There are several different kinds 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 may be defined 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’ (according to Wikipedia).
Acne is most often found in white Western teenagers, although it does occur in every country in the world, so there may be a genetic weakness to it. It is possible that it may be an abnormal reaction to fairly normal levels of testosterone. For most afflicted, outbreaks of acne last 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 usually affects the face, upper-chest, upper-arms and back. However, an occasional spot does not constitute acne.
Acne vulgaris appears in various forms, which include: whiteheads, caused by pores which are totally blocked, trapping sebum (oil), bacteria, and dead skin cells, resulting in a white spot on the surface; blackheads, resulting from 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 appear as red circles with a white or yellow centre.
Whiteheads do not usually 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 sort of pustule and can sometimes last for months. Nodules are large, hard lumps 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 look similar to a nodule, but it is full of pus and has been described as having a diameter of at least 5mm and, again, can cause scars and cause pain. Squeezing an acne cyst may cause a more severe infection and more acute inflammation which may last quite a lot longer than if it had not been squeezed. Skin experts have methods of reducing the swelling and preventing scarring with both nodules and cysts. It is just a myth that acne sufferers are not meticulous about washing.
In fact, over washing can irritate acne. There are many, many fake ‘cures’ on the market and many, many old wives’ remedies. However, any good skin expert would tell you that there is no sure-fire remedy for acne and that the sufferer should follow a religious regimen of cleaning until the acne just ‘disappears’ of its own accord.
Are you having trouble treating acne? If you are or you would like to find out more about acne, please go to our website entitled http://treating-acne-scars.com This article, Acne Is Not The Same As Spots is released under a creative commons attribution licence.
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