The Myths And Facts Surrounding Acne

There is a great deal of information out there about acne and its causes and this information tends to be a mixture of both fact and fiction. Thus, let us look at some of the things which are being circulated and see if we can work out the fact from the myth.

Diet

There is no direct connection between eating things like chocolate or greasy hamburgers or drinking excessive soft drinks and developing spots. What is true is that food plays an important role in all the body's systems and so it does have a small role to play in whether developing acne is less or more likely.

For example, greasy foods do not directly convert into rising oil production within the sebaceous glands which adds to acne, although foods which do cause a rise in oil production would have an effect. However, iodized salt is the only food substance which has been shown to have any substantial effect and it merely worsens acne and does not cause it.

Cleanliness

The chances of developing a spot rise when a pore becomes plugged and bacteria get trapped inside. What this means is that hygiene habits that work to close the skin's pores can play a role. But this effect is only minimal and the dead skin cells and bacteria which get trapped and cannot make their way out of the pore are influenced only to a small degree by insufficient regular face washing.

Nevertheless, once acne arrives good skin hygiene is especially important and mild cleansing two times a day with soap and water will help in treating acne and encouraging healthy skin in general. Cleanliness is a good idea for a number of reasons although it is most helpful in treating acne because it provides a good surface allowing medications to do their work most effectively.

Spots are greatly influenced by excess production of sebum (skin oil) which is triggered principally by hormones and harsh cleansers which are applied roughly do not merely clear away any excess oil but also weakens the skin's ability to deal with it.

Stress

As stress has a tendency to weaken the body's immune system and also influence its level of hormones it could be thought that stress would play a role in the onset of acne. However, there is no clear evidence to suggest that stress causes acne, but there is evidence to suggest that it may play a minor role after acne has developed.

One of the difficulties in assessing the role played by stress is that people who suffer from chronic stress normally also suffer from additional health problems that can complicate the picture. Bear in mind too that here we are talking about clinical stress and not simply the worries that we all experience as part of the ups and downs of day to day living.

Medication

Many people are tempted to increase the dosage of over-the-counter medications in the belief that if a little can do a little bit of good a lot of medication will do a lot of good. Regretably, this is not the case and it is both a waste of medicine and can actually harm the skin. You should always follow the instructions on any medication and if any medication is not showing signs of working within two or three weeks then you should talk to your dermatologist.

It is also worth noting that there is no such thing as the best acne medicine. Each of us is different and a medication that proves to be the best acne medication for one individual will not necessarily do the trick for someone else.