Acne Basics – The Different Types of Acne

Acne ranges from mild - a pimple or two containing oil, dead skin and white blood cells - to more severe. The more severe types of acne require a diagnosis and an aggressive regimen of treatment. Acne is rated by grade.

Types of Acne by Grade

Ÿ  Grade I – This includes the milder types of acne including acne vulgaris. These types are typical white and blackheads that are not inflamed and are treatable with over the counter topical medications.

Ÿ  Grade II - This is the diagnosis given when the acne papules and pustules are more widely spread and moderately inflamed. Pustules are filled with bacteria, dead skin cells and white blood cells. Papules are bumps that appear on the surface of the skin. They are lesions that are measurable at 5 mm. Both types of acne are often seen together.

Ÿ  Grade III - This is one of the severe types of acne. The papules and pustules are larger, redder, more inflamed and more numerous than in other types of acne.

Ÿ  Grade IV – This grade includes the most severe types of acne. This type includes cysts and nodules and usually spreads to other areas of the body besides the face. These types of acne often develop into acne congoblata.

Ÿ  Acne congoblata causes horrible inflammation and abscesses that are deep into the skin. This type causes severe scarring and other kinds of skin damage that is much more serious than any other types. Nodules form around the comedones (whiteheads and blackheads). The nodules are inflamed and grow until they explode, discharging pus. These are unsightly and horribly painful to experience. Scars of the Keloid type are caused by these.

 

Ÿ  Acne fulminans are another type that occur in Grade IV. With this type, nodules can ulcerate and cause painful recurrences of acne. This type is often accompanied by fever and aching joints. Corticosteroids or NSAIDS are often prescribed for acne fulminans. These are effective for some of the symptoms but do not treat the cause of the acne.

Ÿ  Nodulocystic acne is an even more severe type of acne. Unusual types of cysts form on the skin. They are many and close together in an area that is large and inflamed. They can form tunnels under the skin and infections spreads rapidly through the small tunnel. The prescription antibiotic, Accutane is usually used to treat nodulocystic acne.

Ÿ  Gram-negative folliculitis is caused by an infection in the follicles - the opening through which hair grows and sebum is released by the sebaceous glands. Bacteria multiplies and grows inside the acne causing the body to respond by sending white blood cells to the area to fight infection. This causes deep eruptions that must be treated differently. The bacteria that causes these types of acne are often antibiotic resistant. They may even be caused by antibiotic treatments for the other forms of acne.

A dermatologist or doctor is more experienced in differentiation between the types of acne and must be consulted for proper care and treatment of all but Grade I. If you think your acne is severe, make an appointment with one of these professionals. 

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Diagnosis Of Acne –Recognizing The Different Types Of Acne

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Acne can be irritating or it can be life changing. There are not very many people who have escaped a few pimples and blackheads. That’s par for the course. But the diagnosis of acne as more severe is another story altogether.

Diagnosis of Mild Acne

Mild acne includes small whiteheads- little bumps. These aren’t hard to treat. They will usually go away on their own. Blackheads come up through the pores without the covering of skin. They are often taken care of with a product that kills bacteria and dissolves the “dirt”. Whiteheads are closed comedones and blackheads are open comedones. They are basically the same; it is the way they present that makes the difference.

Diagnosis of Severe Acne

When acne is severe, cysts and nodules form under the skin. The areas are inflamed and red. The acne spreads and does not respond to typical treatment. It can spread anywhere on the body and it is not only irritating, it is painful. When acne gets like this, a professional is needed.

A dermatologist will examine the severity and extent of the acne, and then they will ask a lot of questions before determining what is needed to take care of the problem. Severe acne is usually treated with topical medications and pills. Exactly which kind of pills is determined by the cause of the acne. Sometimes it takes several visits to pinpoint the cause because every case is individual.

What many people don’t realize is that when acne is severe, there can be other health problems, too. Severe acne can be accompanied by fever and aching, headaches and even gastrointestinal distress. It is both an inside and an outside issue that calls for more radical treatment than over the counter treatment.

If you have a problem with severe acne, keep a record of your outbreaks and any other symptoms that accompany the outbreaks. Dermatologists need to know when you experience each symptom. Keep a detailed description of your outbreaks as well. This helps them to make a diagnosis of acne or alternatively, another issue altogether.

Diagnosis of Acne - Look-A-Likes

• Rosacea - This is different from acne but does resemble it with papules and pustules. It can be treated, but not with traditional acne treatments.
• Keratosis - Small bumps that look like whiteheads
• Miliaria rubra- This is heat rash. The rash produces red bumps that are small and usually in one area.
• Allergies can cause skin problems that resemble acne.
• Sexually transmitted diseases can cause some forms of acne but they may cause other skin issues, too. The Herpes virus can cause painful, red bumps to appear on the buttocks.

Diagnosis of Acne - Some Causes

• Sometimes a drug can be the cause of acne breakouts. Anabolic steroids- prednisone and lithium; Phenobarbital and Tetracycline - all of these are triggers for acne.

