Acne is one of the common conditions that teenagers and even adults face nowadays. Do we blame pollution, food and even environment as the cause of acne? Modern science has improved dramatically to help us battle acne and might also discover truth of these myths.
Hygiene is considered as one of the most important aspects to ensure good health. One of the myths says ‘Poor hygiene causes acne’ which has been accepted widely in the society. However, it is not the main reason for the outbreak of acne which is due to ‘sebum’ and dead cells that are hidden under the skin and it is hard to cleanse. To minimize the outbreak, a gentle wash can be done easily on a daily basis.
What kind of food that will cause acne? As we believe, chocolate, junk food and greasy food can cause acne. How true is this? Some scientific research had been done to verify this myth in which the data from the experiment is not solid enough to prove this myth is true. However, iodine can cause acne outbreak and it is mostly found in seafood that we love to eat. Good health is the basic to reduce acne outbreak; thus, lessen the intake of the food mentioned above to ensure an acne free face.
Generally, medicine nowadays can either help or worsen the problem of acne. Many people think that applying more topical medication can cause acne to become worse. This myth is not true and people should not believe it but continue the medication prescribed. In some cases, acne ointments will cause inflammation of the skin. Professional consultation is needed in order to quantify the amount of medication to be taken.
We often hear that acne is common among teenagers but how about people in their 30’s? Acne can strike anyone at any age. But, acne usually clears up when a person reaches early stage of their 20’s. However, some may also have acne outbreak in their 30’s which is not common.
As we know, acne can be seen clearly through someone’s physical appearance but does the damage stops there? Patients of acne will tell you otherwise, acne can cause emotional stress which can last for a long time. It can also cause emotional outbreak such as low self esteem, self centered, seclusion from community and depression.
Some of the myths are carried down from generation to generation and some are created just for the sake of comfort and beliefs. Therefore, it is always a good idea to seek professional consultation for an effective acne treatment instead of believing the myths that could have make things even worse.
As we know, there are many types of acne and one of them that are less visible is back acne. Its more likely to feel it than to see it. This kind of acne is not common among acne patients but it is quite the same as acne on our face. Thousands of oil glands are busy over producing oils to ensure your skin is smooth. Tight fitting clothes and fabric that do not allow the skin to breath is the two main reason of back acne popping out. Sometimes, wearing backpack can be one of the causes of back acne but it’s not serious as the reason mentioned above.
The skin of our body contains oil glands which also are evenly spread out throughout our body. Thus, the oil that are overproduced by the oil glands will get trapped. When it is trapped, it gets clogged which combined with dead skin cells and a little help from bacteria, acne is formed. It will soon inflame the tissue around infected area in which it is the same as common acne. Even though it is the same as acne on the face, the treatment methods are not the same.
There are treatments for back acne but it is not quite as easy as it looks. Our skin at the back is much thicker than the skin that covers other parts of the body. Due to these differences, we might need different treatment than other parts of the body.
One of the best advice is try to keep your back clean and the best way is to take bath or shower more often especially after a workout. Try to use body shower gels or soaps that contains salicylic or glycolic acid. Exfoliating your back skin can also be done when taking shower to reduce the dead skin cell which is one of the ingredient for acne outbreak.
After your shower, apply some topical products that contain benzoyl peroxide to the areas on the back which has acne outbreak. Make sure your back is dry before the application. Its best to rub the topical medication on the skin to ensure it is absorbed into the skin. It is good to make sure your hand is washed up clean before applying the medication as we don’t want any infection. Try not to apply all over your back as it is useless to do that and ask for help to apply if needed. Over application can cause dryness in the skin.
For mild cases of back acne, you might want to try natural solutions like, tea tree oil, homeopathic treatments, Chinese herbs and other cleansing herbs like milk thistle.
Even though back acne is not common but we should be aware and treat it before it gets worse. If it gets worse, do consult a dermatologist as it might turn out as not a normal kind of back acne.
We often blame that acne is caused by stress and the food that we eat. Well, it’s true in a way but do take note that improper digestion could also cause acne. This is often caused by too little hydrochloric acid in the stomach. In such conditions, the body is unable to absorb important nutrients which results in a weak immune system that cannot fight the bacteria effectively. Thus acne gets a chance to spread unhindered even if you are eating proper food and taking enough nutrients in your diet.
Our stomach digests by using acid to break down the food into smaller particles so it can be easily absorbed by our intestines. The acid produced is hydrochloric acid (HCL) and it will break down protein, kill pathogens and microns, control absorption of B12, control absorption of nutrients, Vitamin C, created indigestion and prevents constipation. If our HCL level is low, this will contribute to acne growth. But the level of HCL can be increased by taking digestive enzyme that contains this acid.
The next part of our digestion is the pancreas which releases digesting enzymes and bicarbonate to help complete the digestion system. Bicarbonate reduces the strength of HCL from the stomach and enzymes in this part digest carbohydrates, fats and protein. When our pancreas loses its ability to produce the required enzyme, less food will be digested. Undigested food will flow to the colon and it will stay undigested, rot and produce toxic which flows to the blood. These toxic might harmful but it certainly can cause acne.
Therefore, when we have problems with our digestive system, then we will be more susceptible to getting acne. So the bottomline is, it is very important for us to maintain a healthy diet by reducing the intake of food which is hard to digest such as fried and oily food. When our digestion system is healthy, this will lead to a healthy and radiant skin free of acne.
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