What you Need to Know About Acne

What is Acne?

Acne is a common skin condition that affects nearly 85 percent of young people between the ages of 12 and 24. More than 40 percent of these adolescents have acne that is severe enough to require medical treatment. While adults can also develop acne, it is teenagers that make up the majority of the17 million people affected in the United States.

The condition is characterized by outbreaks of lesions better known as pimples or zits. These skin lesions include everything from whiteheads to more deeply lodged and painful cysts or nodules. All are the result of clogged pores. Acne typically develops on the face, neck, back, chest and shoulders.

Acne is rarely a serious medical condition, though in some cases it can lead to permanent scarring of the skin. It can, however, have a significant impact on a young person's outlook, attitudes and social interactions.

Fortunately, for you and your teen, we know more about skin care and the treatment of acne than ever before. Scientific research is dispelling old myths and replacing them with better-informed skin care practices. Regardless of the severity of your teen's condition, you can find an effective acne medication or therapy to help them control their acne.

What Causes Acne?

Despite the common perception, acne is not a result of poor hygiene. Acne pimples are the result of clogged pores. Three factors come together in the formation of acne:

Increased production of skin oils (sebum)

At puberty the hormone androgen prompts various physical changes including an increase in production of sebum by the sebaceous glands.

Rapid and irregular shedding of dead skin cells

Sebaceous glands reside together with a hair shaft. The excreted sebum normally travels up along the hair shaft and out through the opening of the hair follicle (pore) onto the skin's surface.

During puberty, the cells of the follicle lining tend to shed more rapidly creating a build up of dead skin cells. The accumulating skin cells and sebum stick together and form a soft plug that clogs the skin pore.

Bacteria

This mixture of oil and cells makes a perfect environment for the growth of a normal skin bacteria known as Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes).

P. acnes multiplies rapidly in the clogged hair follicle and causes the inflammation that is seen as redness and swelling. When the walls of a plugged pore break down or burst, the accumulated material, (the sebum, dead skin cells, and bacteria), spills into the nearby skin causing a breakout of lesions or pimples.