Adult Onset Acne – The Adult Age Embarrassment

Acne is a skin problem that almost all of us have suffered from at some point of time. Although acne flares up during the adolescence, it is also an alarming problem in adults. Adult Onset Acne has no relation with your age and can cause depression and social anxiety in an adult the same way it does in a teen. About 25% of all adult men and 50% of adult women suffer from acne in their adult lives.

The main cause for adult acne is unknown. Mostly it is caused due to hormonal secretion. The clinical treatment is a must for adult acne otherwise it may lead to scarring.

Adult acne is the acne that is found in people of more than nineteen years of age. There can be five or six types of adult acnes, which are quite different from infantile acne although they share the same characteristics like red color and pus.

Causes of adult onset acnes

Adult onset acnes are generally caused by a combination of factors like stress, dietary habits and hormonal changes. Some medicines like containing lithium or iodine may also cause acne in adults. Some athletes and others take anabolic steroids to build their body which may be a cause for growth of acne. Some kind of acne is genetically inherited and thus run in families.

Adult acne may involve dry and sensitive skin. There are many psychological and social affects of acne that, along with the physical aspects, can act in lower the self-esteem. Many people believe that eating certain foods, such as chocolate, or oily fried foods, can cause an acne breakout. But actually the truth is that eating these foods does not affect sebum production so does not cause acne breakouts.

Treatments

Adult acne treatments consists a variety of creams, cleansers, moisturizers and astringents. There are several treatment options available for women with hormonal acne, including topical retinoids, topical antimicrobials (such as benzoyl peroxide and antibiotics), and oral antibiotics that are prescribed when the inflammation is more severe. Some birth control pills also help to reduce the secretion of hormones, which in turn reduces acne. Avoid using harsh soaps and use natural botanical and vegetable oil-based soaps that cleanse gently without “stripping” the skin.

Some More Treatment Tips

1. Avoid touching your face with your hands.

2. Eat a healthy diet with lots of fresh fruit and vegetables.

3. Low fat high fiber diets are recommended.

4. Watch the calories. Drink plenty of water to flush the body.

5. Put your self on an exercise program.

6. Do use herbal extracts that supplement to encourage the renewal of healthy skin.

7. Wash skin gently only 2 to 3 times daily and pat dry.

8. Do not scrub the skin.

9. Washing your face too often will disturb your skin’s pH balance, leading to more breakouts and adding dry, flaky skin to your troubles. Washing twice each day is usually sufficient.

10.Use pure, natural cosmetics on your skin, including natural foundation and other makeup essentials.

While adult acne and juvenile acne involve infections generated by the same bacteria, the skin conditions in teens and adult can be very different and thus require different kinds of treatments. Adult acne usually involves normal or combination skin or even dry and sensitive skin, rather than the oily skin that is generally found in juvenile acne.

Most acne products are developed for juvenile acne with high concentrations of benzoyl peroxide, salicylic acid, azelaic acid and other agents that can be excessively drying and potentially irritating to adult skin. Adult skin may not tolerate persistent use of these agents and skin sensitivity may become problematic. So, for adult acne you should get in touch with your dermatologist for proper treatment.