• Excessive amounts of B complex have been known to cause acne breakouts.

The dermatologist needs an honest list of everything you put into your system in order to diagnose your problem with accuracy. Successful treatment of your skin problem starts with an accurate diagnosis of acne.

Acne Basics - It Is Not Just a Teen Disease

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Teenagers are the group that is most likely to have problems with acne. The truth is though, that anyone of any age can have an acne problem. Other than the acne that affects infant, the treatment for acne is the same. The biggest issue with acne as a teen disease is that teenagers are more prone to issues with self esteem.

Before acne can be treated, you should know which type of acne you have. Keeping a log of your breakouts, the medications you’ve used unsuccessfully and a description of the problem will help a dermatologist or family doctor diagnose your type of acne.

Knowing all the facts about acne can help you avoid worsening issues surrounding the problem. If you think avoiding chocolate and greasy foods will help cure acne, you are wrong. Eating too much chocolate and greasy food can cause other problems - like obesity, but it doesn’t cause acne. Tanning in the sun does not get rid of acne, either. In fact, too much sun exposure can cause a worse problem: skin cancer.

Increasing your knowledge about acne will help you cope with it better mentally, too. If you are aware that this problem exists for millions of people, you won’t feel singled out and isolated.

Taking good care of your skin plays a role in fighting this teen disease but do keep in mind that it is not the be-all/end-all as has been claimed. If you are using mild cleansers on your face and other areas twice a day, you are doing what you need to keep your skin healthy.

Teen Disease by Gender

Knowing how acne presents itself in males versus females is important, too. Acne appears earlier for girls but when boys get acne, it can be more severe because their androgen levels rise higher than those in girls. Later, that situation is turned around. Young women in their 20’s and 30’s have more risks for developing acne than men.

Different approaches are needed to deal with this teen disease; treatment varies according to the gender. Some hygiene practices are gender specific. For example, men shave their face and women wear makeup. Medication also differs in the way it works because of variations in the hormones determined by their sex.

Skin cleansing habits and over the counter medications work pretty much the same in both sexes. Light and laser treatments are not gender specific, either and can be used for treating acne in people of just about any age.

There is always a possibility of scars when it comes to having acne. If this occurs you should be aware that there are treatments to help lessen and get rid of acne scars. These include laser resurfacing, dermabrasion and other techniques. Many people have been helped using techniques to reduce their scars.

Acne is not just a teen disease but it can be treated in a variety of ways. Recent advances in skin care technology are helping more people all the time. No matter what your age may be, do the research and you will find the perfect treatment that works for you.

Acne Basics - What Is Acne?

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The answer to “What is acne?” is that it is a skin disease that is common but comes in many types and severities. Acne occurs when pores are clogged with sebum and bacteria. Acne affects most people at some point in their lives - usually when they are teenagers. But it isn’t exclusive to adolescence and it can be a bigger problem for a lot of individuals. To understand acne, it is important to know how it all begins.

What is Acne - The Skin Condition

Our hair grows through follicles, which are tiny openings that can be seen on the skin’s surface. At the base of follicles are sebaceous glands. These produce an oil called “sebum”. Sebum is what keeps the skin soft and pliable. Hair grows through the follicle and the sebum is expressed out the sides, spreading itself around the area. Also, skin cells die and are usually rubbed or washed away. This process is halted when pores close up, trapping the oils and causing bacteria to form. Acne is the result of these clogged pores.

Pimples are formed from white blood cells, bacteria and dead skin cells. The pus that that is trapped inside a pimple causes the skin around it to be red and inflamed. “Pus” is a word adapted from “pustule”. Pustules are a kind of acne that occur when the wall of the follicle bursts and white blood cells rush to the area in order to start the process of healing.

Blackheads are spots that appear because of the material having come to the surface. It is not inflamed. Many people mistakenly believe that the dark debris is dirt. In fact, it is caused by a chemical reaction. The dark area occurs because of air hitting the skin cells and oils. This oxidizes and makes the materials turn black.

If the materials don’t break through the skin, they will push up and form a white bump over it. This is called a whitehead - what we commonly think of as a pimple. Most often, dead skin is washed away or falls off the surface of the skin. But dead skin cells can get trapped. This type of acne sometimes happens in infants as well as people of any age.

The general term for this is “comedones”. Clinically, the difference between whiteheads and blackheads is determined by whether the formation remains open or is closed.

Developing acne may form in three different ways:

1.       Papules are made when the walls of the hair follicles burst near the skin’s surface. They are always small and do not have pus inside them.

2.       Nodules form because of a break at the follicle’s base.

3.       Cysts are larger and deeper red. They aren’t hard like the nodules, but they can be extremely painful.

What is acne? It is a skin condition that requires medical treatment. In order to treat acne, you need to know the type of acne with which you have been afflicted. That will be the subject of the next article.