What is Adult acne?

Adult Acne is a widely used term for whiteheads and blackheads plugged pores, deeper lumps and even pimples, which mostly occur in the chest, neck, back, upper arms and even on face.

Adult Acne also affects teenagers and young people to some extent. Nevertheless, adult acne is not confined to any specific age group; any one can get adult acne from the age of 15 to 40. It is not a life threatening problem but adults can be disfiguring and upsetting. When severe, adult acne can tend to permanent and serious scarring.

Types of Adult Acne

Normally there are 4 types of adult acne:
1) Comedo.
2) Pustule.
3) Nodule.
4) Cyst.

Causes of Adult Acne:

Adult acne is a condition of sebaceous glands. Sebaceous glands are very close to hair follicles, which produce and secrete sebum (an oily substance.) An adult acne lesion occurs when a hair follicle is plugged with dead cells and sebum.

The most important disease-causing (pathogenic) events in sebaceous glands are believed to be changes in the levels of androgenic hormones in the body. This pathogenic factor mostly occurs during the growth period of individual between the age of 13 to 20.

Thats why adult acne mostly occurs at the onset of adulthood.If you are over 40 and still suffering from adult acne, then the two most probable causes of your adult acne are:

1) Recurrence of adult acne that disappeared after adolescence.

2) Flare-up of adult acne after a period of relative quietnessfor instance, during pregnancy. If you are having acne for the first time then you should visit a dermatologist.

Some causes of adult acne are:

1) Medications. Some medications, which might be the cause of adult acne, include anabolic steroids, anti-epileptics drugs and anti-tuberculosis drugs.
2) Chronic physical pressure on the skin. Acne mechanica is also one of the most important causes of adult acne.
3) Chlorinated industrial chemicals can also be counted as one of the important causes of adult acne.
4) Changes in the hormonal balance also cause adult acne.

Adult acne treatment: Adult acne treatment depends on the scarring of your skin and the degree of adult acne that has spread in your body. Adult acne treatment needs commitment from both doctors and patients.

Adult acne treatments have the following actions:
1) Keratolytic reduce the blockage in the duct of the sebaceous gland and hair allowing the sebum to flow more freely out of the gland.

2) Anti- inflammatory treatments reduce the degree of inflammation.

3) Sebum reducers just reduce the production of sebum thus reducing acne.

4) Antibacterial treatments can be taken by mouth or applied tropically on the skin. Adult acne treatment reduces the amount of bacteria and inhibits the production of chemical, which can cause inflammation.

If you are affected with adult acne then you should include the following in your daily diet along with these recommended vitamins and minerals:
Include vitamin A rich foods like carrot, liver, sweet potatoes, mangoes, spinach, and cantaloupe because it reduces production of serum and keratin.
You should take Vitamin E in your diet because it helps to play a critical role in protecting skin from bacteria.
Take herbal tonics for the betterment of skin.