Acne Vulgaris - Causes and Treatments

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Acne vulgaris is usually just known as acne and can affect anyone from their teenage years until they are well into adulthood. There are varying degrees of acne and the treatment methods can also vary from person to person. The main characteristics of acne vulgaris are blackheads, whiteheads of differing severity and blemishes.

Acne vulgaris can occur all over the body in men and women and is found mostly to affect the face, neck, back, shoulders and sometimes the chest. This conditions starts with the blocking of the pores with dead skin cells and the production of excess sebum which will lead to an infection. This causes inflammation, pus and tenderness of the area.

There are a number of factors that contribute to the start of acne vulgaris. The first is the over-productive sebaceous glands which are common in teenagers and adults. You will also get hormonal conditions that affect the acne especially during the teenage years and in adulthood during menstruation or menopause for women. Stress can also cause acne breakouts in many people, as can genetics. Sometimes a certain medication can also irritate the already existing acne vulgaris or it can create the conditions that are ideal for acne to occur.

Bacteria plays a large part in any type of acne and while your general diet and certain food will not cause acne, you should maintain a healthy, strong immune system to thwart the growth of this type of bacterium that can lead to more severe forms of acne.

Acne Vulgaris Treatment Methods

The presence of acne can cause severe physical as well as psychological problems and everyone who suffers from acne is sure to be looking for ways to prevent it and control it. The first and most basic thing you can do to prevent acne from appearing or at least control it, is to wash your face or other affected area at least twice a day with a gentle cleanser that is made for acne vulgaris. You should also take care when exfoliating the area to only do this once a week with a very mild exfoliating gel; never use strong lotions on your skin.

If your acne vulgaris is quite bad you can purchase a topical ointment over the counter which contains salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide to dry up the acne. When you get cosmetics and moisturizers, make sure they are not oil based and “noncomedogenic” so that don’t block your pores. Most importantly, but perhaps hardest to do, is to not pick or squeeze the pimples. This will make your acne vulgaris worse and can lead to worse conditions like cystic acne.

If you don’t see an improvement after sticking to this regime for about 4 to 6 weeks, you should see a dermatologist, who will be able to prescribe stronger medication and anti acne topical creams or gels to treat the acne vulgaris more aggressively. You should also use the methods and medications consistently to see any true results.

Prescription Acne Treatments - Help for your Acne

Prescription acne treatments come in a variety of forms. Some are taken in pill form, some are injected and some are applied directly to the skin (topical). All of these require a doctor’s prescription. At least one appointment with a doctor or dermatologist will be necessary. There are dozens of different medications. For our purposes, we’ve broken the list down into the most commonly used prescription acne treatments.

Popular Prescription Acne Treatments

Isotretinoin- More commonly called “Accutane”, isotretinoin is among the oldest and most effective prescription acne treatments and is used for clearing up moderate to severe problems with acne. It can be used on cystic acne and other of the advanced forms. For the most part, it is safe, but it could trigger off some risks and side effects of which you should be aware. If you are pregnant, you should not take accutane. Research has shown that it can cause birth defects. 

Accutane is synthetic retinoid. It is very similar to Vitamin A and taken in the form of a pill. Because of this, it can be easily abused. Take it 1 - 2 times daily over a period of four to five months. Accutane reduces the production of oils, cleans out the pores and kills the bacterium that worsens acne. Some side effects may include: headache, diarrhea, excessively dry skin and more. Of course not everyone has the same reactions. This is why it is so crucial to see a qualified professional regularly while you are undergoing treatment.

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Oral Antibiotics - Propionibacterium (bacterial) acnes require the use of antibiotics as part of treatment. You need to exercise caution when these prescription acne treatments. Following are the antibiotics that are used to treat propionibacterium acne :          

Ÿ  Tetracycline (derivatives: doxycycline and minocycline) - This works to reduce the inflammation of acne. The normal dose begins at 5 to 10 grams a day. This is reduced over the period of treatment. It can take several months for this to do its job. The major side effect is sensitivity to sunlight. You may also experience gastrointestinal issues.

Ÿ  Erythromycin is a broad spectrum antibiotic. It has been shown to treat propionibacterium acnes very effectively. Because it is an antibiotic, it too has side effects. The most common one being irritation in the gastrointestinal system.

Ÿ  Topical Treatments - There are topical antibiotics that can be used to kill Propionibacterium acne directly at the skin’s surface. These are more commonly used to treat milder cases. They may also be used for acne vulgaris. Your prescription acne treatment may include topical retinoids. These are the same as what you find over the counter, but in higher dosages. Adapalene is a retinoid that has been shown to be effective within a few months. It unclogs pores and kills bacteria. The side effect is dry, irritated skin. A natural retinoid, Tretinoin also has the same results and side effects.

If you have problems with acne that are not helped by OTC medications, see your dermatologist about prescription acne treatments.

