Acne what is it in people

Problems with the face, and indeed with the skin in general, always hit a person’s self-esteem and feelings hard.

Unpleasant pimples with ulcers look downright repulsive, making you hate your reflection in the mirror.

So let's learn more about acne, what is it and how to treat it?

What is acne?

Hair grows on people's skin. It is they, or rather their glands, that form acne. The photo shows the structure of the hair and its placement in the skin.

It is the sebaceous sac, when clogged with keratinized cells of the upper layer, that leads to the formation of acne.

In women, acne is usually located on the back near the shoulder blades, on the shoulders, chest and face. In men, most acne accumulates in the facial area.

They are generally more susceptible to acne due to increased production of the sex hormone testosterone. It allows the glands to more actively secrete sebum, thereby worsening the situation.

Women should also pay attention to the resulting inflammation of the sebaceous glands, since after the age of 25 it may indicate disturbances in the functioning of internal organs, including problems with hormonal levels.

The appearance of acne in teenagers is considered normal - this is evidence of the final formation of the body, which is regulated by a large release of hormones, and therefore affects the health of the skin (see photo below).

In addition to the typical location on the chest, on the back of a woman and on the face of a man, acne can also appear on the head - more precisely at the junction of bare skin and hair. This is a special type of acne that can be classified separately.

Causes of acne

The causes of acne in people are varied, but fall into two general categories: those formed under the influence of external and internal factors.

1. Allergic reactions contribute to the appearance of acne. It works like this: synthetic fabric with low-quality dye, poor cosmetics with allergens, cheap washing powders can cause irritation, which puts pressure on the psyche, forcing a person to comb the affected areas. Scratches and cracks in the skin can cause infection, which can cause acne.
2. Bad habits. Smoking poisons the entire body, alcohol removes water, spoils the stomach, preventing the body from being filled with useful substances, and stimulates the sebaceous glands. The habit of eating at fast food places, drinking carbonated drinks, and eating a lot of fatty, high-calorie foods also contributes to the secretion of sebum and pollutes the body.
3. Constant stress. This condition implies the mobilization of all the body's resources, its work at full capacity, which not only wears it out, but also causes fat to be more actively secreted.
4. Long and regular exposure to the sun. Because of this, the body temperature rises, it secretes a large amount of sweat to stabilize it and prevent overheating, and at the same time the sebaceous glands work much more actively. The skin becomes shiny and oily in appearance, the pores are open, so when dust, dirt, and other irritants get into them, closed comedones eventually form.
5. Tight clothes. Tightly fitting tissues rub the skin and prevent the skin from accessing oxygen and normal functioning, which also leads to the formation of acne.
6. Insufficient hygiene. Lack of daily water procedures leads to clogging of pores with dirt and dead skin particles, and therefore contributes to the formation of acne.

Increased activity of the sebaceous glands on the face and body can also be caused by internal factors:

1. Problems with the endocrine system. Their consequence is a disruption in the secretion of hormones, which can contribute to increased sebum secretion and the formation of comedones and acne.
2. Pregnancy also contributes to the appearance of acne on a woman's back - this is due to hormonal imbalances caused by changes in the body when carrying a child.
3. The time of puberty, which is also characterized by uncontrolled releases of hormones during the final formation of the adult body.
4. Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and genitourinary system also lead to the appearance of acne. The incorrect functioning of these organs ends with the fact that toxins are not eliminated in the proper way and the body tries to get rid of them through sweating, and this is a favorable environment for the formation of acne.
5. Lack of vitamins, especially B5.

Internal factors mainly depend on hormonal stability, so during periods when this risk factor is increased, you should be more attentive to your skin and maintaining its shape.

How does acne form?

Before you think about treating acne on the face or other parts of the body, you need to understand how they appear and develop.

The “life” of a pimple is divided into three main stages:

1. A problem occurs. For one reason or another, the pores become clogged with sebum and form comedones. Such appearances are absolutely painless and are not always immediately noticeable. Usually they are not paid attention to. There are two types:

1. Open ones are the usual black dots. They stand out brightly against the background of the skin. The pore is clogged, but is not closed on top by the skin, so the fat comes into contact with oxygen and turns black.
2. Closed. The pores fill with oil under the top layer of skin and appear as small bulges on the skin. Such formations have a milky tint and are especially invisible.

