Age-Specific Acne; What Kinds are There?
For the last decades, cases of acne in varying age levels
have been rising significantly. A published study known as Prevalence
of Facial Acne on Adults suggested that the current mean age
for acne patients treated these past ten years range from 20.5
to 26.5 years old.
Nowadays, acne is no longer considered as puberty-related
disease, but rather a skin disorder that at times may become
a severe skin disease. A number of infants had been noted to
be born with acne, however this typically clears up within a
few months following birth. Though this is true, it is also
noted that infants born with this skin disorder are more prone
to acquire acne later on their lives.
Interestingly, a comparison of acne occurrence between males
and females was observed. Female infants are less likely to
have infantile acne than that of males. Then, in puberty, teenage
girls have less acne than boys. In adulthood though, males have
lesser chance of becoming infected with acne than females.
Fundamentally, acne is a universal skin disorder, meaning,
there are no specific factors why people get this disease..
In a sense, urbanization is out of question. People all over
the world have equal risk of being affected with this skin disease.
Acne is categorized into two groups, the mild form that is
treated externally and the severe form, which must be addressed
by a dermatologist often requiring oral treatments by means
of antibiotics.
If acne cases are based on the severity of affection, they
can be categorized into papule, comedo, nodule, pustule, and
cyst types.
The simplest form of acne is a red lesion or swelling found
on the surface of the skin due to bacterial attack on the tissue
called comedo. Propionic bacterium or P. acnes is a bacteria
that generally lives on the skin that may cause the acne occurrence
through it’s production of certain chemicals and enzymes which
decomposes the tissue wall in order to penetrate the hair canal.
This action results in the swelling, pain and redness that
causes the comedones to form. If the comedo is open, the surface
of the skin tissue is black due to oil deposits and is called
as “blackhead”. If the comedo is close, the skin has skin-colored
bumps called as “whiteheads”.
On the other hand, papules are very small and may give a
rough skin appearance like that of sand paper.
When the lesion is secreted with pus, the term is changed
into “pustule”. If in case the pustules are harshly inflamed,
the lesions are filled with semi-liquid and liquid materials
composed of dead cells, bacteria and white blood cells. These
in turn are called “cysts” which can become painful and may
penetrate deeper layers of skin tissues and may often leave
scars.
Acne has different names according to different skin conditions.
Acne vulgaris, the most common type, often appears with whiteheads
and blackheads. If acne has changed form and manifests on middle-age
individuals, its name is changed into Acne Rosacea.
Acne Rosacea does not have openings on its pores. Usually,
it only gives rough appearance on the skin surface because of
the bumpy nods on the forehead, cheeks and chin. It is difficult
to get rid of Acne Rosacea and the infected skin is almost always
impossible to be cured of this type. It may leave a bumpy nose
surface, which is called Rhynophyma.
Furthermore, Acne cystica is the most severe form of this
skin disorder. Deep inflammation fills the pus nodes and in
case the pus bursts, this will infect the skin tissue rather
than the skin surface alone. Severe inflammation and deep infection
may lead to cyst formations that may leave permanent scars on
the skin.
Another form of is Acne fulminance. This type is rare, characterized
by systematic weight loss, fever and other critical conditions.
Generally, acne fulminance manifests in boys.
Aside from these given acne forms, three other types exist
including Acne infantilis, Acne connglobata and Acne pustulosa.
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