It is a word that we’ve all heard thrown around quite a bit, but many of us couldn’t actually define it if we had to. Acne, or as it is known by its official name, acne vulgaris, is a condition that sends teens crying to their rooms and adults to head for the drugstore. It has ruined thousands of dates and millions of meetings, but what is it that actually causes acne? Let’s take a closer look.
To get to the bottom of what acne is, you have to have a working knowledge of the skin, specifically the pilosebaceous units. Your pilosebaceous units are made up of a hair follicle and a sebaceous gland. Acne is formed when your skin units become inflamed through any number of causes. There is even a form of acne that can show up through non-inflammatory means, as well. Sound confusing? It is! In some cases, doctors still don’t know what causes severe acne in some people, while others just get occasional pimples. And that’s just the beginning!
When it comes to diagnosing your own particular acne triggers, your doctor will likely be playing a guessing game. Not only is treatment for acne hit and miss, pinning down what makes your acne flair up and what makes your brother’s or your best friend’s is just as arbitrary. And what’s worse, you will likely have to go through multiple products in your local drug store to find the one that eliminates your acne the best. There really isn’t any other condition on earth that has so successfully flummoxed doctors for so long as acne has.
As it turns out, the single best medicine for your acne condition is patience. Finding and limiting your triggers takes time, and so does finding the proper treatment. Giving your parents and your doctors time to make a few mistakes along the way will not only make treating your acne easier, it will keep their blood pressure down, too.
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