Thursday, March 15, 2012

Acne Basics - Who Gets Acne?

Who gets acne? Well, the answer to that is almost everybody will get acne at some time or the other in their lives. There are some conditions that factor into whether or not one has a problem with acne. Boys and girls, young and old, brown, black, white…. All of us have the potential to develop acne and at some point in our lives and most of us do.

When the pores become clogged with dead skin cells and sebum, the pores trap the mixture and it cannot drain out as it normally would. Bacteria grows, ruptures the wall of the follicle and cause acne. Androgens, a hormone in common with men and women, are believed to cause an increase in oil production. More oil production increases the chance of oil getting clogged in the pores and causing acne breakouts.

Twenty-five percent of acne sufferers have breakouts on their back and upper chest areas. For many, acne is a painful and even debilitating condition. Forty percent of people with acne find it severe enough to discuss with their doctor or dermatologist.

Who Gets Acne - The Wide, Wide Range

Teenagers are prone to acne breakouts because of androgen levels rising in the body. Girls are affected at around 11 years of age and boys develop it at about 13 years of ages. Those ages correlate directly with the average start of puberty in each of the genders.

Boys are affected more by acne when they do begin puberty. The androgen levels in boys rise significantly higher and at a faster rate than androgen levels in girls, so acne is often more severe. It slows down for them as they enter their twenties. For women, the 20’s are when acne is even more apt to develop.

Women are the most prone to acne throughout most of their lives. Their menstrual cycle and hormones of pregnancy keep acne a part of their lives during these stages. Forty-four percent of women between 20 and 32 have acne on a cycle. Women over 30 have high odds of it as well. The odds for men are lower but they have been known to experience acne problems well into their fifties, too.

Babies have been known to get whiteheads. These usually disappear on their own but it can take up to 6 weeks for them go away. Even people over 50 years old can have acne. There aren’t any age ranges shown to be completely clear of acne. Though it doesn’t affect every person as they enter their senior years, it still affects some of them.

Some prescription drugs like barbiturates, corticosteroids and lithium are known causes for the development of acne. These should not be used without a medical prescription or without a medical reason.

Acne affects every race: Caucasian, African, Latin, Asian… Acne does not care about your ancestry. It does not discriminate.

In conclusion, I guess the answer to the question, “Who gets acne?” is: Anybody can develop acne.

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