Understanding Acne Vulgaris
By Jason Rickard
There are several types of acne and all of them are not a sight to behold for some. Acne can be a real nuisance, especially if covers your face. Aside from what you know as pimples it would also be a good idea acquaint yourself with acne lesions so that you can take proper action once you they start to appear. Acne vulgaris is a certain type of pimple much like whiteheads, blackheads, papules, nodules, pustules and cysts.
Whiteheads are white bumps that start to appear on your face whenever oil, dead skin cells and bacteria are trapped in your pores. These are the ones that you would be tempted to pop. Popping a whitehead is sometimes unnecessary since they disappear quickly and have short life spans. They are also referred to as “closed comedones”.
If you see reddish and inflamed bumps, they are papules, another kind of acne vulagris. This acne has no head so you cannot just pop them out. Squeezing papules is not an option. Doing so can cause scarring and can lead to infection.
Acne that is similar to the characteristics of a whitehead is a pustule. You would notice a circular and reddish flesh that surrounds the head. The head would usually have a yellowish or whitish center. Pustules can be squeezed out, just be sure to have professionals do that for you.
A more severe case of acne vulgaris is the appearance of cysts and nodules. Nodules one acne types that is thought of as the most difficult to treat. It can take up to one to three months before it could completely disappear. These are large bumps that can lead to scarring. This kind of lesion should not be popped out at any cost because they can cause serious skin damage. If it gets infected it would take longer for it to heal.
The gruesome version of a nodule is a cyst. Aside from the reddish flesh that surrounds its head, it also contains pus. Cysts are large acne that have a diameter of around 5mm. These are the painful type of acne and can cause serious infection when squeezed out by a non-professional. At the first appearance of cysts or nodules, it would be best to consult your dermatologist so that swelling and scarring can be prevented.
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Prevent Acne: Wash Your Face Properly
By Jason Rickard
There are tons of beauty regimens that you can readily purchase from drugstores that can help you prevent acne. The long list can be really overwhelming but if there is one classic and effective way of combating acne, that would be the power of cleaning your face with water and mild cleansers.
Gentle cleansing is really important in treating and preventing acne. It can also prevent further irritation. If you can see that your face shows signs of irritation and reddening, then it could easily lead to breakouts. To make sure that you have a mild cleanser, look for words like “oil-free”, “hypoallergenic”, “dermatologically tested” or “non-comedogenic”. Some mild cleansers could also contain some medications like salicylic acid and benzoyl peroxide, which are good components in fighting acne.
There are three types of mild cleansers that you can choose from. These include wipe-off cleansers, mild soaps and water-soluble cleansers. Make-up removers and cold creams fall under the category of wipe-off cleansers. In choosing soaps as cleansers, choose those that say “mild” or “non-drying”. It is also important that your cleansing soap should contain moisturizers to lock on moisture to your skin. Water-soluble cleansers are the gentlest cleansers amongst the three types of cleansers.
It is advisable to wash your face every morning when you wake up and before you head off to sleep to wash the day’s pollution and residues off your face. Do not scrub your face with hard towels, washcloths or scrubbers. Scrubbing is unnecessary because dirt in itself is not the main cause of the acne at all. Be gentle with your skin, not fight with it. You can use your bare hands to gently massage through your face. Remember not to overdo washing, excessive washing can strip of natural oils of your skin and can dry them.
After washing, pat dry your face with a soft towel. Do not rub off the water from your face. Rubbing can cause reddening and can irritate your skin as well. When your skin dries, then you can put on any medication that is recommended by your dermatologists. Even if you were no longer actively using a treatment, cleansing you face properly would surely chase that acne away.
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The drug, manufactured by Roche is marketed as Roaccutane in Europe and Accutane in the US.
In the UK the Medical Control Agency (MCA) released figures that since the introduction of Roaccutane in 1,795 adverse reactions have been recorded on their database, of which 23 were fatal, 14 being actual suicides. More than 200 of the adverse reactions were psychiatric with 20 reports of suicidal thoughts or suicide attempts. There were 80 reports of depression and 13 reports of mood swings. In the US there are believed to have been in excess of 500 suicides, attempted suicides and suicide ideation recorded for the drug.
It is licensed in the UK for use as a drug that should only be used for severe cystic acne, a treatment of "last resort" but some 74% of UK patients prescribed Roaccutane had mild or moderate acne according to a study among UK dermatologists.
There are over 40 independent studies published in medical journals linking the ingestion of the drug to the emergence of depression, psychosis and suicidal thoughts/actions.
Accutane should only be used for severe recalcitrant cystic acne as a treatment of last resort, in accordance with the license. We believe that more than 80% of patients prescribed Accutane have mild or moderate acne, which is in violation of the license. A study published by Cunliffe (Leeds University Hospital) involving survey of several hundred dermatologists showed that 74% of patients were prescribed Accutane for mild or moderate acne.
Patients should be psychiatrically assessed before and during Roaccutane treatment (for example by using the Hamilton scale of depression questionnaire) and in the event of an adverse reaction, the patient should be immediately taken off the treatment and the adverse event should be reported to the national health authority.
