What is Acne?

Acne is a human skin disease that manifests itself commonly as red skin rashes although it sometimes appears as whiteheads and blackheads, pimples of various sizes and also by scaring. Acne is one of the most common infections of the skins and usually affects teenagers. However, it may also occur in adults and children although this is not as common as in people who are undergoing puberty. This is so mainly because it is usually associated with the rapid changes that their bodies undergo at this period. This rapid growth is usually associated with the increase of the growth hormone, testosterone, which is usually associated with acne.

A person having acne may experience excruciating pain or sometimes no pain at all depending on the individual's resistance and the type of infection. The amount of inflammation felt by the person will however largely depend on how severe the infection is and thus a reason why it is advisable to seek medication as soon as possible. Many people get rid of acne naturally when they move away from the age of puberty. However, this is not always the case as some people usually have the infection way into adulthood. There is actually no way to tell how long the acne would last.

The disease does not infect all areas of a person's body as it is common in areas with the largest concentration of sebaceous follicles, which are basically fatty tissues under the skin. This is so mainly because the real cause of acne has to do with the changes occurring in the pilosebaceous units of the skin. Areas with a large concentration of these follicles include the upper part of one's chest, the back and the face. Contrary to what is commonly believed, the disease is not caused as a result of untidiness and in fact, continuous rough scrubbing may actually worsen the disease. Studies have associated acne with diet, hormones, vitamin deficiency and more. Also studies carried out by various institutes have come to the conclusion that stress is one of the factors that can cause acne. Stress could make adrenal gland produce more androgens and this may result in more acne, particularly in women which their adrenal glands make higher amount of androgens compared to men, and that's perhaps why stress has a greater influence on women's acne than men's.

Although acne may be painful, the main damage it causes is the effect it has on a person's self-esteem. Most people with acne tend to believe that they are not beautiful and therefore think of themselves as lesser beings. They therefore end up looking down upon themselves and this affects how they relate to other people in the society. They tend to be more self-conscious which makes relating to them a little bit harder. This is made worse by the fact that it usually occurs during adolescence: a stage where most people begin self-awareness. There have even been some extreme cases where persons have committed suicide and with some suffering from depression as a result of acne. For this reason, it is usually advisable for one to seek early treatment or remedy of the disease.