The diagnosis of acne is based on the history and physical examination, evidence of lesions characteristics of acne, and age.

Acne does not occur until puberty. The presence of the typical comedones, such as whiteheads and blackheads, along with excessively oily skin is its main characteristic.

Oiliness is more prominent in the midfacial area; other parts of the face may appear dry. When there are numerous lesions, some of which are open, the person may exude a distinct sebaceous odor.

Women may report a history of flare-ups a few days before menses. Biopsy of lesions is seldom necessary for a definitive diagnosis.

In Preventing Acne Scarring

Preventing scarring is the ultimate goal of diagnosis and therapy. The chance of scarring increases as the grade of acne increases.

For instance, Grades III and IV, normally 25 to more than 50 comedones, papules, or pustules, usually require longer-term therapy with systematic antibiotics or isotretinoin.

Patients should be warned that discontinuing these medications could exacerbate acne, could lead to more flare-ups, and increase the chance of deep scarring.

Moreover, manipulation of the comedones, papules, and pustules increases the potential for scarring.

When acne surgery is prescribed to extract deep-seated comedones or inflamed lesions or to incise and drain cystic lesions, the intervention itself may result in further scarring.

Dermabrasion, which levels existing scar tissue, can also increase scar formation. Hyperpigmentation or hypopigmentation also may affect the tissue involved. The patient should be informed of these potential outcomes before choosing surgical intervention for acne.

Preventing Infection

The key to acne scar prevention is preventing infection.

Female patients receiving long-term antibiotic therapy with tetracycline should be advised to watch for and report signs and symptoms of oral or vaginal candidiasis, a yeast-like fungal infection.

In addition to receiving instructions for taking prescribed medications, patients are instructed to wash the face and other affected areas with mild soap and water twice each day to remove surface oils and prevent obstruction of the oil glands. They are cautioned to avoid scrubbing the face. After all, acne is not caused by dirt and cannot be washed away.

Mild abrasive soaps and drying agents are prescribed to eliminate the oily feeling that troubles many patients. At the same time, patients are cautioned to avoid excessive abrasion because it makes acne worse.

Excessive abrasion causes minute scratches on the skin surface and increases possible bacterial contamination and infection. Soap itself can irritate the skin.

All forms of friction and trauma are avoided, including propping the hands against the face, rubbing the face, and wearing tight collars and helmets.

Patients are instructed to avoid manipulation of pimples or blackheads. Squeezing merely worsens the problem, because a portion of the blackhead is pushed down into the skin, which may cause the follicle to rupture.

Because cosmetics, shaving creams, and lotions can aggravate acne, these substances are best avoided unless the patient is advised otherwise.

Failure of the acne to heal may result from many factors, including infection and inadequate nutrition. Hence, it is extremely important for the nurse and other health practitioners to take care of patients with acne. Their responsibility will consist mainly of monitoring and managing potential complications of skin treatments.

Major activities in preventing acne scar include patient education, particularly in proper skin care techniques, and managing potential problems related to the skin disorder or therapy.

All of these things are boiled down to the fact that the most important means of preventing acne scar is to prevent infection.

In general, learning how to care for your skin, even if it is bombarded with lots of comedones or pimples, is still the best way to avoid acne scar.

About the Author: For All the things you need to know about acne, please go to: http://www.all-acne.com/ or go to: Acne Blog

Desperate situations need desperate remedies! Such is the call of situation when you receive severe acne on your face, neck or bottom.

But then, to treat severe acne you need to learn various basic and medical aspects of this problem.

The initial symptoms for all the three types of acne that is mild, moderate and severe acne including blackheads, whiteheads, under skin cysts and pimples, are all the same. The question is how long these unwanted and uninvited guests stay on with you. That too on the prominent part of your face!

Sometimes they may stay on for months, and cause lots of anxieties, besides expenses on treatment! And when they leave, they leave the scars on your face. Many of these scars are permanent and difficult to remove! So, your psychological suffering may continue for months together. Or say, until the scars disappear!

So, the main problem is how to carry on with the damage control exercise, in case of severe attack of acne? The emphasis is on cleanliness. Dirt and oil are the enemies of the skin at this stage. Wash the face two times a day, with a cleanser and hydrogen peroxide. Toxic materials must not find a repository in the skin cells. The causes of your acne may lie elsewhere, but this is one of the most important preliminary steps to control the severity of acne.

Next, your eating habits require a review. Drink lots of water. Your body deserves a thorough flush out at this stage. The chances of infection must be met resolutely. Along with the medication, your consultation with the dermatologist needs to be on a regular basis.

The severe cases of acne require oral antibiotics. Tetracycline and erythromycin are recommended in such cases. Even the best of medications may not give immediate results in the case of severe acne. It may take some months before the severity of acne is brought under control. One vitamin A related drug Isotretinoin has shown the results in this case. For women, hormonal therapies are also used to cure such acne. In most severe cases, Corticosteriod, a strong anti-inflammatory substance is prescribed by the doctors.

Though, the medication may vary from individual to individual. It depends upon so many variable factors such as age of the individual, the skin type etc apart from fixed factors.

Wrong diet and stress are the contributing factors for increase in the severity of acne. But they are not the be-all and the end-all of the problem. But remember, foods that are unfriendly to the healthy growth of your skin, are friendly to the growth of acne.

Another form of treatment for severe acne is laser therapy. So far the Bluelight Therapy meets with the approval of Federal Drug Administration for treating acne. The treatment demands its time. It lasts for 8 sessions, each one lasting for 15 minutes.

About the Author: http://www.acnetalks.com/pimple/ & Severe Acne provides detailed information on acne treatment, pimples, acne skin care, severe acne and more.

Everyone would love to have a fair and clear complexion, especially in the facial area. No one would want to see a zit appearing anywhere on his or her body. Because it is such a dreaded thing, there are several myths about acne that sprout here and there. Most of these myths are creating confusion and most of them are nothing but misinformation. To keep track on how to properly prevent acne, here are the truths behind acne myths.

Chocolate can cause acne
Food high in sugar may not be always good for the body but eating chocolate alone cannot cause acne. There are no medical studies to prove such a claim. It is important to note that each individual would have a different reaction to certain foods. You may notice that after eating a bar of chocolate, zits start to appear. Some may have the same reaction to salty foods. If this the case, then you can stay clear of foods that you observe to bring you acne.

Washing your face often would prevent acne for good
Washing your face regularly would definitely help remove oil and dirt from your skin. Although oil and dirt can be factors why acne breeds, they are not the only cause of acne. Hormonal effects on one’s sebaceous glands basically cause acne breakouts. Remember that washing your face too much can lead to dryness and skin irritation, which can lead to further breakouts. It is safe to wash your face twice a day with a mild soft or a gentle cleanser.

Stress causes acne
Acne is not related to emotional stress in any case. If you are taking in medication to help you cope with stress, then these drugs can possibly have side effects causing acne breakouts.

Don’t ever use make-up if you want to achieve a perfect skin
There may be an exemption to this. There are several cosmetics that you can purchase that wouldn’t induce breakouts. Look for the terms “nonacnegenic” or “noncomedogenic” in the manufacturing labels of the cosmetics you buy. These should be safe to use. Some concealers now come with benzoyl peroxide, which can effectively prevent pimples.

The Author: Jason Rickard is the owner of Your Favourite Shop - Offering White Noise and Relaxation CDs - Visit Hapa Health Information for more articles.