Statistics indicate that as high as 80% of the total American population has ever had acne. Acne affects all ages, genders and age groups, making it a universal disease of the skin. As a form of skin disease, the good news is that acne is not transferable.
Although acne is not contagious from person to person, it can cover the whole face and can severely affect all tissues of the skin, the pilosebaceous units. It is not true that acne affects only those in puberty. Even babies or people who may be well over their forties, can this disease of the skin. Infantilism Acne is the term for acne that grows on a newborn, on the other hand, acne rosacea is associated with middle-aged people.
Acne has different classifications, depending on the severity of the infection.
Comedones is the form in which all serious acne cases originate. This is characterized by swelling or small red lesions on the skin. Whiteheads and blackheads are two forms of comedones. Conversely, blackhead is an open comedones. The coloring is due to the accumulation of dark skin pigment called melanin, plus hardened sebum and other skin debris and particles. This is the basic structure of the white heads, however, the only difference is the coloring and they are deep into the skin layers.
If you have sandpaper-like skin around the tissue of your mouth and on the surface of your forehead, chin and cheeks, you’ve probably papules. Pus-filled lesions are known as pustules.
Nodules on the other side are similar with pustules. However, nodules are firmer and larger acne growing deep into the skin. Inflammation may develop your pustules in the semi-liquid or liquid materials composed of white blood cells (the dead because of the acne bacteria infects as Propionibacterium acnes), dead skin cells and bacteria is active or inactive. This may result in more severe acne called cysts. In such situations, you may need the assistance of a dermatologist or skin doctor.
What is the cause of acne? It is quite difficult to establish exactly what May have caused your acne infection as reasons differ from case to case. Studies suggest that the disease of the skin of May, by many factors, including unhealthy diet, stress, weather elements, and hormonal changes or May be genetically influenced.
Medically speaking, acne starts with the formation of hardened sebum or oily substances on the skin by the sebaceous glands. These are then interspersed with acne-infecting bacteria, which in turn triggers the immune system to release white blood cells to hinder the attack of the bacteria. As this happens, dead white blood cells and bacteria will continue in the hair follicles mixed with skin debris and dead skin particles, which will inflame the lesions.
Most mild acne cases can be treated with over-the-counter acne medications. They are generally topical medication to use on your skin for acne treatment. You can come in the form of soaps, lotions, gels and creams. Conversely, systematic acne medications are taken orally. The most common of which are antibiotics.
Knowing that you are not the only one inflicted with acne at some point in life or in another helps that there are always new research results and new products come on stream. Continue to read on acne research and help your fight against them.