Excoriated Acne – If you pick at it, it WILL get worse.
When your mother used to tell you that picking at a cut would make it worse, she wasn’t kidding. If you are still doing it to this day, however, then the chances are that you have a compulsive skin picking disorder – apparently not that uncommon in this day and age. But picking at a healed cut or spot is a big mistake. It can lead to a small scab becoming a large wound, and can very easily result in infection. The unsightly blemish that results is known as excoriated acne.
“Excoriate” means to strip the hide or skin off something. It is a word that is used figuratively as much as anything, often being used to explain the severe telling off that an unruly child might get from a parent. But it does have a literal application, and the obsessive habit of picking at our skin is an example of how excoriation is a genuine problem. Anyone can develop excoriated acne, but it is more common among women.
Excoriated acne is the result of a desire to pick, squeeze, or scratch at blemishes, even creating new blemishes in some cases. This leads to open sores which, when they scab over, are prime for picking again. It can be a very hard habit to break, sometimes only stopping when the skin ceases scabbing. At this point, what you are left with is open red sores and inflammation. This is excoriated acne, and can be very unsightly and also potentially very unhealthy.
Adult Acne – Why Suffer in Shame and Silence?
Acne may be viewed as the curse of the teenager, with skin conditions making life a misery for up to 85% of teenagers at one time or another. What is less commonly known is that it can hit adults just as badly, with half of all adult women affected at some time in their adult life. Men are less frequently condemned to this heartbreak, with only a quarter of all adult men suffering in the same way. It goes to show, however, that leaving adolescence behind is no passport to an acne-free life. Even into their 40s and beyond, men and women can be hit by acne.
The causes of adult acne are less researched and less well known than those of adolescent acne. Stress seems to be a major cause for men, as are hormones. Hormones, too, cause breakouts for women, with the immediate pre-menstrual spell a particular minefield. Although the cliché is perhaps unwelcome, make-up also plays a part. Women should always remove their make-up at the end of the day to prevent pores becoming clogged or blocked. As should men, if they wear make-up.
To nip the problem in the bud it is important to visit your doctor and be prepared to give a lengthy explanation of what is bothering you. A doctor can help you treat the cause and the symptoms at the same time, meaning you will get acne-free and stay acne-free quicker. It wouldn’t hurt to eat a lot of fruit and vegetables in the meantime, of course, but if you must have a short cut there are plenty of chemical solutions around as well.
Should you pop a pimple?
One of the most common pieces of advice that we receive as children and adolescents is “don’t squeeze it/pick it, you’ll just make it worse!”. Frequently this is extremely good advice, as picking at a blemish is likely to spread it further and create a wider surface area of exposed skin ripe for infection. Picking should not be part of your skin care regime. However, there is a place for popping pimples or zits every once in a while, once they have “crowned” – just make sure you do it at the right time and in the right way, or expect it to come back bigger and bring friends.
After a shower or a bath is the ideal time to pop a zit, It is at this point that the skin is able to breathe and will be less affected by a small prick with a needle. Make sure the needle has been sterilised and then gently pierce the surface. Taking two pieces of tissue paper, cover your index fingers or thumbs and push firmly down on the sides. This part is most enjoyable when done in front of a mirror, as it allows you to see the popping with your own eyes. Drain as much pus as you comfortably can, and stop if you see blood.
Some spots, however ready and ripe they may look, will not pop at this stage. Whatever you do, don’t force it. It will hurt, and even if it does pop it will leave a scar. Play the waiting game, and you will be rewarded.
External symptoms of acne and how to identify them
The condition known to most of us simply as “acne” is actually an outward symptom of a largely internal condition known as Acne vulgaris. This condition is something which affects the sufferer’s skin and causes “breakouts” of outward skin problems which are occasionally inflamed, and often painful. The difficulty caused by acne is that it presents problems on two fronts. The cosmetic difficulties, shallow as it sounds, make a big difference to sufferers because they can affect an individual’s confidence and self-esteem, and the way that others look at them. Physically, it also presents problems because the breakouts can be extremely painful and itchy.
Among the outward signs of acne are papules. These can be inflamed or not, and stand out from the skin. When scratched, these papules can open, breaking the skin and often becoming infected. This causes further pain and discomfort as well as looking unsightly. There are also problems such as blackheads, which are formed from excess oils which accumulate in the duct of a sebaceous gland. Blackheads themselves can be removed using pore cleansing strips and by squeezing with the tips of the fingernails.
These and other lesions on the skin can be clear signs of acne vulgaris, and for a sufferer they create endless problems from a cosmetic and physical point of view. As much as anything else, these skin blemishes can be itchy and when they are scratched the problem multiplies. The key to remember is that prevention is far, far better than cure.
Acne scars – how to fix them
For many acne sufferers, the scars left behind by the condition pose as much problem as the papules and blackheads themselves. While papules and blackheads can, to a certain extent, be cleared by a rigorous facial cleansing regime, there is no such short cut possible when it comes to the scars. Some people have skin that is so badly marked by old acne scars that they go to the extent of saving up to pay for plastic surgery. If, however, you can get a grip on the problem before it becomes serious, then you can treat it and be over it before too long.
One step that is advised by more than a few sources is a method that is totally free of charge – drinking water. Drinking as much water as you comfortably can is a good idea anyway – it keeps you feeling vibrant and awake naturally – but in terms of skin condition it really is excellent. Dead skin cells drop off more rapidly, and the skin that grows in its place is a lot smoother and cleaner. Fruit and vegetables, and particularly citrus fruit (its juices more so than any other part) are also excellent for hydration and vitamins.
One of nature’s other gifts for the removal of acne scars is Aloe Vera. It is available in a number of compounds, including gel or juice which can both be rubbed into the skin. Aloe Vera has long been used for its kindness to skin, and its nourishing values.
Breaking the Cycle
Many acne sufferers today have the same problem as sufferers have been complaining about for years. The complaint is something along the lines of “I can get my acne to clear up for weeks at a time, but it just keeps coming back, and I have to spend more money on treating it.”. There is no big surprise in this, because the majority of acne treatments do very little to tackle the causes of the problem, concentrating instead on dealing with the symptoms. It is the equivalent of putting sticking plasters on a cut, and when the plaster is removed running a razor blade over the area. The problem will not go away, it will only clear up temporarily.
What many acne sufferers find is that they are locked into a cycle of constantly treating the same symptoms until there is outwardly nothing left to treat. They may well continue to observe a strict cleansing regime, and this will have some effect. However, as acne vulgaris is caused by problems which occur internally, the inevitable end result is that the external symptoms will eventually return. The cycle begins again and the sufferer is no further forward. Frustration adds to the existing problems of low self-esteem and social anxiety. This is clearly not a desirable state of affairs.
Instead of allowing the problems to continually reoccur, it is important that acne sufferers look at what is causing the problems in the first place. What is taking place on the skin is nothing more than a side show. Dealing with the internal causes over a period of time that may be longer than a few weeks, you can finally put the stranglehold on the symptoms that ensures they will not return.
