Acne Vulgaris – The Real Deal
Did these questions ever cross your mind – where acne vulgaris started? Who got it first? Do they know that it’s acne back then? It’s certainly a very interesting topic and surely there are a lot of people eager to know more about the littlest details about this skin condition.
First off, acne vulgaris is a medical term for common acne. Acne came from the Greek word “acme” which means a “point” or spot.” On the other hand, vulgaris came from the Latin word, “vulgus” meaning “common.” Hence, they’ve come up with name for the common acne.
Historians claimed that acne already existed at the time of Egyptians. It is written on their walls and other tablets that their pharaohs actually have it. With that case, it can be stated that acne really predominated the society yesterday and today.
Enough with the history and it’s time to discuss the real deal. As the term implies, it is a common human skin condition that mostly affects teenagers and adults. The peak incidence of this condition is at the onset of puberty.
It is characterized mainly by the presence of scaly red skin, blackheads and whiteheads, papules, pustules, nodules and cysts. Blackheads and whiteheads, collectively known as comedones, primarily entail the condition.
Generally, this occurs as a result of overactive sebaceous (oil) glands which become clogged, inflamed and reddened. However, this does not conclude the cause of such condition for there are other reasons why it this common acne occurs.
Clinical Symptoms
Where does acne usually occur? Oftentimes, it is seen on the face but it can be also seen at the back, chest, shoulders and arms. These are the areas of the skin with the densest number of skin pores or sebaceous follicles. Typically, the features of acne are divided into two, namely: non-inflammatory and inflammatory acne.
Non-inflammatory acne
This includes non-inflamed skin blotches which are known as comedones. It is either a blackhead or a whitehead.
A blackhead is a closed comedone that occurs when a pore is incompletely blocked which allows the sebum, bacteria and dead skin cells to slowly drain to the surface. Its color is derived from the pigment of the skin called melanin which reacted with the oxygen in the air. This process is called oxidation. With this, blackheads take a long time to clear.
On the other hand, a whitehead is an open comedone that appears a tiny white spot on the skin’s surface which is due to a pore that is completely blocking a pore and trapping the sebum, bacteria and dead skin cells. As compared with blackheads, they usually have short life cycle which means they clear faster.
Inflammatory acne
This includes inflamed lesions that are potentially capable of rupturing, exploding or collapsing resulting into severely damaging the surrounding area. These lesions are regarded as papules, pustules, cysts and nodules.
To understand further these lesions, each will described one by one. First, papules appear as red, tender bumps which have no head whereas pustules are inflamed lesions with a red circle having a white or yellow substance on its center.
On papules, be careful not to squeeze them because it can only worsen scarring while on pustules, before popping them you should first know the right way of doing it so as to avoid unpleasant scarring.
When acne vulgaris becomes severe, nodules and cysts come into picture. Nodules are large, hard bumps under the surface of the skin. It is relatively painful and last for several months. On the other hand, cysts are large, pus-filled bumps which are really tender. With these lesions, scarring is common.
Causes
If your mother or father has acne, you are a great candidate for having it too because it tends to run in families. Acne vulgaris is genetically predisposed wherein it is inherited by an autosomal dominant pattern with incomplete penetrance.
But don’t worry, sometimes it skips a generation so you’ll have a 50-50 chance of having it. At least, it’s not a 100%, right?
Other factors that can aggravate this condition include:
- Hormonal changes due to menstruation, pregnancy, pills and stress
- Profuse sweating and high levels of humidity
- Oily cosmetic and hair products
- Medications such as steroids, estrogen, testosterone, etc.
- High sugar diet
Treatments
Aloe Vera
The watery gel that can be extracted from aloe vera is considered as an extremely effective cure for acne. This gel is rich with enzymes that act as an anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial agent. With this, it can help in clearing up the skin.
Tea Tree oil
Tea tree oil is an essential oil which is well accepted as a home remedy for acne. It is believed that this oil has an anti-bacterial component so it can kill or weaken the bacteria that are causing acne to occur. After diluting and extracting the oil, this is directly applied to the pimples. Usually, there are just minimal side effects associated with the use of tea tree oil.
Vitamin A and E
These vitamins are also natural remedies which are primarily beneficial to the skin. Vitamin A promotes healthy skin whereas Vitamin E acts as a natural antioxidant. These are available in the form of tablets and capsules.
Zinc
If you are fond of eating red meat, poultry, sea foods, grains and nuts, then you are actually eating foods that are rich in Zinc. Zinc is a mineral that can help improve acne inflammation. Also, it strengthens the immune system which will result in skin repair. It is also a nutritional supplement that is in a form of capsule.
B. Self-Care Treatment
There are tips on how you can take care of your skin and these are as follows:
- Always make it a habit to wash your face twice a day using a non comedogenic soap.
- Avoid scrubbing and excessively washing your face.
- Remove all your make-up before going to bed.
- Use oil-free cosmetic products.
- When your hair is oily, shampoo it well. Long hair should be kept short by pulling it back to keep it from touching your face.
- Avoid popping or squeezing your pimples.
- Limit yourself from touching your face from time to time.
C. Medications
Do not lose your hope when the remedies and self-care treatments you’ve done failed because over the counter medications are readily available to treat your acne.
Benzoyl peroxide is widely used as a medication for acne. It is the first line of treatment because it has the maximum effectiveness with fewer side effects. Primarily, it works by killing bacteria. Also, it causes redness and dryness of the skin. Occasional peeling may also occur when side effects take place.
This medication is as effective as the antibiotics. The good thing with this is that it doesn’t develop bacterial resistance unlike the antibiotics so relatively it’s of good use.
Other medications include oral and topical antibiotics such as tetracycline, amoxicillin, erythromycin, etc. These medications also help in killing the bacteria that aggravates acne.
D. Surgery
There are surgical treatments available for the treatment of acne vulgaris. These treatments include laser therapy, phototherapy and manual extraction of comedones.
In the laser surgery, it is used for reduction of scars that is left behind by acne. Also, it is utilized to induce oxygen formation in the bacteria which will eventually kill them. In addition, it burns away the follicle sac and sebaceous gland.
On the other hand, phototherapy uses a red or blue light in the treatment of acne. These said treatments are still evaluated further for its usefulness, benefits and side effects.
Prevention
It is always true that prevention is better than cure. With this, there are ways on how to prevent you from suffering from this kind of condition.
- Take a bath everyday.
- Get enough sleep – at least 8 hours a day.
- Drink lots of fluids.
- Have a low glycemic diet.
- Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables.
- Exercise daily.
- Take your problems lightly.
Normally, a regimen will surely fail or be ineffective. But you should always think positively because this condition is highly curable but most especially it’s preventable. It’s not too late to improve the quality of your life, take a step and fight acne vulgaris.