Acne is one of the most common forms of skin disorders. It affects both men and women usually only during adolescence. However, there are some kinds of acne that are more severe than others and can cause serious damage to the skin.
If acne becomes severe, it can take a long time to heal. Some types of severe acne can also cause deep abscesses and scars after the blemishes have healed.
The main form of severe acne vulgaris is called acne conglobata. In acne conglobata, infected nodules form surrounding comedones. The nodules get more inflamed and spread deep inside the skin surface. When these nodules burst, they produce deep scars. Blackheads are very usual in this type of acne. It can form on buttocks, face, trunk, etc. The treatment of acne conglobata is usually done with isotretinoin.
Other severe kinds of acne are acne fulminans and gram-negative folliculitis. If acne quickly flares up causing inflammation, ulcers, and fever, it is known as acne fulminans. This is generally treated with steroids. Gram-negative folliculitis, on the other hand, is a severe form of folliculitis that damages the hair follicle and contaminates the pore. Isotretinoin is the treatment of choice for this type of skin problem.
Any acne condition that keeps flaring up instead of settling down can become a form of severe acne. One of the main results of severe acne can be deep acne scars as well as swelling, redness and irritation. If you suffer from any form of severe acne, you must be under the care of a doctor.
How to Treat Severe Forms of Acne
When dealing with acne skin care, the best treatment methodology is to deal with as many of the causes as possible.
Excessive Sebum Production
Excessive sebum secretion begins in adolescence due to hormonal changes. The rising levels of androgens, the major sebotrophic hormones, begin to elevate sebum secretion. However, while androgenic stimulation is crucial in the pathogenesis of acne, the common acne sufferer does not have major endocrine abnormalities. Hormonal therapy is not indicated in the early treatment of mild to moderate acne, although women who require oral contraception can be candidates for anti-androgen therapy early in the course of treatment.
Aberrant Desquamation of the Follicular Cells
In acne, keratinocytes hyperproliferate and accumulate within the sebaceous follicle. As these abnormally desquamated cells accumulate in the sebaceous follicle, they lead to microcomedo formation. The microcomedo is the beginning stage of all acne lesions and is present in 80% of acne papules but is not evident to the naked eye. However, as the already blocked follicle begins to fill with lipids, bacteria and cell fragments, the microcomedo changes to open or closed comedones (blackheads and whiteheads, respectively), both of which are non-inflammatory blemishes. If P. acnes grow, inflammatory mediators are created and inflammatory papules and pustules occur.
Bacterial Proliferation
With acne problems, the microenvironment of the follicle is conducive to the colonization of P. acnes. This leads to inflammation and the production of the visible papules and pustules with which acne patients commonly arrive to specialists.
Inflammation
Inflammation in acne occurs as a consequence of hormonal and cellular defensive reactions to the proliferation P. acnes. It has been suggested that changes in sebum secretion or composition harm infundibular keratinocytes causing the release of interleukin 1a (IL-1a). In addition, CD4 lymphocytes and neutrophils are carried to the follicle. Rupture of the follicular conduct leads to the extravasation of lipids, corneocytes and bacteria into the dermis, causing more inflammation.
Lesions caused by severe forms of acne can now be removed thanks to a biological skin care product that embodies one the best healing ingredients that Mother Nature can offer.
- Grant Ferns