There is also a division into acne severity:

1. The mild form is the formation of open comedones;
2. Closed comedones and papules are classified as moderate acne;
3. The severe form consists of large numbers of pustules and papules.

Depending on the severity and cause of the pimple, treatment and a specialist are selected. Small problems can be eliminated by a cosmetologist, but large affected areas should be treated by a dermatologist.

How can you cure acne?

Average, acne treatment on face and the body takes about six weeks.

The first noticeable results begin only after 4 weeks, and in complicated cases they can last up to 4 months of active influence on the damaged areas.

There are various medications that are used to eliminate acne.

Acne remedies

Benzoyl peroxide. This product is necessary to destroy bacteria in the infected area. Refers to local treatment, effectively helps and is used in the presence of acne and pimples with acne.

If there are only the latter, the drug will not be effective. Used in combination with other anti-acne products. Available in many forms - gel, ointment and so on.

Salicylic acid . Needed to remove the top, keratinized layer that clogs the skin cells. At the same time, the product also dissolves plugs that have formed from fat and cleans them.

Available in different forms and with different concentrations. It is less effective than other means and is well suited for prevention during puberty.

Retinoids. Less advertised, but more effective than salicylic acid. They are a derivative of vitamin A and serve to remove comedones from pores and resolve acne.

Effective in the presence of only acne or combining them with acne. Combined with antibiotics or benzoyl peroxide. It is worth considering that the product cannot be used during pregnancy.

Azelaic acid. Needed to fight bacteria and remove dead skin that clogs pores. It is used both independently and as part of other drugs. Available in the form of gel and cream.

Medicines with sulfur. Helps get rid of acne inflammation. If there is pus, they are no longer effective. They increase the effectiveness of benzoyl peroxide; compared to other products, they are quite useless and have an unpleasant odor.

Various antibiotics can also be used for acne. This can be either a local treatment or an effect on the entire human body. The first is almost always used in the presence of inflammation - it helps fight infection. The second is needed in extreme cases, when no other therapy has helped and it is necessary to begin more active intervention during the course of the disease (usually this is already a cystic form).

Cortisone injections are given into the area of ​​large skin lesions and help avoid surgery. They help improve the appearance and, as a result, acne does not leave large scars. This is an anti-inflammatory steroid that can only be prescribed and administered by a doctor.

There are also certain procedures that will reduce the cosmetic defect after acne has healed. They are prescribed by a doctor or cosmetologist depending on the stage, complexity and type of disease.

Acne prevention

Having understood the concept of acne, what it is and how to treat it, it is worth mentioning the prevention of its occurrence.

It should be started from the beginning of adolescence - when the work of the sebaceous glands on the face and body is especially intense and the body cannot cope with cleaning and regulating fat in the pores.

At the same time, if acne has already appeared on the face, it is worthwhile to undergo treatment, depending on the stage, either from a doctor or a cosmetologist.

1. Pore ​​cleaning. Since acne is formed due to blockage of hair follicles, you need to thoroughly cleanse the skin of dead particles. You need to do home scrubbing regularly (once or twice a week, depending on your skin type). This can only be done on non-inflamed skin, maximum with closed comedones, otherwise there is a risk of “spreading” inflammation to unaffected areas through micro scratches.
2. It is necessary to regularly cleanse the skin of dust and dirt that gets on it during the day. To do this, it is better to use cosmetic compositions that are suitable for the skin, since soap and running tap water dry it out and make the production of sebum more active. It is important to remove makeup at night.
3. Do not wear tight clothes, do not allow scarves, collars and other fabrics to touch the affected areas of the face, which can cause infection and further irritate the skin.
4. In adolescence or with increased sweating, it is vital for healthy skin to maintain a proper diet and drink a lot of plain, clean water without additional impurities, avoid fatty and spicy foods.
5. You need to try to be less nervous and monitor the time you spend in the open sun - a moderate tan will even help in the fight against acne, an excessive tan will only aggravate the situation.
6. It is important to monitor the functioning of the stomach and prevent dysbiosis, especially during times of increased risks - for example, when taking antibiotics.

Acne is not a fatal or life-threatening disease, but it greatly affects a person socially and can ruin a career and even a life.

It is necessary to teach teenagers from childhood to take care of themselves or to undertake skin treatment and restoration at any age, because life without acne is much more wonderful.

