Tracking acne’s footsteps

In its full glory, teenage acne generally looks like a mixture of blackheads and whiteheads (comedonal acne) with papules and pustules (inflammatory acne) and macules (healing lesions). Awesome! Here’s how teenage acne can look in different kids. Maybe you’ll find your type in one of the following descriptions. Initially, the main lesions may be whiteheads and blackheads. Often they start out in a nice, embarrassing, central location the nose and forehead. This part of the T-zone is where your skin tends to be most oily and, therefore, likely to develop acne.

As time goes on, you may discover a zit (also called pimples or papules; the red stuff) here and there, and an additional blackhead or whitehead now and then. There’s a good chance that they will come and go. At this point, we’re still in the “it’s no big thing” stage. This type of acne is a rite of passage that almost all of us go through. If you’re lucky, this will just pass by itself or you can help it clear up with some inexpensive over-the-counter stuff that you can buy at your local drug-store Sometimes, however, the going can get a little rougher: The whiteheads and blackheads want to hang around a lot longer and sometimes a population spurt of inflammatory papules and pustules really start making their presence felt. They can be seen in the center of the face but may also be scattered all over the place including your neck, chest, and back. If you have dark skin, you may not see all of this red stuff because your acne may look brown or even darker on your skin. Individual acne lesions heal, macules (dark red or purple spots) form and linger until the lesion heals completely. The macules may look brown or almost black in color if you are very dark-complexioned.

In some teens, especially those who have inherited a tendency to develop scarring acne, acne nodules may appear. They can get quite large, lumpy, and painful. They’re inflamed lesions that are situated deeper than ordinary papules and pustules and can, if they go untreated, leave deep or thickened scars. This is called nodular acne

Fortunately, even if acne reaches this point, dermatologists can treat it very effectively in many people with oral antibiotics and, if necessary, with an oral retinoid, known as isotretinoin, or Accutane.

Besides these strong medicines, we have many new tricks up our sleeves, such as lasers and special lights to treat your acne.

If you’re still feeling emotionally overwhelmed and possibly depressed, see
http://www.acnenaturalremedies.com
http://acnecareinfo.blogspot.com