Posted on November 8, 2007 in Acne And Age
Pimples on the face of a teenager are worse than anything else to him/her. At the age when people deserve to look better, beaming with life and energy; a face full of acne becomes their despair. According to studies, about 90% of the teenagers are subject to this problem. The adolescence period gives ample opportunity for acne to make itself visible on one’s face or other parts of body.
Causes of teenage acne:
- Acne occurs due to hormonal change in girls and boys when they pass from childhood to adolescence.
- At the time of puberty, androgen in both young boys and girls causes the sebaceous glands to enlarge production primarily in the face, neck, back and chest.
- Sebaceous glands produce sebum, an oily substance, and empty it into the hair follicles. Eventually sebum reaches the surface of the skin and mixes with dead skin cells, white blood cells and bacteria to form whiteheads, blackheads, nodules and cysts.
- Sebum stimulates the lining of the follicular walls which leads to hyperkeratinization. It is a high rate of cellular activity that allows an overproduction of keratin in the hair follicle. Keratin, if excess, can lead to retention of matter in the follicle. Keratin and sebum often mixes to promote the growth of bacteria in teenagers.
- A bacteria called Propionibacterium acnes, or P. acnes is linked to the inflammation, redness and pain associated with acne breakouts.
Treatment of teenage acne:
- Treatment of acne depends on the severity of the problem. If the patient has never been treated before and is relatively young then the treatment will start with a topical therapy or antibacterial preparation.
- If topical therapy proves ineffective to the patient the doctor will go on to oral antibiotics.
- Generally the prescriptions contain antibiotic drugs, oral contraceptives, vitamin A derivatives and anti-inflammatory medications.
- Noncomedogenic cosmetics and toiletries are also used for the treatment of teenage acne.
- Teenage acne is related to the level of Testosterone. It is one of the key hormones that are present in both adolescent males and females. The imbalance of Testosterone levels in adolescence causes high level of DHT production and in turn leads to the occurrence of acne.
Benefits of teenage acne treatment:
- It helps to improve the flow and circulation of nutrients to the skin.
- It soothes and moisturizes the skin.
- It makes the skin healthy and helps it glow.
- It protects the skin against pollutants and toxins that cause teenage acne.
- It eliminates toxins, free radicals and trapped sebum from the skin.
- It rebalances the skin pH, thus making it less susceptible to infection.
Tips to prevent teenage acne:
- Do not wash your face again and again. Excessive washing will dry the skin out, which may trigger the occurrence of acne.
- A healthy diet is very necessary for adolescence to keep acne at bay.
- It is very necessary to drink a lot of water every day. Drink at least 6 to 8 glasses of water everyday to flush toxin out of your body.
Though acne is generally the despair of any and everybody, it has its positive side as well. According to some researches, teenage boys suffering from acne may have lesser chance of having coronary heart diseases in their later life than their clear skinned peers. Of course it does not mean that one should not try to prevent or get rid of acne.
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