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Acne has been on the rise in almost every age group over the course of the last three decades. Current studies indicate that the trend among acne patients today include the average male facial acne patient now ranges in age between 20.5 and 26.5 years of age.
Acne is no longer one of the teenage angst illnesses that it was once considered. It is now taken much more seriously as the skin disorder that it is. A skin disorder that can have dire and disfiguring consequences when proper care and treatment isn't sought and heeded. It has also been noted that an increasing number of infants are born with acne. In the case of infant acne, this generally clears up within the first few weeks or months following birth. Infants born with acne, however, tend to face it once again later in life.
Female infants are far less likely to suffer from acne than boys and teenaged girls often have far less severe acne (if they have acne at all) than teenage boys. But, once adulthood is reached, women tend to have acne far more often than men.
Acne is essentially a universal disorder. It affects everyone regardless of race, nationality, set, and age. Even in rural, unindustrialized areas, acne is a common occurrence. Acne is generally divided into two groups for the purposes of identification. The first group is mild acne that can typically be treated through topical solutions. The second group is more severe and often requires something stronger than an over the counter medication and sometimes requiring antibiotic assistance for treatment.
Severe acne can further be broken down into the sub categories of: papule, comedo, nodule, pustule, and cysts. In its simplest form, acne is a red lesion or swelling of the surface of the skin. This swelling is the result of a bacterial attack on the skin from Priopionic bacteria. This is a bacterium that lives on the skin and aggrevates potential acne outbreaks. These bacteria produce certain chemicals and enzymes that work to break down and decompose tissue walls, further clogging pores. This process can result in a blackhead if the tissues are black due to oil deposits or whiteheads if the comedo is closed.
Papules, on the other hand, are quite tiny and give an appearance of rough skin rather than acne. When these lesions are secreted with pus, the term becomes pustule. If these pustules become inflamed and filled with semi-liquid materials they are then called cysts. Cysts tend to be far more painful and damaging. These are also the types of acne that often leave the most disfiguring scars.
Acne vulgaris is the most common type of acne and appears most often as blackheads and whiteheads. Acne Rosacea does not have porous openings and gives a rough appearance on the surface of the skin and primarily effects women. Acne, cystica is the most severe form of acne. It is hallmarked by the deep inflammation that is typically pus filled and occasionally bursts causing severe inflammation and deep infections. This type of acne is highly prone to leaving permanent scars. Acne fulminance is a very rare form of acne that is characterized by the weight loss, fever, and other serious medical ailments that accompany it. This typically manifests in boys. Other types of acne include: acne infantilis, acne conglobata, and acne pustulosa.
•• DermaDoctor