Acne is one of the most common skin diseases that can be encountered both among young and old. The disease appear among people regardless of age or gender. What is acne? In general, acne is a skin disease caused by an infection of the hair follicles and sebaceous glands. Acne occurs as a consequence of excessive secretion ofsebum, which in turn affects the closing of skin pores through sebum secretion. As a consequence, we are dealing with a bacterial infection, which can be feared in many different ways. Acne may have a mild or more intense form and may appear on different parts of the skin of the body and face.
Types of acne – characteristics
Inflammatory acne (blackheaded acne) is a lighter variety of acne vulgaris, which is characterized by the occurrence of disease lesions in the form of blackheads. They most often occur on the middle part of the face and forehead, they can also appear on the back and chest. Blackheads can be open, black colour, and closed, white colour. In the case of the open form, they are formed as a result of the sebaceous process of directing sebum to the surface of the skin, when a large amount of bacteria, sebum and keratinized epidermis have accumulated in the sebaceous gland channel. They take the form of black dots. In the case of white blackheads, the situation is such that they appear when the sebum is blocked and is underneath the skin, not being able to move towards the top layer of the skin.
The causes of blackheaded acne are associated with excessive production of sebum and hormonal changes and keratinization of the stratum corneum, which leads to blocking the sebaceous gland outlet. This type of acne occurs mainly in teenagers during adolescence and disappears with age. Nevertheless, proper care plays an important role here because it will inhibit the spread of the disease.
Proper care:
- Minimise the risk of blackheads by thoroughly cleansing the skin of dead cells and sebaceous remains,
- Use of special creams, gels and micellar liquids intended for acne-prone skin,
- Use a non-alcoholic tonic with pore astringent properties and preventing excessive serum secretion,
- Systematic use of enzymatic peeling to cleanse the epidermis,
- It is not recommended to squeeze and clean the face from blackheads by yourself,
- Use of cosmetics with properties that do not clog pores.
Inflammatory acne is caused by breaking the wall of the hair follicle, inside of which there is an open or closed blackhead. Inflammatory acne is characterized by the occurrence of subcutaneous papules of constant consistency. It may have several forms, among which it stands out:
Lumpular acne – is manifested by the occurrence of papules on the skin – bulges of constant consistency and size over 1 centimetre. They can be observed mainly on the face in the T-zone, i.e. on the forehead, nose and chin, as an increased amount of serum. Too much sebum, combined with peeling skin, sweat, dust, causes clogging of sebaceous ducts and the appearance of blackheads, nodules and lumps. Bacteria multiply underneath the skin and an inflammation occurs, which manifests itself in pain, spot swelling and facial skin redness.
When lump acne occurs in adults, it can be suspected of being associated with excessive stress, inadequate facial care or hormone (androgen) secretion problems. Lumpy-pocket acne and papular-epidermal acne are distinguished as lighter forms of papular acne.
The treatment of papular lesions takes place under the care of a specialist even for several years. Treatment of papular lesions starts with care of antibacterial and anti-inflammatory products. Moreover, we must not forget about proper moisturizing and lubricating of the face skin. Moisturized skin does not produce excessive amounts of serum. What is more, skin care with high quality topical products reduces excessive production of sebum, exfoliates the epidermis, unblocks pores and reduces inflammation, swelling and redness.
Lump changes must not be squeezed or suffocated as this can lead to the spread of lesions, infections and the formation of unsightly, hard to remove scars and discolourations.
Cystic acne is characterized by the formation of skin lesions in the form of cysts filled with oil similar to boils. We must be aware that cysts are the most serious skin lesion occurring in the case of acne. Androgens, male sex hormones, are mainly responsible for the formation of cysts, which is why they are much more common in men than in women.
Importantly, the resulting oil changes should not be squeezed or scratched. The causes of acne vulgaris lie in the excessive activity of the sebaceous glands, which causes the secretion of large amounts of sebum. Consequently, they lead to the keratinization of the epidermis of the channels leading out of the sebaceous glands. The layers of keratinized epidermis begin to close the outlet of the exiting duct which leads to the formation of blackheads, which are an inflammatory form of acne. The lesions are hard and painful.
It is precisely this form of acne that is difficult to treat. The nodules heal very hard and in most patients leave behind unsightly scars, often of irregular shape. As cystic-nodular lesions destroy healthy skin tissue, they should not be touched or squeezed. In the opposite situation, we can lead to the spread of acne and the formation of scars.
Cystic acne is difficult to treat and very strong systemic drugs are usually implemented, among which are antibiotics for oral use because they inhibit the multiplication of bacteria and soothe inflammation of the skin, as well as retinoids, which cause the activity of sebaceous glands to be inhibited and their size reduced. Retinoids also have an anti-inflammatory effect. Nevertheless, there are many solutions on the market which effectively fight acne. We are talking about acne supplements in the form of acne tablets. Check it out today!
