Pesky pimples
What causes acne and how you can treat it by Nicole Korman
Since the sixth grade, I have rolled out of bed thinking the same thing; today is the day I am going to look in the mirror and it will all be gone. The inflamed mountains bursting with white blood cells will have receded into my face. But every day I see the same thing. As one zit begins to disappear, another one pops up to replace it.
Statistics from curesearch.com estimates that 17 million Americans ages 12 to 24 will experience acne at some point in their life. For some, the days of experiencing acne ended in middle school while others will continue fighting acne late in life. This fact makes acne the most common type of skin disease.
For men and women, acne carries a social stigma similar to obesity. It can make you feel uncomfortable and impede your self-esteem.
Jessica Wicks, Bakersfield, Calif,
senior, remembers when she was
13 and got her first zit. It made
her face红 as it stood out on her
fair skin. At first she thought it was
cool because she was becoming
a teenager, but that image slowly
faded as one zit grew into many.
"I felt like I could never be the
perfect girl in school. I always felt
ugly and sometimes I would avoid
the people whose opinion I cared
about," she says.
THE CAUSE
My dermatologist kept telling me that I would grow out of my acne after I was done with puberty and that my acne was just a phase
that takes time to clear up. But after puberty ended, my acne did not. I am now a college student that still deals with pimples. Dr. Heather Woolery-Lloyd, professor at Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami, says that acne is a skin disease with no exact known cause or cure, and it's unknown why some people have it worse than others. It does not matter the color or type of skin you have; anyone can get it at any time. For women, increased hormones around the menstrual cycle can cause acne to flare up. As for men, their acne tends to calm down as their hormones settle down. Overall, acne stems from genetics and hormones. Look at your parents, aunts and uncles; if they had acne, you will most likely have it, too. Wicks said that her dad suffered from it as he grew up, and even as an adult had some breakouts.
Acne is a condition of the sebaceous gland. Androgens, the male sex hormone that is produced when both men and women go through puberty, causes extra oil to form, making the gland sticky. However, other hormonal changes like changing birth control and things like stress, pressure around your hairline from wearing hats and washing your face too much can cause acne to form.
Bacteria feed on the extra oil underneath the skin waiting to make its appearance on the surface. Oil, bacteria and dead skin cells that should normally drain to the surface clog hair follicles, causing bacteria and pressure to form beneath the skin. As the bacteria continue to multiply, the
pressure inside increases.The body sends white blood cells to fight off the bacteria, causing redness and white pus to form.In the end, a distinguished red inflamed zit forms.
Unfortunately, we are partly to blame for acne in these areas. Fields says that when students study, they have a habit of picking at their head or back. And the more you prod at the affected areas, the bigger the acne gets.
Bottom line: touching your face, back, chest or scalp can aggravate acne and make it worse. And if you want to pick, Fields says it is okay to pop a pimple as long as it is a white head.
TREATMENTS
with moderate to mild acne, but mine was severe.
I have taken almost every oral medication, used numerous topical creams and countless over-the-counter products. I have taken tetracycline, erythromycin and any other word ending in "cline" or "cin." I have used Differin gel, Tazorac and BenzaClin. I have even tried Proactiv. The process was the same every time: extreme dry skin, clear skin for a week then back to more acne. Most of these medications will work for people
Zits can form anywhere on the body where there are sebaceous glands that produce oil, and are given various titles;bache,chestne,buttne and scalpne. Kathy Fields,M.D., dermatologist and co-creator of Proactiv, says that hair shares the same follicle as the sebaceous gland, causing the areas with hair to break out more.
Treating acne can be expensive, but the outcome is worth the money. Fields says that studies have shown that people with acne go on fewer dates because they become a victim of their skin. But with the advancements that dermatologists have made, preventing acne can be as easy as long as you stick to a routine.
Acnemagazine.com says that at one point, sun lamps were the only option for treating acne. People would sit under a lamp that emitted UVA and UVB rays for ten to thirty minutes. Fields says that small amounts of sun can help acne, but over time rays from the sun can increase the clogging of pores. Today, the sun lamps are rare. Instead, there are over-thecounter products that can prevent zits. Any product that contains 2.5 percent Benzoyl peroxide works the best when paired with an oil-free acne wash that contains salicylic acid.
For more severe acne, Fields says that taking antibiotics can help with inflammation but for the most part, antibiotics will not stop acne. She says over-the-counter products work just as well and if needed, a dermatologist can prescribe a topical gel that contains higher amounts of Benzoyl peroxide.
But be careful. Wicks says she has tried a variety of medications but had to quit the majority because of allergic reactions. She says that some of the antibiotics caused stomach pain and the prescriptions she could take didn't work.
David Burchfield, Shawnee junior, had a similar experience while taking tetracycline. Although it cleared up his acne, he developed stomach ulcers from taking the medication.
He says he started getting acne when he was 12 and it never bothered him unless he had a crush on a girl. Then, sophomore year of high school he began taking tetracycline. "It worked pretty well until I had an upset stomach all the time and an acidic taste in my mouth," he says.
He believes the reason he had a reaction was because the medicine had stringent guidelines on when to take it, like with a meal, and he didn't always follow them.
For fast relief, Fields suggests using toothpaste, Preparation H or cortisone to shrink the inflammation and help with the redness. Ice and aspirin can also help with the swelling.
As a last resort I turned to Accutane. A drug that contains high levels of vitamin A. For four-months, the recommend amount of time to take Accutane, I suffered through dry crusty skin that coiled and flaked off my face. I had bloody noses that would last for about
My face is lined with little red zits around the perimeter of my face. Each one is raised and
DAY 1
For 10 days I used only the three products that Dan Kern suggests: Purpose daily face wash, Neutrogena on the spot acne treatment and Cetaphal daily face moisturizer. What I found out is that for the money I have spent on prescriptions, using over-the-counter products cleared my skin without excessive drying or peeling. Although, no matter what I do I still experience the occasional pimple.
MY EXPERIENCE WITH DAN KERN'S REGIMEN
I wake up this morning with a second chin starring back to me. The red mound protruded from my face. So, as usual I went to the bathroom and washed my face. Then I proceeded to paste on the spot treatment and moisturize. I attempted to cover up my extra chin but was too tired to care. After serving greasy burritos the night before, my face felt like a Slip n' Slide. As I washed my face again, I could feel the oil sliding off of my face. Then I applied treatment for the second time, still hoping for it to get better.
agitated because I was picking at them when I woke up, I completed the three-step process of washing, treating my whole face and then moisturizing. The Neutrogena treatment feels thick, leaving my face stiff. As I was looking across campus on my walk home, I could not help but to stare at people's faces to see if they had acne, too. The majority of the faces I saw were clear. But, I know there are others out there like me, and throughout the entire day I kept looking in the mirror hoping to see a difference. But, I knew that in order for the zits to clear, it was going to take time.
DAY 2
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I am surprised to see that in one day my second chin is slowly disappearing into the rest of my face. This is a good sign; my acne is clearing up faster than expected.
I have spruced a new sit along my jaw line. It is an underground one the hurts when touched. As I look in the mirror, all I can do is wonder if this is how it is going to be for the rest of my life, and I wonder why my skin isn't clear like everyone else's.
DAY 3
DAY 4
I am beginning to see a difference; the one on my chin is almost completely gone. Despite a sporadic few, my face is becoming clear. I am surprised to see such
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06➤ JAYPLAY 08.16.2007