The Facts And Fiction About Acne
As is the case with many conditions there is a great deal of information out there about acne and what causes it and that information is a mix of both fact and fiction. Accordingly, let us take a look at some of those things which are being circulated and see if we can separate the fiction from the fact.
Diet
There is no direct connection between eating things like chocolate or greasy cheeseburgers or drinking too many soft drinks and developing pimples. What is true is that diet plays a role in all the body’s systems and thus it does have a minor role to play in whether getting acne is less or more likely.
For example, eating greasy foods does not directly convert into increased oil production from the sebaceous glands which adds to acne, but foods that do increase oil production would of course have an effect. However, iodized salt is the only food substance which has been demonstrated to have any appreciable effect and it simply worsens acne but does not cause it.
Cleanliness
The chances of developing a pimple rise when a pore gets plugged and bacteria get trapped inside. This means that hygiene habits which tend to close the skin’s pores can play a role. However this effect is only very small and the bacteria and dead cell skins which become trapped and cannot work their way out of the pore to the surface are influenced only to a minor degree by insufficient regular face washing.
Nevertheless, once acne arrives good skin care is particularly important and mild cleansing twice a day with soap and water can help in treating acne and encouraging healthy skin in general. Cleanliness is an excellent for several reasons but it helps most in treating acne because it provides a good surface allowing medications to work most efficiently.
Acne is strongly influenced by excess sebum (skin oil) production which is triggered principally by hormones and abrasive cleansers applied roughly do not only clear away this excess oil but also weakens the skin’s ability to handle it.
Stress
As stress tends to weaken the body’s immune system and impact its hormone levels it could be thought that stress would play a part in the onset of acne. However, there is no clear evidence to suggest that stress leads to acne, although there is some evidence to show that it could play a minor role after acne has developed.
One of the difficulties in assessing the role of stress is that people who suffer from chronic stress also also suffer from other health problems that complicate the picture. Bear in mind too that here we are talking about clinical stress and not simply the worries which we all have as part of the ups and downs of day to day living.
Medicines
A lot of individuals are tempted to raise the dosage of an over-the-counter medication in the belief that if a little can do a little good then a lot of medicine will do a lot of good. Regretably, this is not the case and it is both a waste of medicine and can actually harm the skin. Always follow the instructions on any medicine and if any medicine is not showing signs of working within two or three weeks then it is a good idea to talk to a dermatologist.
It is also worth noting that there is no such thing as the best acne medicine. Each of us is different and a medication that proves to be the best acne medication for one individual will not necessarily work for somebody else.