Acne Basics- Advanced Acne Treatment Options That Help

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There are cases of acne that are more severe and require advanced acne treatment. Even those people who suffer from mild acne could choose to use the more advanced treatments if only because of the side effects from their current medications. Using advanced treatment is a viable alternative for many people. Two of the most popular advanced acne treatment options involve lights and lasers.

Earlier, ultra-violet light was often employed to treat acne because it was found to be effective in destroying propionibacterium, which is one of the causes of severe acne. However, further studies have proven that UV increases the odds of getting skin cancer and this practice was stopped. Now, other forms of light are being utilized.

The Various Advanced Acne Treatment Options

Take a look at some of the more effective advanced acne treatment options:

Blue Light Therapy: Blue Light Therapy gets its name from the tint or color of the light that is used. It kills bacteria on the skin. Because there are bacteria in our skin oils, the light can dry out the skin as well. There is a small amount of UV in blue light therapy but it is not enough to cause skin cancer.

Blue Light Therapy is done twice a week for about a month. It works well on many acne problems but is not for those that have cysts or nodules. These can actually get worse with exposure to blue light. The other forms of acne can be reduced from 40% to 100% using blue light therapy. Two-thirds of those studied saw a reduction of 59 to 67% in inflamed acne lesions.

Light Heat Energy (LHE): Light Heat Energy decreases oil production by shrinking sebaceous glands. It has gotten approval by the FDA to treat mild to moderate acne. Acne can be reduced using twice weekly treatments for a month. Using drug based treatments can take two or months to work. Sometimes a dermatologist will choose to use both light therapy and prescriptions to fight acne.

ALA (5-aminolevulinic acid): ALA is applied directly to the skin. This works by increasing the skin’s sensitivity to light. It is used to make light treatment more effective. ALA is applied to the skin and left on for 15 to 60 minutes while the patient receives light treatment. Preliminary results show ALA to be effective and safe, but studies are still being done.

Lasers: The lights we use have waves that scatter in every direction. Light from lasers however; move in the same direction in a focused line. This is called “coherent” light. That is how laser light can be focused on specific areas.

The biggest difference between various lasers is the light’s wavelength. Acne lasers use the type that produce waves of 1450 nanometers (one nanometer = one billionth of a meter). This kind is the most safe and effective treatment for acne.

According to studies, employing lasers is among the more effective of all advanced acne treatment options; one treatment can reduce lesions by almost 40 percent. Two treatments can decrease acne by almost 60% and over three treatments can reduce it by over 80 percent. Laser therapy can be painful. Topical anesthetics are used to help control pain.

Acne Basics: Women and Acne

Women and acne are definitely not friends and chance are they never will be. Acne can be harder on women than it is for men because of the fact that women are judged by their looks more often than men. Unfortunately, hormonal issues surrounding menstruation increase the likelihood of having acne at certain times of the month. The options for treatment are often more expensive and this makes it harder to treat it properly.

Girls are earlier than boys when it comes to the development the acne. The average age for girls to get acne is 11 years old. On average, boys start to get acne when they are 13 years old. Girls mature faster than boys and so they begin puberty a couple of years earlier than boys.

Women and Acne - It’s in the Hormones

Hormones fluctuate and increase rapidly during puberty. There are several hormones that do this. Estrogen and Testosterone are two of them. Less well known than the others, Androgens are the most relevant hormones involved in causing acne at this stage of life.

Androgens are hormones both sexes have in common. Androgens rise earlier in girls. When a boy does hit puberty, the levels of androgen rise higher than those of most females. Because of this, their acne tends to be more severe.

Almost 70% of teenagers have acne at some point. Women’s acne lasts longer because of her cycle. Women can typically have acne well into their 20’s (and beyond). Sixty-two percent of women develop acne every month about one week before their menstrual period.

Acne persists in women throughout their childbearing years. More than half of all women between 20 and 29 years old will develop acne. Men of the same age range have a 42.5% chance. The amount of women with acne problems goes down between the ages of 30 and 39. At 40, the percentage goes down, but is still twice as likely for women as it is for men. For ages over 50, 15 percent of women and 7 percent of men have issues with acne.

Between weeks three and four of their menstrual cycle, women see an increase in inflammations by about 25%. Blackheads and whiteheads form 20% more during this week as well. 

 

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Women and Acne - Pregnancy

When a woman is pregnant, sometimes the acne clears up for the duration of her pregnancy. It doesn’t completely stop acne, as sometimes breakouts occur randomly during the time of pregnancy. It is not uncommon for women who haven’t had an acne problem to develop one during pregnancy.

It is still all about the hormones. There are hormonal changes going on during pregnancy. Most of these changes happen during the first trimester of pregnancy; therefore, acne is common at this time. The outbreaks of acne should stop after a woman delivers her baby. Breastfeeding women are an exception. Breastfeeding keeps the hormones much as they were during pregnancy.

Women have to be very careful with medications they take for acne during pregnancy. Isotretinoin (Accutane) and tetracycline can cause defects and developmental problems for the baby. It is best for women to discuss the allowed acne treatment with their doctor.