About 80% of the population between the ages of 11 to 30 experience acne at some point growing up.
If your teenagers did not get acne, they can be grateful for the perfect genetics of both parents.
It is difficult to predict how long acne will last and what course it will take. Some parents may have very mild acne, while their children experience a severe form.
Acne problems usually start after the age of 11, when the intensity of hormones increases, as well as their impact on the function of the sebaceous glands and their secretion of oil.
Even after the age of 30, as many as 20% of people have acne.
Why does acne occur?
Acne is a disease of the sebaceous glands and is always based on the formation of open or closed blackheads. By widening the canals in which the blackheads are located, the circulation is compromised and painful purulent nodules are formed.
The black colour of blackheads is caused by the oxidation of oil and not by dirt. People who have acne excrete more sebum in the sebaceous gland canals.
There are different forms of acne:
- Comedonal acne, only open and closed blackheads
- Acne vulgaris, blackheads, pustules and some nodules under the skin
- Nodulocystic acne, blackheads, pustules, many painful nodules under the skin
- Conglobate acne, blackheads, pustules, painful nodules and purulent processes that merge into purulent collections
Acne in teenagers
The importance of acne should not be overlooked in such a delicate period of life as puberty and adolescence, regardless of whether the form is mild or severe. Young people need to be liked and socially accepted, so the appearance of acne can make them insecure, even depressed.
Their need to make acne disappear very often leads to a significant worsening of this condition, so the advice of a dermatologist is needed at the earliest onset of acne.
Acne treatment
Acne treatment is different depending on the type of acne and the type of skin. For milder acne, it is based on the use of benzoyl peroxide and foams containing fruit or salicylic acids. Teenagers are very inclined to use mechanical scrubs and aggressive soaps to degrease the skin. That is counterproductive. Soap causes the skin to dry out and crack. Such dry skin cannot tolerate adequate acne therapy, and it reacts to excessive use of soap by creating more oil. Mechanical exfoliation of the skin affected by acne can significantly worsen the condition and create scars. Mechanical scrubs should be replaced with foams containing fruit acids that will remove dead cells from the skin, no more than twice a week.
For moderate acne, in addition to the aforementioned therapy, topical antibiotics and retinoid-based preparations are added.
The therapy can further dry out sensitive skin, so hydration is more than necessary. There are specially formulated preparations for hydrating acne-prone skin.
Severe forms of acne and all forms of acne that leave scars are treated by adding oral medications to the therapy. These may be antibiotics or tretinoin (Roaccutane).
Chemical peels or lasers can help in acne treatment. One should be aware of the fact that these procedures should not be the basis of treatment. They are used in addition to the main therapy and can significantly speed up the healing process and reduce the formation of scars.
When a dermatologist prescribes the therapy, improvement must be seen after 4 to 6 weeks. If this is not the case, medical advice should be sought again. Teenagers are impatient and often undisciplined. They expect the pimples to disappear in the first 7 days of therapy, which is impossible.
Face should be cleaned regularly with micellar water or mild soaps. After cleansing, it is desirable to hydrate the face, and therapy comes after these steps have been taken. Makeup is often necessary because of the need to cover the pimples. It should not be forbidden because the psychological status of a person affected by acne is very important. More stress results in worsening acne.
Facial treatments can be used to remove blackheads. When there are purulent processes on the face, it should not be squeezed. Instead, the face should be treated adequately in order to dry the process.
The appearance of scars depends on the individual reaction and partly on genetics. Severe forms will produce scars more often, but very mild acne can also result in scarring in patients with hypersensitive skin.
Scars should be treated as soon as possible, while they are still purple. The earlier anti-scar treatments are started, the greater the success. Scar treatment should be chosen carefully if there are active acne on the face. Some treatments can make them worse. Read more about laser removal of post-acne erythema on the link.
Acne and diet
It is necessary to pay attention to diet. Fast food and high sugar intake will make acne worse. These factors are not the cause but are the triggers for a more severe type of acne. Milk and dairy products contain a significant amount of hormones if consumed abundantly. People prone to acne should not drink more than 3 glasses of milk a day.
After the age of 16, sex hormones in girls should be checked in parallel with the treatment of acne. Hormonal imbalance significantly contributes to the appearance of acne.
Adolescence is a complex time in the development of every person.
The role of parents is to recognize how to help the child in the best possible way with as few conflicts as possible. In the process of acne treatment, teenagers must be supported, understood and very often controlled during this process.
