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Medical Care For Acne – 3 Reasons To See A Doctor
Posted on May 21, 2010
Filed Under Cystic Acne
Filed Under Cystic Acne
For both adolescents and adults, acne can be an aggravating problem. There are many variations of acne and differing degrees of severity. The physical, emotional and psychological effects can be devastating, affecting an individual ‘s confidence, self-image and self-esteem for many years. Although several of the milder types of acne respond well to over-the-counter treatment products, more severe forms require medical attention. Acne care is vitally important regardless of the type, but it is just as vital to know when a case of acne requires a dermatologist to treat it.
Three Reasons To Consult A Physician
The decision to see a physician or dermatologist about your acne should take into account several things:
1. Is your acne causing you emotional difficulties?
2. How severe your outbreaks are.
3. If your skin seems to be scarring when the lesions heal.
There are several more reasons why it may be wise to seek professional help with your acne but these three comprise most of them. Severe acne may leave permanent scars; seeking medical help early on may help to reduce the effects of scarring. The best way to prevent scarring is, of course, to prevent acne from occurring in the first place. The right skin care regimen and possible dietary changes, are needed to control acne breakouts.
Recent studies have shown that food sensitivities may contribute to the formation of acne, such as allergies to wheat, dairy and certain fruits. One such study has shown that women consuming three or more glasses of milk per day were 22% more likely to have acne breakouts than women consuming only one glass of milk per day. This may be due to the hormones present in fresh dairy products, but some dermatologists are recommending that their patients with cystic acne avoid mild products and use alternative sources of calcium intake. The type of acne and skin type plays an important role in how acne is best treated.
If you have cystic acne, also known as nodulocystic acne, it must be treated by a physician. Do not try to treat it yourself because it can cause very painful lesions and scarring of the face, neck, back and shoulders. Cystic acne resembles small bumps or tumors, blackheads may not be present with it, sometimes the lesions fill with a combination of blood and pus, cystic pimples may involve more than one pore, and they are very deep within the skin layers. This type of acne should be treated by a dermatologist as quickly as possible, in addition, some dietary changes may be needed to decrease the outbreaks of this type of acne.
Emotional distress, such as severe anxiety, depression or social reclusiveness, are also good reasons to seek professional assistance. Severe acne sufferers feel helpless to control the situation particulary for adultsdue to the notion that acne should clear up once a person becomes an adult. Acne scarring has long term effects, often affecting a person’s choice of occupation, social interactions and dress. A medical professional can help to restore a person’s self confidence as well as helping clear up the acne.
For men, sever acne can shaving difficult. Shaving irritates pimples and lesions, may irritate existing scars and lead to further outbreaks of acne. A good razor, shaving creams and other products help to reduce the irritation and inflammation of acne, but a medical professional can also prescribe creams and medications to eliminate it.
It may be a good idea to visit a dermatologist at the outset of acne, even if you aren’t sure that it is a severe form of acne. Medical advice can help in the choice of skin care products, provide assistance regarding acne care and daily routines even if prescription medications aren’t required. In severe cases of acne, a physician is indispensable to help reduce the effects, treat the cause and prevent future outbreaks.
Abhishek Agarwal
http://www.articlesbase.com/acne-articles/medical-care-for-acne-3-reasons-to-see-a-doctor-708969.html
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5 Responses to “Medical Care For Acne – 3 Reasons To See A Doctor”
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What do I do about painful cystic acne?
I’m 16 years old and I feel like I’ve tried everything possible for it. Everything works for a little while but then stops and I go back to normal.
My acne is really painful and it sometimes stays underneath the skin so it’s hard to treat and it hurts even worse.
I complain about it to my mom ALL the time.
She keeps telling me she’ll get me a doctor or derm.
The reason we’ve been putting it off is because we just moved and we haven’t gotten around to getting any medical care.
I feel like my mom is making false promises to me because I’ve been asking for medical attention for my acne for about 2-3 MONTHS now and she won’t do anything about it but try and reassure me that’ll it’ll go away.
I can’t even explain how much my acne depresses me because everyone I know has completely clear skin and I have hurricane on my face.
My self esteem is really low because of my acne and no one’s even helping me.
Store bought products don’t deal well with a good amount of acne. The only real treatment I can think of is getting some specific drugs from a dermatologist. Time may work but it might take quite a bit. The best I could offer is making sure you wash your face with a gentle product like Cetaphil often to make sure it doesn’t worsen.
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I sympathise, believe me. And it is terribly depressing. I grew up with it. So did my daughter. Antibiotics clears it up for a while but it comes back. That’s the cheap option. Eventually we tried Accutane, low dose for almost a year. It worked and it’s never come back, that’s several years ago. It is dangerous especially for girls(who get pregnant) and you have to follow the doc’s warnings to the letter. You also need regular blood tests to make sure your liver is ok. Stay out of the sun. It is not instant but they gradually go away. Tell your mom how bad you feel, depressed and in pain, if necessary throw a little tantrum, and to please please take you to the doc. I wish it had been available when I was a girl.
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Wash your face 2 times a day and your hair every day.
Choice of soap is important. Use Dove, neutrogena.
Never touch your face and avoid cosmetics esp greasy ones. Only use water based cosmetics.
Never ever ever pop, squeeze or pick at your acne.
Look for anti acne products( over the counter) that contains benzoyl peroxide, sulfer, resorcinol or salicylic acid.
Acne is a bacterial infection not unlike strep throat or ear infections. Your mother needs to take you to a Dermatologist asap. They have a ton of effective medicines but I wouldn’t recommend Accutane.
Often , oral birth control pills work well in clearing up acne.
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Ugh. I know exactly what you mean :/
The best thing that has worked for me when I get a sudden pimple is this masque you can get at walmart. It’s like $4 for a hug tube. It’s by a company called Feeling Beautiful and it’s the avocado and oatmeal masque, in a green/teal tube. It has a picture of an avocado on it. Just put a small amount on and around the pimple and by the morning it will be a lot smaller.
I had acne since I was 10 and sometimes I didn’t even want to leave the house!
Plus, I live in a hot, humid place(hawaii) so it’s even worse & makes my skin really oily xP
Anyway, the one thing that worked for me is Retin A. It takes like 2 months for results to show & have clear skin but it works! And I swear, it works. At first it peels and peels and your face feels really dry but what it does is takes off the layers of oily and acne prone skin and then your new skin is really soft. You have to ex foliate though. The best way I’ve ex foliated is by using St Ives Apricot scrub and any other gel or cream cleanser for when I don’t feel like using the scrub. Also, I don’t believe in ‘spot treatments’ that come with the all of the acne product packages. They do not work. I swear.
The Retin A can be expensive but one tube lasts you like 2 months. Read the directions and follow them. You can only get Retin A over the counter but if you have insurance it’s about $10.
Hope I helped(:
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Acne for 5 years, finally it’s gone!