Cause of Acne

New Research Reveals Astounding Facts About Acne

The cause of acne and what the heck you can do about it...

Acne is an inflammatory condition of the skin, caused by changes in the pilosebaseous units which are skin structures consisting of a hair follicle and its associated sebaceous gland. Sebaceous glands secrete an oily substance made up of fats and the debris of fat producing cells which lubricate the skin. 

When the Sebaceous glands secrete to much oil they can combine with naturally occurring dead skin cells to block the hair follicles or pore. Oil secretions then build up beneath the blocked pore, providing a perfect environment for the skin bacteria propionibacterium acnes to multiply uncontrolled. The skin inflames in response to the blocked pore and produces the visible lesion. The face, chest, back and upper arms are especially affected in most cases.

The typical inflammatory lesions are small whitish or bumps called white heads or blackish elevations called blackheads. These can become pus-filled, or reddish bumps, even boil-like tender swellings from the plugged pore. Many times after the lesions heal, prominent unsightly scars may remain.

The condition is common in puberty as a result of an abnormal response to normal levels of the male hormone testosterone. The response for most people diminishes over time and thus tends to disappear, or at least decrease, after one reaches the third decade of life. However, there is no way to predict how long it will take for it to disappear completely, and some individuals will continue to suffer decades later, even into their thirties, forties and beyond.

Acne seems to affect a large percentage of humans at some stage in their lives. Aside from the scarring, its main effects are often psychological and can result in reduced self-esteem and depression. Usually appearing during adolescence, when people already tend to be at their most socially insecure. For this reason it should be treated if severe.

In the past, not a lot was known about the cause of acne and why some people will get it and some do not. It is known to be partially hereditary but still in many cases even though it is not present in family history someone in the family will suffer severely.

Hormonal activity has been known for years to be a cause as the hormone testosterone rises in the adolescent years and the body reacts negatively, the person then develops the common unsightly symptoms.

Others have speculated that excess androgen production, either by the ovary or the adrenal gland, is a cause.

Many have speculated that maybe the sebaceous glands have simply become hyperactive and secrete excess fats thru the pores and they become plugged resulting in the lesions so common with the disease.

The excess accumulation of dead skin cells from improper hygiene can also be a cause. This excess can plug the hair follicle and the sebaceous gland, allowing the bacteria to infect the pores of the hair follicle, which causes the lesion on the skin. Skin irritation or scratching of any sort has also been linked to a cause of acne.

In a recent study, the University of Southern California found that deficiencies in vitamin E, vitamin A, zinc, and selenium are all linked to being a cause of acne. They also found dairy, iron, salt, and commercial soft drinks aggravated the condition.

Another study linked Candida overgrowth to being a cause of acne.

The taking of anabolic steroids can be a cause of acne and can cause serious side effects and damage to the liver. This indicates a toxic reaction and subsequent overloading of the liver from the steroids. The skin then tries to dump the toxins thru the pores and the lesions result.

Birth control pills can be a cause of acne since they introduce additional hormones to the body to control pregnancy. However many women have reported reduced symptoms while on the pill, and this is one common treatment used by medical professionals to treat this problem.

Exposure to high levels of chlorine compounds, particularly chlorinated dioxin's can cause severe long lasting acne known as Chloracne. We are exposed to chlorine on a daily basis from bleach, bleached products, and chlorine in our water, which in the shower turns to a gas when it is heated.

Attention has mainly been focused on over-production of sebum, or the fats by the sebaceous glands, as the main cause of acne. However, more recently attention has been given to narrowing of the follicle channel as a second main contributing factor. Abnormal shedding of the cells lining the follicle, abnormal cell binding within the follicle, and water retention in the skin, which swells the skin and presses the follicles shut plugging them up. All these causes of acne have been put forward as possible mechanisms involved, but there does not appear to be much conclusive medical research on the subject.

Recent studies have linked the cause of acne to H. Pylori, especially rosacea. The direct action h pylori takes to cause acne is not quite understood but I suspect it is simply toxic overload. H pylori can live for years in the human body and cause no side effects until later in life. It is easily spread from parents to children and causes the acne later in the children's lives. Mastic Gum in Ceasefire kills 99.9% of h pylori and if this is what is causing the acne, results are seen in as little as two weeks when you take it.

The skin being the largest organ in the body could also be trying to dump wastes if the liver is already under distress. Diet and lifestyle do play a role and you should always eat right, even though in the tests, bad diets played no role in the cause of acne.

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