Acne - An Overview

Acnes or pimples as they are most commonly known, are spots that appear on the face, neck, chest, back & other areas of the body.

These are caused when the pores of the skin get blocked. The big question that comes to ones mind is why do these pores get blocked and what can be done to prevent them from appearing as these can be an ugly sight on ones face. The details given down tries and answer these questions.

Types of Acne Conditions

Acnes or pimples are a condition of the skin which comes in two categories there are blackheads and white heads.

This usually happens when the pores on the skin collapse on themselves and block the escape root of sebum. Sebum is the oily secretion of the sebaceous glands; with perspiration it moistens and protects the skin.

Nobody knows why this happens but it is a condition that happens to most people. The cause of this is suspected to because of hormones, diet, evolutionary biology, vitamin deficiency, stress, and more. To understand this condition we will have to take a look at what happens below the skin to see what actually happens.

Normally people think that the pores are on the skin where the hairs grow, but this perception is wrong.

On the surface hair is grown, then comes the skin, below the skin are the sebaceous glands which are attached to the strand of hair which excrete the oil which helps to protect the skin. The pores which are also known as follicle are located near these glands under the skin.

These are found all over the body except for places like the lips, palms and the upper part of the feet. The places where there are found most is the face, chest and the upper neck. These naturally become the areas to be infected with acne.

When males reach the age of puberty the hormones in the body cause the sebaceous glands to excrete extra sebum. Since there is extra sebum that is excreted and if it gets mixed with dead cells it would form a kind of acne, comedones; these are more commonly known as white heads and black heads.

Below the strands of hair reside bacteria which are known as Proprionibacterium acnes. This is a big word but the important thing to known is this is a bacteria and its usual feast is sebum oil. Once these start to infest their create infections which usually turn out to be pimples.

Tips to Prevent Acne

Acne is not restricted to the face only. Acnes could sprout on your back or on areas that are lower than your neck. There are various remedies and preventions that you can apply to yourself to keep away from Acnes.

Drink a lot of water; stop the intake of fizzy drinks. It is normally required to take in 8 glasses of water or the equivalent of two liters in a day. This helps the skin in keeping itself hydrated and dead skin cells are shed off easily. If this is not maintained it could be the result of blocked pores and blemishes.

The diet of one should also be kept in control although there is no definite possibility of a link between the two. However, research has shown that refined carbohydrates and sugar which have shown to be responsible for acnes too. Eating of fresh fruits, vegetables would be a good idea. If you feel hungry in between meals nuts and seeds wouldn’t be a bad idea.

Vitamins supplements are advised if you have Acnes on your body. The food that we eat may not have the correct supplements to keep the skin healthy and alive.

Although stress is not the root of the problem it can certainly magnify the problem. Stress in the body causes a hormone to be released in the body known as cortisol which aggravates acnes. Learn to control it if you suffer from stress, if you don’t learn the symptoms and signs of reducing stress. You must learn to prevent acne not only treat it.

In line with this you should avoid caffeine, tea, hot chocolates and energy drinks as the consumption of these beverages increases the level of stress in the body which eventually leads to acne.