What is Acne?
Acne is possibly the most common skin disorder in America, affecting
millions of people each year. Most health care professionals usually
agree that acne is caused by hormones in the body that instruct the
many oil glands (sebaceous glands) to over produce oil, which is called
sebum. Oil generally rises through the pores of our skin (hair
follicles) and comes out of the surface of the skin onto our face,
however, when too much sebum is produced, this can clog the hair
follicle and cause pimples. While pimples can be produced in almost
every pore of the human body, most often pimples are found upon the
face, chest and upper back, this is where oil is mostly produced.
Acne is caused by bacteria called Propionibacterium acnes,
which feed off of sebum that is clogged in the pores (hair follicles)
of the skin. P. acnes feed off of the sebum and ultimately cause an
infection. Once your body realizes that bacteria have infected your
skin pores, it sends out body defenses which include white blood cells.
These white blood cells attack the P. acne bacteria usually resulting
in inflammation of the skin. Inflammation is usually categorized as
swelling, redness and may include pain in some situations.
As the swelling increases, the clogged pore becomes a pimple and
eventually ruptures resulting in P. acne bacteria, white blood cells,
and cellular material being released. This can also occur when an
individual pops or squeezes a pimple. It is important to note that
popping, squeezing or not cleaning ruptured pimples can lead to further
infection since P. acne and sebum are usually scatter all over the
face.
Acne can occur in both men and women and is most likely to
occur during puberty. However, many people experience acne during
menopause, pregnancy or in middle age. While acne can be caused from
many different things, the most likely cause of acne is the over
production of sebum by the sebaceous glands. Many acne treatments look
to curtail hormones which send out messages to produce or over produce
the amount of sebum that sebaceous glands produce. Many times these
treatments include oral medications that require a prescription.
Other types of treatments involve topical solutions that dry
out the face, kill the P. acne bacteria and clean debris (bacteria,
white blood cells and dead skin cells) on the face so that no new acne
flare ups occur.
The most common form of acne is called Acne Vulgaris and within acne
vulgaris is several different types, they include pimples, nodules and
cysts. Pimples can be whiteheads, blackheads or pustules; they are the
most common type of acne and can be either mild to moderate in
severity. Nodules are hard tissue that form under the skin, this type
of acne can be from mild to severe and finally there are cysts. Cysts
are pimples within the skin, this type of acne can also range from mild
to severe. The good news is that all types of acne can be treated, so
talk to your doctor if you are experiencing acne.