subject: What is Acne and how it is caused ? [print this page] Acne is one of the commonest kind of disorder of skin. If we see the statistics we will find that more then 10% of people in the age of 25-44 have acne and in the age group of 12-25 this goes to 85%.
If you don't take proper care it could get infected and you might get permanent scars and pockmarks on your face.
Acne a skin disease
In medical terms acne is called "seborrhea". Acne happens when your sebaceous gland, which is under your skin, gets infected with oily toxins containing dirt, dead skin, excess sebum oil, acid waste, bacteria and toxic matter.
It is normal for the sebaceous gland to secrete oil. It keeps your skin surface moist and lubricated, which helps in protecting against the environment.
When the face pores get plugged the oil is not able to get out of your body. This causes it to come out in the form of pimple, which starts growing as more and more oil gets accumulated.
It gets serious when the walls of your pore burst. This releases WBC(white blood cells).Which moves to the surface to digest collagen that is around the pore. It creates permanent scars on your face. The best way to avoid scars is to start taking precautions before getting acne or as soon as you observe any hints of a pimple.
Types of Acne
Whitehead: whiteheads are formed when the bacteria and sebum remain below the surface of the skin.
Blackhead: blackheads are formed when the bacteria and sebum come to the surface and turn black due to melanin.
Papule: it is a skin elevation shaped like a dome. It contains pus which is a mix of WBC(white blood cells),dead skin and the bacteria. It normally has a hair in the middle.
Macule : when a acne gets healed it leaves a temporary red spot which is called macule. It is pinkish in color and has proper borders. This can stay from a few days to a couple of weeks. A bunch of macule on the face make the face look inflamed.
Nodule : a nodule can be irregular or dome shaped. Its main characteristics are pain, inflammation, irritation and the fact that it extends itself to the deeper layers of your skin. It can destroy your tissues, which can cause permanent scars.
Cyst: it is shaped like of a sac, which contains bacteria, WBC and dead skin cells. This could be heavily inflamed and often very painful. This also goes deep in your skin surface and can cause permanent scars.
