Where acne come from

Acne is not only a physiological problem, but also a psychological one. Nevertheless, its occurrence is not a reason for a tragedy. To get rid of acne and prevent its reappearance, you need to understand where they appear from.

Many things give grounds for acne, but the mechanism of their development follows the same pattern.

There are face sebaceous glands that secrete sebum. It has antibacterial properties and reliably protects the skin from inflammation - activation of pathogenic flora. Infections, decreased immunity, stresses, aggravation of the general hormonal background reduce the antibacterial protection.

In the structures of the skin, sebum and exfoliated horny scales are constantly accumulating. Thus, plugs are formed that can partially or completely block the skin pores.

With the "dormant" pathogenic flora, this accumulation does not inflame and cause physiological inconveniences. The cork looks like a black dot on the skin. And if the flora is active, then the mixture of sebum and horny scales begins to turn into pus.

In defense, the immune system destroys the microbes and packs pus into a dense membrane, thus, preventing the spread of infection to surrounding tissues.

Further, the fermented pus pushes the plug outwards freeing the duct, and goes out.

Trying to pop a pimple on your own can lead to even more inflammation. First, the squeezing widens the duct, making it easier for infections to penetrate the skin. Secondly, the destruction of the membrane in which the pus is enclosed can lead to infection of the surrounding tissues, expanding the area of ​​the lesion.
 

Comedones are pores clogged with a mixture of fat and horny scales.

Open comedones are so called “blackheads”. The fat came out, thickened and oxidized, acquiring black color. Comedons are the most harmless type of acne. It is quite simple to get rid of them – just use drying lotions to speed up the process of cork coming out.

Closed comedones – this is when a plug is formed in depth and does not have an outlet to the outside. The duct expands, forming a wen. Closed comedones noticeably rise above the skin, they are easily felt with the fingers. A plug cannot come out on its own, and the risk of inflammation increases.

Papule is a maturing acne. It is a dense ball with a diameter of 1 mm to 1.5 cm. The color varies from bright pink to bluish-purple. It is painful, as a rule, accompanied by tissue swelling and suppuration.

A papule is formed from a white comedone with the outgrowth of the sebaceous-horny plug and inclusion of active coccal flora in the process. Very often, when trying to squeeze it out a closed comedone is contaminated.

 

A pustule is a ripe acne with a white head. There is pus inside such a pimple. The ease with which the pus comes out provokes possible complications in the form of nodular-cystic pimples. These pimples are often associated with each other, merging into large, inflamed and painful formations. It is the complicated types of pustules that often leave behind scars.

The extent of acne directly depends on the state of the organism. Experts distinguish four stages of acne inflammation:

1. Singular inflammation that affects solely one part of the body.

2. Many comedones with an increased number of papules and pustules. Having begun to spread to one part of the body, they move to another one.

3. A clearly manifested inflammatory process with a large number of acne.

4. Inflammations are large (up to 5 mm) and leave behind deep atrophic scars.

Hormonal causes:

- "Adolescence" - the period of puberty is characterized by a rapid surge of hormones, which leads to the appearance of acne on the skin. Probably, there is no such person who would have survived this period without acne - someone has more acne, someone has less.

- Pregnancy and the second phase of the menstrual cycle are common triggers of acne in women.

- Diseases of the genitourinary system, which are accompanied by endocrine system undergoing changes.

 

Non-hormonal causes:

- Failure to comply with personal hygiene.

- Stress.

- Diseases of the digestive system organs - all pathologies associated with the digestive system give adverse affect to the condition of the skin.

- Heredity - the frequency and extent of the appearance of acne largely depend on the type of skin.

- Diet - an excess of sweet, starchy foods, fatty foods and spices. Such diet increases the production of sebum.

- Steroids - those who use drugs to build muscle mass often suffer from acne.

 

- Choose makeup and skin care products that match your skin type.

- If the skin shows signs of inflammation, do not use scrubs.

- Squeezing acne in 95% of cases leads to re-infection and expansion of ​​skin lesions with acne.

- If acne often bothers you, then it is advisable to completely eliminate harmful products.

 

Before rushing to the pharmacy for a remedy for sudden acne, especially in adolescence, consult a beautician who will assess the objectivity of your worries and prescribe the most suitable course of treatment for your skin type or send it to other specialists. If acne appears quite often, then it is better to get examined by an endocrinologist, gynecologist and dermatologist.