Cystic Acne – Understanding Its Causes and Treatments
You probably have suffered from acne but pray that you don’t have to suffer cystic acne. Cystic acne is one of the many kinds of acne – the most dreaded type of acne. Usually, it’s the dermatologist that gives a diagnosis of this type of acne. The dermatologist would take into consideration the patient’s age and the kind of cystic acne lesions the patient has in order to give the proper diagnosis.
Before we define Cystic acne, let us know the common types of acne:
a. Newborn acne. This is the kind of acne that is often seen in newborn babies. You’ve probably seen a baby with tiny whiteheads dotting his or her face. That is newborn acne. This is fairly common among newborn.
b. Infantile acne. This is the kind of acne that is seen in older babies. This includes forms of whiteheads and blackheads.
c. Acne Vulgaris. This is the most common type of acne that is seen in many teenagers and young adults.
d. Acne fulminans. This is the acne that appears on a person’s torso. This is the painful kind of acne because this is accompanied by pain and fevers.
e. Cystic acne or acne conglobata.
What is it?
A person suffering from cystic acne may experience agonizingly painful cysts forming on the skin’s deep pores. This type of acne usually appears on the face, chest and back. They vary in size from the tiniest painful cyst-like formations to cysts that are a few inches big. The horrid thing about this type of acne is that once the formations break out, the bacteria will spread on other pores or skin areas and will infect these pores so that they too will start to form cysts or nodules.
This type of acne often plagues men more than women. Cystic acne takes longer than the common acne to heal. They also often leave ugly pockmarks and blemishes in their wake.
The Causes
Often, you need to identify the cause of the acne in order to pinpoint exactly the type of treatment that will work with the acne. Unfortunately, the cause of cystic acne is not exactly identified. Of course, experts have pinpointed contributing factors to developing cystic acne. Experts have found out that heredity plays a crucial factor in a person’s chances of developing cystic acne later in life. Your genes are actually responsible for acne breakouts. Of course, there are other possible causes of this type of acne. This includes bacteria, excessive production of sebum and grime.
Treating Cystic Acne
If you have a stubborn case of acne and if you feel like your acne are far more painful and bigger than usual, you should definitely visit your dermatologist. Cystic acne is not easily cured by OTC drugs. Often, you’d need prescription acne medications for this type of acne.
Your dermatologist may prescribe oral medications like isotretinoin which helps in shrinking overactive oil glands. Their shrinkage then limits or minimizes the production of sebum. You may also be prescribed with tetracycline which is another form of antibiotic that is an effective treatment for acne.
Aside from oral medications, you can also consider alternative treatment for cystic acne. Actually, you need to consider other alternative acne treatment methods because oral antibiotics are not effective for long-term acne treatment. People who suffer from chronic cystic acne have discovered that oral medications will eventually stop working.
In this case, you can consider light therapy which kills acne causing bacteria upon exposure. This treatment also encourages skin regeneration so you will get clearer and smoother complexion. Of course, you need to have a good budget because light therapy treatment does not come cheap.