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What is ACNE?

Everyone from the age of 10 to the age of 80 has had acne and most of them must have heard and said the word more than a few times. Acne is a very common skin condition that is found more commonly in the age group of thirteen to twenty five. Despite its widespread occurrence, there are still a lot of misconceptions about its mechanism and the methods of treatment that are applicable.

Acne usually occurs on the inside of an individual’s pores. Pores are very small microscopic openings in the skin that house very small hair inside them. There are glands called as Sebaceous glands which are connected to them and help lubricate the skin and the hair inside the pores. The lubricant is a secretion of the sebaceous glands called as Sebum.

Mechanism

Sometimes, there is too much oil secreted by the sebaceous glands and as the pore’s lining gets renewed naturally, dead cells are shed. These dead cells on combination with the extra oil secreted create plugs. As the name sounds, plugs block the pore. These blocked pores are called Comedos. The plug can either stay within the pore or come out of it. The former causes a whitehead and the latter causes a blackhead. A pimple or a pustule is formed if the walls of the pore break down. Since a lot of bacteria find the plugged pores to be an excellent breeding ground, pain, inflammation and swelling of the infected area follow suit. The bacteria can also go deeper and mix with the oil to form more painful regions called cysts. These cysts generally lead to scarring.

There are many reasons that can lead to the formation of acne. The predominant ones are:

• Heredity
• Allergies
• Side effects of few medicines
• Hormones
• Rashes caused by clothing like cap or scarf
• Rashes caused by make up
• Pollution and other environmental factors

There are a few misconceptions about the causes of acne. Like

• Diet: Many feel that acne may be produced if they go on a diet. This is incorrect, but acne is sometimes a reaction of increase in body heat. So, stay away from oily and fried stuff.
• Dirty skin: Acne is caused because of the build up of oil in the pores, although dirty skin may aggravate bacteria, it does not cause acne.
• Daily Stress