“A Handy Guide On Acne, Causes & How To Get Rid Of It”

Kashaf Gul
4 min readJan 24, 2021
Photo by Erik Lucatero on Unsplash

Acne can occur anywhere on your face, shoulders, chest or back. It is because of the presence of abundant oil glands in these areas followed by hair follicles. When these follicles are blocked, they appear as inflamed spots. There are a number of reasons that can trigger acne but a few prominent ones are discussed below.

Hormonal Changes: hormones are chemical messengers in our body that play a vital role in regulating many functions. A class of hormones known as Androgens are most active during puberty both in boys and girls. These can cause the sebaceous(oil) glands to clog and inflame leading to breakouts.

Moreover, in women, hormonal fluctuation is also at peak during menstruation or ovulation that causes acne. Hormonal acne is prominent on chin and jawline.

Diet: studies suggest that junk like chocolates and pizza donot trigger acne however too much oily food can cause acne and in some population, dairy products can also trigger it. This does not mean that you should cut down all those eggs and milk intake but consuming them in moderation.

Skin Type: One should know about one’s skin type because every individual has different skin and what works for one might not work for others hence using products that contains a lot of oil and other ingredients might cause breakouts if they ain’t intend to cater your skin type.

Stress: stress itself may not be solely responsible for acne but it can exacerbate pre existing acne.

Medications: they are not the foremost cause of acne but certain drugs for instance steroids, anti convulsant, lithium containing medicines and androgenic steroids can dry the skin ultimately irritating the normal functioning henceforth causing acne.

PCOS: Poly cystic ovarian syndrome is a disorder that involves formation of cysts in ovaries as the name suggests. Due to the cysts there is a hormonal imbalance and diverse symptoms show which includes cystic acne. In case of PCOS, directly visit your gynecologist at the earliest convenience.

ACNE TREATMENT

Treatment of acne vulgaris is aimed at resolving the root cause responsible for it. The remedies include a handful of options however following the regimen makes all the difference.

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First line therapy:

anti microbials or retinoids are considered as the first line therapy for all acne patients. The efficacy of this combination is superior to monotherapy.

Benzoyl peroxide is a popular topical antiseptic used worldwide when it comes to treating mild to moderate acne. Use gels or creams that contain 1% or 5% benzoyl peroxide at night or as prescribed by your doctor.

Accutane is used in severe cystic acne treatment thus it is not available over the counter. It can have immediate results but on the cost of severe long term side effects that are rare but cannot be denied.

Being kind to your skin: keep your face cleaned regularly and make sure to use gentle or mild products in accordance to your skin type. Donot scrub excessively. Keep your hands away from face. Since your facial skin is 5 times sensitive than the rest of the body, touching it unnecessarily can make it prone to more bacterial accumulation that can cause acne afterwards. Last but not the least, don’t ever forget to use a sunscreen even when indoors as it blocks the harmful UVA and UVB rays from reaching and penetrating your skin therefore preventing early signs of aging and protecting it from unwanted diabolical adverse effects.

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Lifestyle Modifications: where drugs are short term treatment options for curing acne, lifestyle modification alongside drug therapy can prolong the desired effects. It merely includes drinking adequate amount of water because oh c’mon we all know the miracles it does no matter how basic and mundane it sounds somehow we still don’t get enough water that helps keeps the skin and body clear. You can replace coffee with green tea because of its anti inflammatory properties, green tea aids in reducing breakouts. It can be used both orally and topically. Needless to say but avoiding too much greasy food and preferring homemade hygienic food does wonders. Also changing the bedding, pillow cases regularly help get rid of dirt that may become a causative agent of acne in future.

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Kashaf Gul
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A 22 year old medical student, channeling the inner content writer and sharing my two cents on various healthcare, medicine and several other topics.