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The Fiction And Facts Surrounding Acne
There is a great deal of information distributed about acne and its causes and that information is a mixture of both fiction and fact. Thus, let us take a look at some of the things that are being circulated and see if we can divide the fiction from the fact.
Diet
First of all there is no direct connection between eating things like chocolate or greasy hamburgers or drinking too many soft drinks and developing acne spots. It is true however that diet plays a role in all the body's systems and thus it does have a small role to play in whether getting acne is more or less likely.
For instance, greasy foods do not directly translate into rising oil production from the sebaceous glands which contributes to acne, but foods that do increase oil production would have an effect. However, iodized salt is the only food substance which has been shown to have any real effect and it just exacerbates existing acne and does not cause it.
Cleanliness
The odds of getting a spot rise when a pore gets blocked and bacteria are trapped inside. What this means is that hygiene habits which tend to close the pores can play a role. However this effect is only small and the dead skin cells and bacteria which get trapped and are unable to make their way out of the pore to the surface are only influenced to a small degree by insufficient regular face washing.
Nevertheless, once acne arrives good skin care is particularly important and mild cleansing two times each day with soap and water helps in treating acne and encouraging healthy skin in general. Good hygiene is a good idea for many reasons but it is most helpful in treating acne because it provides a good surface for medications to work most effectively.
Acne spots are greatly influenced by excess skin oil (sebum) production that is triggered principally by hormones and harsh cleansers applied roughly do not only clear away any excess oil but also affects the the ability of the skin to handle it.
Stress
As stress tends to weaken the body's immune system and impact its hormone levels it may be thought that stress should play a role in the onset of acne. However, there is no evidence that stress produces acne, but there is some evidence to suggest that it might play a small role once acne has developed.
One of the problems with assessing the role of stress is that people who suffer from chronic stress also also suffer from additional health problems that complicate the picture. Do not forget also that here we are talking about clinical stress and not simply the worries which we all have as part of the trials and tribulations of day to day life.
Medications
A lot of people are tempted to raise the dosage of over-the-counter medications in the belief that if a little can do a little bit of good then a lot of medicine will do a lot of good. Regrettably, this is not the case and it both wastes medication and could actually damage the skin. Always stick to the instructions on any acne medication and if an over-the-counter medication does not show signs of working within a reasonable period of time then you should consult your dermatologist.
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