hormones instruct the sebaceous glands to produce more than the required oil or sebum. In normal cases, sebum rises through the pores and hair follicles to the skin surface. When the hair follicles are clogged, pimples occur. Sebum is produced mostly in the chest, upper back, and face; and so the pimples are mostly found in those areas.

When sebum clogs hair follicles, the bacteria will use the oil as nutrients. Propionibacterium causes acne because it feeds on the sebum and in turn leads to infection. Body defenses act naturally and the white blood cells immediately attack the said bacteria and so the skin is inflamed. Due to the inflammation, the individual will feel pain and experience swelling and redness of the clogged pores. Ruptured acne which disperses on the skin can further cause lesions and pimples.

Acne vulgaris is the mildest type of acne but there are times when it worsens because of improper treatment. If you have acne vulgaris, you can also have blackheads, pustules, and whiteheads.

Partially blocked pores are called blackheads. Blackheads don’t disappear quickly and the black color is not actually dirt by it is due to melanin.

Zits are pustules. When a pimple gets irritated, it becomes a zit. Pustules resemble whiteheads but its sides are reddish. Some individuals pop their zits. This should be done with extra care so as not to cause scarring and skin damage.

When a follicle or pore is blocked completely, it becomes whiteheads. The white colored liquid is the oil or sebum. Whiteheads appear very easy to prick or pop. You can do this but this is not recommended; just make sure that your skin isn’t damaged.

When the common acne becomes severe, it can turn into nodules and cysts. Cysts are much larger than regular pimples. It contains fluid inside and it can be painful. If you don’t want to cause further infection, never pop or squeeze cysts. You can use certain products to reduce the swelling.

Nodules are hard tissues under your skin. It is also not advised to squeeze or pop nodules because it can lead to scarring; and not only that, the nodule will take a longer time to heal. In most cases, nodules heal after a couple of months.

Acne is definitely something that you shouldn’t worry about much but it doesn’t mean that you will leave it untreated. Remember, severe ailments started out as simple ones. Acne can further be irritated if you prick or pop it unnecessarily and if you use very harsh cleansers that contain chemicals. So before you attempt to treat your acne, consult your dermatologist first so that he or she can check the acne and properly diagnose it.