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The upper part of human skin, the epidermis, is covered with sebaceous glands. Thus, the skin can perform its main, excretory function. Sebum is produced by all people, although its amount and intensity of gland activity varies depending on gender, age, and hormonal status. Normally, the excreted secretion is simply removed during hygiene procedures, and the skin itself remains clean. If the process is disrupted, inflammatory formations appear, and most often treatment of acne on the face, neck and back is required due to the specific structure of the epidermis of these areas.

What is acne?

Inflammation of the skin in the form of purulent pimples was known back in ancient times. For the first time, this condition was described in detail by the physician Aetius of Amid, who served at the court of the ancient Roman emperor Justinian I. Despite the ancient history of the skin disease, medicine has not yet established a single universal cause for the appearance of inflammatory processes in the upper layers of the epidermis.

It is noted that pilosebaceous structures are almost always affected - that is, areas where there are hair follicles and sebaceous glands. The more of both in a particular area of ​​skin, the higher the risk of developing point inflammation.

The formation mechanism is as follows:

1. The sebaceous glands are holocrine glands, which means that when they work, cellular structures are destroyed. Normally, dead cells are released along with the rest of the skin secretion, and new ones immediately form in their place. This process is continuous, occurs more actively at a young age, the intensity decreases as the skin withers.
2. Hair follicles live much longer, up to three months, and in the active stage - that is, in the form of hair, no more than three months, and in anagen or “young” form - up to several years.
3. If during discharge the follicle is blocked, or other abnormal processes occur, then normal release of sebum and secretion does not occur in this area.
4. Inflammation develops, which affects the follicle - as a rule, it is around the “root” of the hair that characteristic points appear.

Men suffer from acne more often than women; it is believed that this is due to the large number of hair follicles on the face and their high activity, which is enhanced by a specific androgen - testosterone. Also often the affected areas are the back, shoulders, and chest, although there may be no hair in these places.

Acne in men

In women, acne appears less frequently and occurs normally with less intensity. It is believed that the development of inflammation is also influenced by the female hormone - progesterone. Despite the fact that women's facial hair follicles normally always remain inactive and hair does not grow from them, the number of glands is no less than in men. This creates an environment for the possible development of the disease.

Acne never appears on the palms and soles due to the absence of sebaceous glands in these areas. The appearance of inflammation in these places can serve as a method of differential diagnosis, helping to distinguish it from other dermatological, allergic and other diseases.

The mechanism of juvenile acne is well known. Rashes during the stage of hormonal changes are considered normal up to a certain point, since adolescents experience increased activity of testosterone or progesterone, respectively. It makes sense to talk about a disease only if the number of inflammations is large, they do not go away for a long time and significantly affect a person’s quality of life. Acne in children and people whose puberty has ended is not normal.

Any acne is a local inflammation, which consists of dead epithelium, remnants of sebaceous gland cells, and sebum. In severe cases, pus may be added.

Depending on the type of development, the following types of skin disorders are distinguished:

1. Blackheads are scientifically known as open comedones. They get their dark color as a result of the oxidation of melanin, a natural skin product that normally provides tanning and performs a protective function. Open comedones are usually small in size and do not cause discomfort to a person other than aesthetic ones.
2. Whiteheads are also known as closed comedones. Also, slight inflammation, the white color is formed due to blockage and the formation of sebum. They may be a little painful, but are also not a major concern. Like black ones, they are considered a manifestation of rosacea - non-serious skin inflammations that can be treated with moderate active actions, mainly cosmetic ones.
3. Pustules are blisters with purulent contents. They are also formed at the site of blockage of the follicle, but they cover a relatively large area. Pustules are painful due to an active inflammatory process; they look like red areas with white purulent contents in the center.
4. Papules - unlike pustules, they grow in width, but may not rise above the surface of the skin. Pustules are smaller in size, but their number is large, and area damage is observed.
5. Nodules and cysts are severe forms of inflammation, when purulent contents, on the one hand, penetrate deep into the epidermis, affecting even the upper layers of the dermis, and on the other hand, the lesion expands horizontally. Nodules and cysts are the same type of disease; treatment of facial acne of this type can be quite complex.
6. Boils are large, bright red nodes with purulent inclusions that protrude significantly above the surface of the skin. This is the only type of acne that is life-threatening, since there is a lot of pus in the boils, and improper treatment, especially those located on the face, can lead to general sepsis or meningitis.