What Is Acne

Acne or what is scientifically called as acne vulgaris is a very common skin problem that is caused mainly by alterations in pilosebaceous units, the skin structures that consist of hair follicle and the linked sebaceous gland through androgen stimulation. Acne is basically characterized by the non-inflammatory comedones or follicular papules and also by inflammatory pustules, nodules and papules in the more serious forms. The acne vulgaris or acne affects the sufferer’s regions of the skin with densest population of the sebaceous follicles; such areas include the upper part of chest, back and the face. Serious acne is really inflammatory but can even manifest in the non inflammatory forms. The acne lesions are generally known as the blemishes, zits, spots or pimples.

The upper neck and face are most generally affected, but the back, shoulders and chest can also have acne. Even the upper arms of a body can suffer acne but the lesions found at such places are often keratosis pilaris and not acne. The typical acne blemishes are inflammatory pustules, nodules, papules and comedones. Some larger nodules were earlier known as the cyst and this word nodulocystic has now been used to define the serious causes behind inflammatory acne.

Acne is the most basic problem faced during adolescence thereby affecting over eighty five percent teenagers and even continues into the adulthood age. The main cause in acne development in the adolescent age is the rise in hormones of male sex that people of both the genders suffer while puberty stage. For most of the people, acne reduces with time and seems to disappear or decrease after reaching the early twenties. However, there is no method available to predict the time taken to get the acne disappeared completely and some people will continue to face this problem till their 30s, 40s and even beyond.

Apart from scarring, acne’s effects are even psychological like lowered self esteem, suicide and depression. Acne generally appears while the adolescent age when people tend to be socially insecure. Aggressive and early treatment is thus advocated by many a people to reduce the impact to sufferers. Acne grows due to the blockages in one’s follicles. Hyperkeratinization as well as formation of the plug of sebum and keratin is proved to be the earliest alteration seen. Enlargement of the sebaceous glands and rise in the production of sebum takes place with androgen production at the adrenarche. Microcomedo can enlarge to be an open comedo or the blackhead and the closed comedo i.e. the whitehead.

About Acne

What Is Acne

Treatments for Acne