Cystic Acne Causes And Treatments – The Reasons Behind And Ways To Fight Against

Before knowing about cystic acne causes and treatments and prevention procedures, we should first know that these nodulocystic” acnes appear as large irritated bumps, often with the pustule hidden deep beneath the skin’s surface. This chronic case of acne produces painful pus-filled bumps called nodules, which are deeply embedded beneath the skin’s surface. If not treated in time it leaves scarring. Cystic acne is often present on the face, back and shoulders. The healing process for Cystic acne is very slow. These infections do not emit or discharge waste material and they do not rise to the surface of the skin.

What Causes Cystic acne

Cystic acne is caused due to overproduction of sebum and keratin, the buildup of bacteria in the skin, and the inflammatory response. The male hormone androgen is also believed to play a role in acne because they affect the production of sebum. The cysts are caused when hormonal shifts result in your skin glands overproducing oil (sebum) at an unnatural rate.

Treatment of Cystic Acne

Several treatments are available for Cystic Acne. Most topical acne treatments generally focus on reducing sebum, the buildup of dead skin cells and inflammation. For severe nodular acne or cystic cysts, dermatologists prescribe isotretinoin, having the product name of Accutane. This drug reduces the size of oil glands to reduce the oil production and the growth of bacteria. It is an oral drug usually taken once or twice a day with food for four to five months.

Advantages of Isotretinoin:

Isotretinoin is a very effective medicine that helps preventing extensive scarring in patients. In most cases after 16 to 20 weeks of treatment with isotretinoin, acne goes away almost completely. For some people, however, acne may come back and they may need additional treatment with isotretinoin.

Disadvantages of Isotretinoin

Isotretinoin can have side effects like:
1. Inflammation of the lip

2. Inflammation of the mucous the eye

3. Dry mouth and dry skin

4. Itching

5. Nosebleeds

6. Muscle aches

7. Photosensitivity and

8. Decreased night vision

Other more serious side effects include increased blood cholesterol, lipid, and triglyceride levels and abnormal liver enzymes.

Accutane may cause depression, psychosis and, rarely, suicidal ideation. Isotretinoin can cause birth defects in the developing fetus so pregnant women and women trying to conceive should not take it at all.

Surgical Treatment

Surgical treatment for acne is another option for curing acne. This process greatly speeds up the clearing of acne by manually removing blackheads and whiteheads. A round loop extractor is used to apply smooth pressure to dislodge the material. By inserting a pointed instrument carefully, the lesions are loosened and the contents are exposed. The surgery should only be performed under the supervision of a dermatologist because ruptures to the skin tissue can allow skin-based bacteria to infect the area and lead to greater inflammation.

Other Treatment Options

Intralesional corticosteroid therapy is another good treatment for acne. This involves a relatively painless procedure where each cyst is given an injection of dilute cortisone solution. The injections provide fast relief for the painful inflammations.

Strong acne creams with 2.5% benzoyl peroxide helps in speeding up the healing process by killing the bacteria that forms in the cyst. Anti-inflammatory treatments such as Neosporin can also help by taking some of the red out of the inflamed region.

Oral Contraceptives are sometimes used for treatment of acne for women. This is a safe cystic acne remedy and helps to suppress overactive sebaceous glands.

Blue and Red light therapy (phototherapy) is a natural, new, approved and innovative way to treat acne. Concisely, blue light works by causing the self-destruction of acne bacteria. Red light works by accelerating the skin's healing process.

Cystic Acne can be alleviated by long-term treatment with topical medication like antibacterial cleansers, septicide cleansers, glycolic cleansers, glycolic exfoliators and gentle follicle exfoliators.

Responsibilities of the Patient

Certain responsibilities are there for the patients undergoing treatment for acne. If you have severe cystic acne that covers your face and body, you should really seek the advice of a dermatologist immediately otherwise you may suffer from the scars throughout the life.

You should never force cysts to burst, as it is one of the major causes of acne scars. It may make your face appear much worse than it did before.

You should start with a multivitamin to get the minimum of essential nutrients that your body needs to metabolize oil.

Intake of 30 – 50 mg of Zinc and 5-10 grams of Vitamin B5 daily, helps in fighting excess oil.

Acne patients are advised to wash their face daily at least two times a day.

Always have a balanced healthy diet. A balanced diet will make sure that your skin is healthy and at its best condition.