Acne

WHAT IS ACNE?

Acne vulgaris, briefly called acne, is the medical term for childhood pimples. It occurs in 85% of people between the ages of 12 and 24.

After the teenage years, the presence of acne decreases sharply to about 5%. In women, acne is more common in adulthood than in men. It is a condition with a relatively large impact on the quality of life. Acne is a disease of the sebaceous gland. Each pore of your skin is the opening to a follicle. The follicle is made up of a hair and a sebaceous (oil) gland. The skin contains about fifteen sebaceous glands on every square centimeter. Sebum (oil), released by the oil gland, has a number of important functions, namely: preventing moisture loss from the skin, protecting against bacteria and fungi, and keeping the skin supple. Acne occurs when the pores of your skin become clocked with oil, dead skin, or bacteria.

WHAT ARE THE CAUSES?

The exact cause of acne is not yet fully known. It is clear that acne is caused by a combination of factors that can strongly influence each other. The main four factors are:

• Increased sebum production
• Follicular Hyperkeratinization (peeling of the skin)
• Presence of bacteria
• The release of substances that cause inflammation

Various factors can aggravate acne, such as hormonal processes, external mechanical and chemical factors and hereditary factors. Various medicines can also lead to acne.

HOW DO YOU RECOGNIZE ACNE?

Acne usually occurs on the face, on the back and on the chest. The hairy head, forehead, nose and chin (the T-zone) contain a lot of extra active sebaceous glands.
Acne has different forms; in addition to blackheads, razor bumps, pimples, inflammation can also occur. Besides this, there is a severity grades.
When acne is no longer actively present, residual effects may still be visible, such as acne scars, spots and hyperpigmentation.

TREATMENT OPTIONS

There is no standard acne treatment for any skin condition. When the inflammatory symptoms are in the foreground, the treatment is different than when it is mainly blackheads. The severity of the condition, the complaints, the occurrence of acne scars, but also age and gender determine which anti-acne treatment will be started.