ACNE VULGARIS
Acne vulgaris are the common pimples
Acne vulgaris is a disease of the sebaceous follicle. Increased production of oil in adolescence is associated with the development of comedones, erythematous papules, pustules, and also cysts.
Acne vulgaris are not entirely understood, these range from hormone fluctuations, excess sebum in the pilosebeaceous units, stress, hyperactive sebaceous glands, allergic reactions to normal skin bacteria, skin irritation, use of steroids and halogens and, in some cases, genetics has also been shown to play a role in Acne.
85 to 100 percent of people worldwide at some point in their lives with experience acne vulgaris.
Hormone changes that cause an excess of oil in the skin are a leading cause of acne vulgaris and so this is why Acne is most commonly seen in puberty. In puberty, breakouts are a response to levels of the hormone testosterone that is found in both males and females in varying degrees. Women do secrete small amounts of testosterone at different points in their cycle and these types of lesions are common in women, even after puberty in the days leading up to their menstrual period. With time, hormone changes settle and become more stable, the acne vulgaris lesions will begin to diminish and will eventually disappear. There is no time limit as to when or how long it can take for the acne vulgaris to disappear entirely, as each person is different and each has a different situation. However, commonly the Acne Vulgaris will disappears by the end of the teenage years.
Another cause of acne vulgaris is an excess of a substance called sebum. The sebaceous glands secrete this substance which is oily in nature and composed largely of debris and fats. As the cells in the glands burst, sebum is the result causing what appears as oily skin. Sebum excess results in greasy hair as well as being found in earwax. It is thought that hormone fluctuations are a leading cause of sebum production, so again with youth and hormone changes, there is the abundant production of sebum which again leads to Acne. Certain hormones including the same androgen hormones that start in puberty, as well as insulin-growth factor hormones, also play a role in acne and it is quite commonly found that people with poor insulin regulation will have frequest breakouts of Acne.
The connection between acne and stress is well known. The reguslar use of anabolic steroids can also increase the presence of acne vulgaris. A major misconceptions is that certain people will get acne vulgaris because they don’t wash and are unhygienic. In fact the truth is that acne vulgaris has nothing to do with hygiene or how clean someone is. Blackheads may seem as though they contain dirt, but they are actually caused by skin secretions. Keeping skin clean by washing regularly will reduce the number of pimples, but others will have excessive acne vulgaris regardless of how much they scrub and wash themselves. Indeed, excessive cleaning can irritate the skin and lead to even more pimples.
Chloride compounds can also cause chlorAcne. Excluded as specific causes of Acne are diet (except where foods cause an allergic reaction or have other ingredients which do cause acne), sex (despite beliefs to the contrary) and dirt.
Acne vulgaris can be treated with sulphur, benzoyl peroxide, antibiotics and indeed hundreds of over-the-counter medications available from a Pharmacy. Treatment will often only work for a limited period of time, however, in most case the swithcing of treatements after 12 weeks can help in severe cases.
