Acne
Acne is one of the most common skin diseases affecting humans today. Signified by inflammatory red bumps, it can also manifest itself as noninflammatory lesions. Acne is most commonly found to occur during adolescence and early adulthood. Early and sometimes aggressive treatment can prevent acne from growing in severity and preventing the negative psychological effects that are commonly associated with severe with this skin disease.
Signs of acne are most often characterized by scaly red skin called seborrhea this is also accompanied with the presence of blackheads and whiteheads, pinheads, pimples and sometimes scarring as well. Acne will most commonly occur during adolescence when testosterone levels begin to change as a sign of puberty. It is not uncommon for acne to follow the sufferer on to their early twenties, with some acne sufferers experience outbreaks long in to their thirties, forties and sometimes even post fifty.
Acne will most commonly manifest itself in areas that have a high sebaceous follicle density, typically the top of the chest and the face. It develops when follicles experience a blockage. This blockage comes from a the keratin in the skin not being pushed out of the follicle due to something called hyperkeratinization, causing a plug in the follicle and the sebaceous glands to enlarge and begin increased production of sebum, a natural oil.
If your follicle begins producing too much sebum than can be secreted, the sebaceous glands will start to become clogged with sebum and dead skin cells. Once this happens you will then form either an open comedone, also known as a black head or a closed comedone, a whitehead.
The underlying causes for acne to begin in the first place can be linked to several factors. Hormonal activities like that of puberty and menstrual cycles have long been known to spur acne. There have also been genetic links to the diseases, it definitely runs in families. Other contributing factors can be psychological. Although it has been greatly debated, severity of acne breakouts has been traced to stress levels. A high glycemic load diet as well as cow’s milk has both been linked to worsening an acne case.
Acne can also be brought on through infectious means thanks to Propionibacterium acnes, the bacterium which has widely become considered as the cause of acne. There are some clonal sub-strains of P.acnes that have been long associated with clean and healthy skin health while others have been attributed to long-term acne battles. It isn’t presently known if these strains develop directly on the skin or if they are acquired through other pathogenically linked means. They are difficult to pinpoint and get rid of because they have capabilities of perpetuating, changing and adapting to the cycles of inflammation, oil production and sloughing activities of acne pours.
The number of acne sufferers worldwide reaches high in to the hundreds of millions, it is the most common skin condition known. While it is most commonly found on adolescence and those beginning puberty because of their increased testosterone production , there are a many number of reasons why someone may be experiencing an acne outbreak.
