Acne Causes and Symptoms

The exact cause of acne is mostly unknown. Sometimes when acne in women is due to excess male hormone production, it is diagnosed by an onset of the condition in adulthood; excessive growth of hair, especially in places not usual on a female, called hirsuitism; irregular menstrual cycles; and premenstrual flare-ups of acne.

A 2001 study demonstrated that menstrual cycle does affect acne. Surprisingly, the study revealed that 53% of women over age 33 experienced a higher premenstrual acne rate than women under age 20. Many alternative practitioners assert that acne is
often related to a condition of toxicity in the intestines or liver. This may be due to the presence of bacteria such as Clostridia spp. and Yersinia enterocolitica, a low-fiber diet; a lack of friendly gut flora such as Lactobacillus spp.; an intestinal overgrowth of Candida albicans; and food allergies.

The interaction between the body’s hormones, skin protein, skin secretions, and bacteria determines the course of acne.

Several other factors have also been shown to affect acne

• Age. Teenagers are more likely than anyone to develop acne.
• Gender. Boys have more severe acne and develop it more often than girls.
• Disease. Hormonal disorders can complicate acne in girls.
• Heredity. Individuals with a family history of acne have greater susceptibility to the condition.
• Hormonal changes. Acne can flare up before menstruation, during pregnancy, and menopause.
• Diet. Although they are not the primary cause of acne, certain foods may bring on flare-ups or make the condition worse.
• Drugs. Acne can be a side effect of antibiotics, oral contraceptives, and anabolic steroids.
• Personal hygiene. Use of abrasive soaps, hard scrubbing of the face, or handling pimples will often make them worse.
• Cosmetics. Oil-based makeup and hair sprays worsen acne.
• Environment. Exposure to oils and greases, polluted air, and sweating in hot weather can all aggravate acne.
• Stress. Emotional stress may contribute to acne.
• Friction. Continual pressure or rubbing on the skin by such things as bicycle helmets, backpacks, or tight clothing, as well as hard scrubbing of the skin, can worsen acne.

The most common sites of acne are the face, chest, shoulders, and back, since these are the parts of the body where the most sebaceous follicles are found. In teenagers, acne is often found on the forehead, nose, and chin. As people get older, it tends to appear towards the outer part of the face. Adult women may have acne on their chins and around their mouths. The elderly often develop whiteheads and blackheads on the upper cheeks and skin around the eyes. Inflamed lesions may cause redness, pain, tenderness, itching, or swelling in affected areas.

Science of Acne in Layman’s Terms

Although there are many reasons behind the development of acne, there is no definitive set of things that apply to everyone affected by acne. Acne often occurs when for some reason or several reasons, a hair follicle, or pore, becomes clogged. Studies have not found a definitive reason that pores become blocked, however there are many contributing factors to consider. These factors include; genetics, hormones, dietary and vitamin deficiencies and other physical or mental stress related occurrences. Additional factors are physiological, and include looking at how your body eliminates dead skin cells. Also, the climate in which you live can also affect your entire body and not just your skin.  Hormone levels control the amount of sebum produced by the body. This is especially common in female acne patients.

Dead skin cells, mixed with sebum oil accumulate within a hair follicle. When the body fails to push the oily combination out of the pore, the mixture drys and becomes sticky, further reducing the bodies ability to eliminate the combination. When bacteria accumulate in the clogged hair follicle, the body provides white blood cells in order to fight the infection and to remove it from the skin.
After about 2 weeks from the first sign of a clogged pore, a growth on the outside of the skin, commonly called a pimple appears. The technical name is microcomedones. Microcomedones will eventually turn into comedones, and the result is a blemish.

There are four different types of acne that may appear; whiteheads, blackheads, pimples and nodules. Whiteheads occur when the sebum and bacteria become trapped under the surface of the skin and a white head actually appears on the skins surface.  Blackheads are less visible, and occur when sebum and bacteria are less trapped and are able to drain slowly from the skin’s surface. This turns black due to the coloration of your skin’s melanin or pigmentation. Smaller than whiteheads and blackheads are pimples. Boil like lesions that lie beneath the skin surface are called nodules.

Acne is generally classified as mild, moderate or severe. Mild is usually represented by occasional whiteheads or blackheads. Sometimes mild will also be represented by pimples. Moderate acne usually means more pimples and pustules located on the face. However some appear on either the back or chest or both. Severe acne usually means that many nodules develop. They are usually large and sore, and appear on the face as well as the back, chest and other parts of the body. Severe acne is the most common type to leave scars, however if not treated correctly, all forms of acne can leave scars.  If you suspect that you have nodular acne, it is important to discuss the situation and remedies with you physician as soon as possible in order to prevent further infection or worsening of the condition.

Although as we discussed earlier, females experience acne more often than males. However, males with acne are more likely to experience nodular acne than females. This is because of the hormones present in the body. Another difference between males and females with acne tends to be the areas of the body that are most affected. Females get blemishes on their faces, while males tend to break out on the chest and back.