A Useful Guide On How To Treat And Prevent Acne

Plenty of questions are asked these days on how to treat and prevent acne. Acne is an inflammatory skin disease afflicting nearly 85 percent of the adolescents and sometimes continues into adulthood.

What Are The Symptoms Of Acne?

Acme cause white heads and blackheads on the face, shoulders, neck, chest or back. White heads are white bumps on the skin and blackheads are pin sized dark spots. Symptoms can range from mild to severe. Mild acne just causes white heads and black heads on the skin whereas severe acne can produce large number of pimples on a sizeable area of the skin.
What Exactly Is Acne?

Acne, also called Acne Vulgaris, is a skin problem that occurs when oil and dead skin cells blocks up your pores. Since acne occurs mostly in adolescence, persons affected tend to suffer from low self esteem. This makes it important to educate the youngsters on how to treat and prevent acne.
Treatment

How to treat and prevent acne is widely discussed these days.
If your condition is mild acne, here is what you can do on your own.

Gently clean the affected part by soap and apply either salicylic or bezoyl peroxide based creams, such as Clearasil or Benoxyl. These are usually over the counter medications. If you do not notice any improvement, consult your doctor. He may prescribe you a stronger medication which may include an antibiotic cream.

Moderate to severe acne will need a more aggressive treatment. The doctor may prescribe you a combination of therapies to prevent occurrence of permanent scars on your skin. This may include combination of some of the following:

* Oral antibiotics.
* Cleansing the pores by a skin specialist.
* Applying prescription antibiotic creams or gels.
* Applying prescription retinoid/ and or taking oral prescription retinoid drugs.

If after treatment scars remain, the doctor may advise you to undergo specialized procedures such as:

* Chemabrasion
* Laser resurfacing
* Dermabrasion
* Collagen injections.

Ask your doctor for details of the pros and cons of the above procedures.
There is also evidence that women with acne respond positively to hormonal treatment. In severe cases of acne, when the pimple is large, the dermatologist may administer an injection of cortisone directly into the affected part. When we speak about treatment and prevention of acne, you would certainly like to know something about prevention.

Is It Possible To Prevent Acne?

May be not, but the good news is you can do a lot to prevent it from getting worse.
* Keep your skin clean every day. Use gentle soap and plenty of water. Avoid harsh rubbing of your skin.
* Wash your skin frequently if you sweat more due to humid weather or indulge in activities which make you sweat more.
* Avoid certain hair care products containing a lot of oil. Oil may tend to aggravate acne.
* Your hands are carriers of dust and bacteria. Avoid frequently touching your face.
* Avoid long exposure to sunlight as far as possible. But lately, phototherapy has been effectively used to treat acne. Phototherapy is the use of intense violet light generated by purpose - built fluorescent lighting.
* Cover your hands and other parts of the skin, if you need to handle any harsh chemical products.
Outlook

Advances in skin treatment have offered plenty of hope to acne sufferers. But it is well to remember that healing of acne can take time. Healing usually requires 6 to 8 weeks. A good dermatologist will best advise you on how to treat and prevent acne.