ACNE, Akin to Nightmare

Come puberty and as the young and reflection conscious years make their presence, every young girl dreads to look at the mirror each day to find the presence of those horrible skin eruptions called 'Acne'. The heart, longs to see a fair and lovely reflection but out comes the cry, with a sigh...
Why does acne occur?
And why does acne have to be on the face, and not on some harmless spot, like, say...the sole?

Our body itself has the answer. It's because the oil glands in our skin are concentrated in the T-zone--the face, the neck, the chest, the back, and the shoulders.

Though the exact cause of acne is not known for sure, but some of the elements that influence its development are marked down as:

Acne is the term given to clogged pores, pimples and some deeper lumps that appear on the face, neck, chest, back, shoulders and the upper arms. Anyone, despite his or her age can become afflicted with acne.

It is the most common of all skin diseases. Some figure has it that eighty percent of all people between the ages of twelve and twenty-four have some type of acne. It is a disorder of the oil glands in the skin. Contrary to some conventional conceptions, it is a problem suffered not exclusively by teenagers. Some people are plagued their whole lives with constant outbreaks of acne.

Adult acne occurs in oily, normal, and dry skin types. Adult acne occurs due to the pores becoming clogged with debris or infected with bacteria due to the use of low grade skin care products that contain comedogenic (pore-clogging) chemicals. Some other possible factors for adult acne could be due to certain medications, job related exposure to grease, oils, or chemicals, and unusual stress.

For women, adult acne can also be due to their menstrual cycle or other hormonal changes. Acne is a hereditary disease. Most people who have it know someone in the family who also had it sometime during the adolescent years and adulthood. The acne skin is what is inherited. How acne develops

The medical explanation for these eruptions in the form of acne explains that hair follicles, or pores, in our skin are connected with oil glands called sebaceous glands. These glands produce sebum, an oily substance that lubricates our hair and skin. At the same time, dead skin cells are expelled from the pore lining while sebum is being distributed to the exterior surface of the skin.

Most of the time the glands produce the right amount of sebum and the pores are fine. But sometimes when too much sebum is produced, a pore or two may get clogged up. This plug blocks the pore, preventing the sebum or dead skin cells from leaving the pore. The situation could further be aggravated by a build-up of bacteria that live on sebum. This leads to swelling around the pore and acne is the result. This could happen to anybody, young and old.

However, a few eruptions every now and then are not what concern us. We acne sufferers are concerned with those numerous and serious pimples that dotted our face and neck and never seem to go away. As soon as some old ones begin to subside, to our relief, more new ones pop up. The constant battles eventually turn into hopeless struggles. Stress in the form of busy lifestyle that many people lead today is a major contributor to break outs. During stressful times, the male hormone in both males and females rises, resulting in increased acne. School exams, tight deadlines, and competitive sports are responsible for many acne flare-ups. Lack of sleep too aggravates acne. Adequate rest is important in combating acne. Many people will notice that their skin looks much better in the morning and much worse at the end of a hectic day.

Let us talk about the acne flare-ups that occur with the hormonal changes in menstrual cycle in women.

Hormones act differently and as required during the monthly cycle. The male hormone in males and females is the cause of acne in both sexes. For females, an increase in hormones before the menstrual cycle, tends to make acne worse. In males, a leveling off of hormone levels in the twenties tends to slow down the acne process. When hormones enter the body during adolescence, those predisposed to acne will begin to break out.

Hormonal acne is most often influenced by androgens in the body. Androgens are hormones that stimulate the sebaceous glands and hair follicles in the skin. When the sebaceous glands are over-stimulated by androgens, for example around the time of menstruation, women, both young and old, tend to have acne flare-ups.

Previous studies have shown that the oil duct opening on the skin was smallest in days 15 to 20 of a 28-day cycle, increased in days 21 to 26, and decreased again in the two days before menstruation. On average, premenstrual acne flares were found to be the worst on day 22 of the average 28-day cycle.

Bloating, irritability, fatigue and acne outbreaks associated with menstruation are the common symptoms millions of women, experience in clockwork precision every month. For those women who believe that they alone experience an increase in acne during their monthly cycle, the latest study proves that nearly half of all women experience premenstrual flares of their acne.

Unfortunately, acne cannot be prevented if it is going to develop. It's helpful to remember that acne affects most of the people and is a normal part of maturing hormonally.

Acne almost always can be controlled with medication, although results may not be seen for weeks or months. For example, most topical medicines (treatments applied directly to the skin) work within four to eight weeks. Tretinoin may show peak results in three to six months. It can also be treated with Salicylic acid washes, Benzoyl peroxide gels, doctor prescribed antibiotics.

Ayurveda presents another school of thought on the causes and care of acne. According to Ayurveda, acne are the papules resembling the sprout on the bark of 'Shalmali ' tree, appears on the face in adolescents. Increased 'kapha and vata dosha' and 'rakta and meda dhatu ' are involved in causing this disease.

According to ayurveda improper diet is a major factor in pathogenesis of any disease and so is it is view on Acne too. Improper dietary habits may lead to acne or yavanapidika. So pathya (dietary measures) are mentioned in all the diseases to reduce the severity of the disease and also to prevent the same. (the rules, regarding the diets which are mentioned in Ayurveda, are available in details at: www.ayurvedwebline.com) In severe cases medicines such as arogyavardhini, gandhak rasayana, mahamanjishtadi kwath; avipattikar choorna and triphala guggul can be taken under medical supervision.

Disclaimer: Information presented in this article is solely for the purpose of imparting education on Ayurveda and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or mitigate any disease. If you have a medical condition, please consult a health professional.