Acne Vulgaris: Embarrassing Breakouts!

October 15, 2009 | 1 Comment

While most people suffer from acne during their teenage years, you might be surprised to hear that man people get this condition when they are in their 40’s. The embarrassing breakouts can be the result of a number of underlying problems; there is no one single cause for this condition. It can be due to hormonal changes, certain medications you are taking, stress, diet, physical trauma, irritation, cosmetics and environmental factors. Acne is formed when the sebaceous glands secret excess oil, causing dead cells to clump together blocking the opening of the pore. This causes the classic swelling, redness and inflammation seen in acne.
Furthermore, people with acne have significantly higher counts of the bacteria Propionibacterium acnes. This bacterium produces several enzymes that break down the fats in sebum to free fatty acids that are more irritating, causing comedones and resulting in inflammation.
Acne occurs in different forms including whiteheads, blackheads, pimples and acne cysts.
There are a number of remedies available for acne including topical applications and oral medications available over the counter and on prescription. Try to identify the cause of your acne and remove it. Obviously if it is due to hormonal factors, there is not much you can do as far as prevention. Additionally, you should clean your face morning and evening using a gentle cleanser. Scrubbing or exfoliating agents should not be used since they may worsen the acne. The different agents discussed below act in one or more of the following ways:
1) Unblock the sebaceous glands
2) Decrease the secretion of sebum
3) Changing the composition of the sebum to make it less irritating.
Oral Medications that may be used to treat acne include antibiotics, isotretinoin and hormones. Antibiotics are targeted against the bacteria P.Acnes that is found in infected acne lesions. While they cannot treat current lesions, they prevent more lesions. The antibiotics commonly prescribed include tetracycline, erythromycin, clindamycin and minocycline.
Isotretinoin is a derivative of Vitamin A that decreases sebum production and keratinization, reducing the population of P.acnes. Antiandrogens such as estrogens and hormones decrease sebum production.
Topical preparations include OTC medications containing benzoyl peroxide, salicyclic acid, sulfur or resorcinol. Prescriptions medications contain tretinoin, adapalene, tazarotene gel, antibiotics and azelaic acid. Benzoyl peroxide had a drying effect on comedones whereas salicylic acid, sulfur and resorcinol have a keratolytic effect and increase the turnover of the epithelial cells. Tretinoin, adapalene and tazarotene gel are retinoid products that increase the turnover of the cells in the follicular canal. Azelaic acid is a topical agent that has both keratolytic activity and antikeratinizing activity.
Under the stresses of school and undergoing hormonal changes, you are highly prone to developing acne. If you worry yourself about your condition, you will only make it worse. There are plenty of over the counter and prescriptions medications available to assist you.

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