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Acne is a local inflammatory skin condition that mainly affects the face, neck, chest and upper back. It is related to hormones and infection with common occurrence in teenagers. Acne can be seen throught out life. It can develop premenstrually or may be associated with the talking or stopping of Oral Contraceptive Pills caused due change in hormone levels. Majority youngsters get at least mild acne which gets better after the teen years. But many adult women do have acne which is related to their hormone levels and menstrual periods. Acne starts when oil and dead skin cells clog the skin's pores. If germs get into the pores, the result can be swelling, redness, and pus.
Prevention.
Acne cannot be entirely prevented.
- Gently wash and care for your skin every day.
- Avoid heavy sweating. Wash soon after physical activities.
- Wash your hair regularly. Try to keep your hair off of your face.
- Avoid hair care products which are oil based such as gels, mousses, cream rinses, and pomades that contain a lot of oil.
- Avoid touching your face..
- Avoid exposure to strong cosmetics and chemicals.
Home remedies.
- Wash affected skin gently one or two times a day.
- Never squeeze pimples, because that often leads to infections, worse acne and scars.
- Use water-based skin care products that gently clean your skin. Avoid products such as milky cleansers, cold creams, lipsticks, and lip glosses that contain oils.
- Use over counter medicated creams, soaps, lotions, and gels to treat your acne. Over counter products.
- Benzyol peroxide ( Breyoxyl or benzac), which unplugs pores.
- Alpha- hydroxy acid causing peeling of the top skin layer.
- Salicylic acid (Propa pH or Stridex), which is keratolytic and also dries up blemishes and causes the top skin layer to peel.
- Skin pore-cleaning strips. These are readily available over the counter.
Medications.
The most common types of medicines that doctors use to treat acne include:1
- Benzoyl peroxide, such as Brevoxyl or Benzac
- Salicylic acid, such as Propa pH or Stridex.
- Topical and oral antibiotics, such as clindamycin , sulfacetamide erythromycin and tetracycline.
- Topical retinoid medicines, such as tretinoin (Retin-A) adapalene and tazarotene (tazorac).
- Azelaic acid such as Azelex a topical cream.
- Isotretinoin an oral retinoid.
- Low-dose birth control pills with estrogen (such as Estrostep, Ortho Tri-Cyclen, or Yaz), which work well on moderate acne in women and for premenstrual flare-ups. Estrogen softens the effects of testosterone by lowering oil production.
- Androgen blockers, such as spironolactone. Androgen blockers can be useful in treating acne. These medicines decrease the amount of sebum (oil) made in your pores.
In cases of pregnancy consult doctor before taking antibiotics for acne. Few antibiotics are not safe to take during pregnancy.isotretinoin (such as Accutane) and tazarotene (Tazorac) can have serious side effects. Women who take isotretinoin or tazarotene need to use an effective birth control method, to avoid having a baby with serious birth defects.
Treatment for acne scars
Treatment offered is either single or sometimes a combination of treatments works best. Results of treatments may be variable.These treatments are:
- Collagen injections, which smooth the skin by plumping the skin under the scar.
- Demabrasion, which uses a whirling wire brush to skim off scar tissue.
- Laser resurfacing, which uses a carefully controlled laser to burn away scar tissue.
- Chemabrasion, which uses chemicals to peel away top layers of skin.
- Microdermabrasion, a gentle skin buffing for mild acne scarring.
- Laser resurfacing, to remove the top layer of skin.
Chemabrasion,dermabrasion or dermaplaning, and laser resurfacing are techniques that remove the top layers of skin. This promotes skin regrowth and collagen production. The results are better-looking skin with less noticeable scarring. At this time, laser resurfacing is the most popular technique.
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