Acne – A Skin Disorder That Affects Adolescents and Adults
Were your preteen or teenage days filled with worry over acne and pimples? Right before a big date, a dance, or the day you had to take a picture for your school’s yearbook, you experienced an acne outbreak and you were an emotional and mental wreck. Those are common experiences of growing up many can identify with.
Acne is a disease which affects the oil glands in your skin. Predominantly a problem on the face, neck, back, chest and shoulders in children and young adults aged 12 to 20 or so, although adults are not immune to the effects of acne. Usually just frustrating and embarrassing, severe acne can cause lifelong scarring and other health problems.
How Does Acne Develop?
You have probably noticed tiny little holes in your skin, called pores. They are connected to the oil glands which are located just under your skin. Those glands create a substance called sebum, which is very oily. At the root of your hair is a follicle, and this is how your pores connect to oil glands.
When everything is working properly, oil takes dying skin cells to the surface of the skin inside your follicles. When an excess of oil causes a follicle to clog up, bacteria multiply, and a pimple is formed. and you have developed the disease that is acne.
As mentioned earlier, acne is not a significant health threat. It can cause real damage emotionally, and lead children and teens, as well as full-grown adults, to avoid social interaction. This can cause development issues, under-performance at work and school, and lowered self-esteem. Acne is not a serious problem for physical health, but mental and emotional states of being are often affected deeply, and not in a good way.
Who Gets Acne, and Why?
It is estimated that 80% of everyone between the ages of 11 and 30 will experience some acne outbreaks, but adults in their 40s and 50s may experience them as well.
Strides made in the last few decades in science and medicine have combined to extend the average human lifespan significantly. Yet, we still have no idea what actually causes acne.
Sure, excess oil production combined with bacteria result in the pimple formation, but there is no definite explanation for what causes or triggers these outputs, or why they are more prevalent in some people and not others.
Multiple Factors Contribute to Acne
Dermatologists and other health experts believe that the massive hormonal increase in the teenage years can cause follicles to become clogged up more frequently than usual, due to an increased release of oil.
Other hormonal changes, such as those experienced during pregnancy, seem to increase the incidence of developing acne. If a woman stops or starts birth control pills the acne risk rises as well. Makeup that does not allow your pores to breathe properly might be a cause, and if your parents had problems with acne and pimples, you will probably get them to.
Prevention and Treatment is Available
The good news is that there are multiple treatment protocols for acne and pimples. This helps prevent acne from developing, stops new pimples from being created, and can help prevent scarring that often accompanies acne. Prescription and over-the-counter drugs and topical applications are the most common and successful acne treatments.