Painful Acne - Acne

Painful Acne - Some Help

Acne is a skin condition that affects almost everyone at some time in their life. Hair follicles or pores are on most part of the body. Below the follicle, under the top layers of skin, each follicle has a sebaceous gland. These glands secrete an oil-like substance called sebum that helps keep the skin and hair healthy. Sometimes the body produces too much sebum in these hair follicles and they become clogged. Clogged pores can become filled with bacteria and can cause painful acne.

Acne can be mild to severe. Mild acne usually consists of only a handful of pimples. They may be whiteheads or blackheads, which are not infected. The more severe acne is the more painful it can be. Severe acne may have deep cysts that are infected. The more bacteria on your face, the more likely it is that other infections will occur.

Severe acne can be both embarrassing and painful. The bacterium that causes most acne is able to live and flourish beneath the skin in clogged pores. This can cause great irritation to the follicles under the skin. The follicle can even burst under the skin causing the infected pus to be released. This can cause irritation and pain. The skin surrounding this area will be inflamed and tender.

These red, tender lesions are also caused by an overactive response of the immune system. When the body finds the bacteria that are causing the infected areas to become deeply scarred as they heal. This is because the body's immune system has tried to fight the infection by closing it off, thus creating sunken areas of thicker skin surrounding the infected pores.

Treating severe and painful acne requires medical attention. Have a dermatologist evaluate your skin condition. Topical remedies may help to alleviate the pain somewhat but are generally not very effective at getting to the cause of the acne and stopping it from occurring. Oral antibiotic treatment is almost always necessary.

Topical antibiotic treatments are also helpful if used in conjunction with oral medications. The first course of action is to reduce the pain and inflammation of the acne. Once this is under control, the dermatologist will proceed to determine the cause of the acne and prescribe more treatments. Keep in mind that it may take weeks for certain treatments to take effect so be patient.

It may be helpful for you to keep a daily chart of your acne treatment. Write down what treatment you are using and the severity of your acne. You may need to count the amount of pimples by type, such as whiteheads, blackheads or red bumps. Continue to keep track of your progress so that you can determine if the treatment is working of not.

Hormonal changes in women may affect monthly acne. Keep track of this as well. Your doctor may recommend putting you on a birth control pill to help keep the hormone levels steady. If the acne persists he may recommend other treatment including laser therapy.