Acne - Avoid Comedogenic Products

Acne avoidance needs lot of care. Use of products play a big role in Acne. If you use a product that can cause comedos- whiteheads and blackheads, you are inviting acne. to avoid acne you should use all products that are certified non- comedogenic. Let us find out what is comedogenicity and how to keep skin clear of acne?

Acne And Comedogenicity

Most of the materials that are used for skin and body care are tested for comedogenicity. For that test, the material is applied on the inside of rabbit's ear and the site observed after three weeks. A biopsy is taken and comedones counted. Depending on the comedone formation, the material is classified on a scale of 0 to 5. A material with 0 comedogenic potential will not cause comedones, while one with 5 will cause comedones in the largest quantity.

Acne- Skin Care Formulations

Here, please note that a skin care product may contain more than one ingredient. The manufacturer will label the product as comedogenic or non-comedogenic. Please use non-comedogenic product. Appearance of the product may not indicate its comedogenicity. Mineral oil that looks oily has the no.0!

Acne Care- Select Products

Acne care needs use of products after careful consideration. Use non-comedogenic products and if after using a product for sometime you find comedones increasing, stop usage for sometime and see the result. You r own judgment will guide you. Keep your skin free of acne.

This article is only for informative purposes. This article is not intended to be a medical advise and it is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult your doctor for your medical concerns. Please follow any tip given in this article only after consulting your doctor. The author is not liable for any outcome or damage resulting from information obtained from this article.

Posted on 14.40 / 0 komentar / Read More

Acne: Asthma Drug Fails to Help Patients with Acne

The asthma drug Zyflo fails to help patients with severe acne, according to a mid-stage trial carried out by the company Critical Therapeutics Inc. The drug, also known as zileuton, was neither better at controlling the number of inflammatory lesions than placebos under the company statistics.

Over the 12-week trial, patients treated with Zyflo had an average reduction of 11.5 inflammatory lesions. That compared with a reduction of 9.1 lesions in a group of other patients taking placebos – far short of achieving statistical significance.

Patients treated with placebo showed a reduction of 16.4 lesions in the placebo group, but patients treated with Zyflo showed a mean reduction in the total number of lesions of 25.3.

The company stated the medicine showed a trend of potential benefit to some patients although the drug failed the primary goal of the trial.

Linda Lennox, the company spokeswoman, told the company will probably conduct a larger trial testing the medicine as an acne treatment, using information gleaned from the small recent "proof of concept" trial.

The company based in Lexington, Massachusetts, said that it is continuing to analyze the data and is working with the investigators to further interpret the results.

Zyflo blocks an inflammation-causing enzyme called 5 lipoxygenase (5-LO). It was approved by U.S. regulators in 1996 for treating asthma patients 12 years of age and older. At the time, the drug was owned by Abbott Laboratories Inc., which sold it for a number of years before licensing it to Critical Therapeutics in late 2003.

Posted on 14.38 / 0 komentar / Read More

Acne (and Rosacea) Link to MRSA

There is growing evidence that the major cause of MRSA is the inappropriate over prescribing of antibiotics by general practitioners. This is not news and it is common knowledge that most infections are viral and do not require antibiotics.

Also it is well known that antibiotics upset gut bacteria and lead to overgrowth of the intestinal tract with fungi such as Candida which is present in everyone’s guts, but normally kept in check by the probiotic bacteria surrounding it and which also produce chemicals to keep it in check. Antibiotic use can reduce the probiotic bacteria and allow the fungus to grow which over time can lead to inflammation and misdiagnosis of IBS later in life and open another chapter in prescribing. A downward spiral we don’t want to promote. Candida overgrowth and dysbiotic guts probably affect millions of ‘20 something’s’ who have just had years of antibiotics for acne, or million of 40 something’s who have been put on antibiotics for rosacea. We have clever ways of restoring the normal bacterial balance and reducing Candida without harsh antifungals.

However the use of antibiotics for skin infections such as acne and rosacea often at low doses and often for 3 to 6 months at a time is probably the biggest cause of MRSA (multi resistant Staphylococcus aureus) in hospitals. Let me explain.

It doesn’t matter whether oral or cream antibiotics are used they cause the same problem. In acne if you have many blocked ‘pores’ (pilo sebaceous ducts) then the anaerobic bacteria propiobacterium acnes (p.acnes) can start to colonise the area under the plug and cause inflammation and damage. This bacterium only survives in normal skin at very low levels as it likes to live in an environment where there is little or no oxygen. When you create a blockage as with acne, you create the environment for p.acnes. So antibiotics can help to reduce p.acnes, but they also hit other friendly skin bacteria and herein lies the problem.

Staphylococcus epidermidis (s.epidermidis) lives on our skin and helps keep other nasty bacteria away. It likes an oxygen rich environment. The same antibiotics that reduce p.acnes often hit the s.epidermidis as well. This attack puts selective pressure on the bacteria to survive and within three or four weeks you can isolate resistant strains s.epidermidis on skin being treated with antibiotics.

Now Staphylococcus epidermidis is related to Staphylococcus aureus (s.aureus) (cousins if you like). S. aureus lives inside the body and s.epidermidis lives on the skin. They meet at places such as the nose and other entrances into the body. They can pass information to each other through the use of things called plasmids and it is highly likely information for developing resistance is transferred.

Hey presto we have started the super bug development. The acne sufferer ends up in hospital for an operation. They get a wound infection either from their own bacteria but also through other bugs already there. S.aureus is a typical bacterium that infects wounds. The antibiotics used for wound infections are often the same or similar to the one that has been used for the patient’s acne, and it is not surprising they find the antibiotics don’t work as the bugs are already resistant. This resistant strain becomes the dominant resident s.aureus in the hospital and is extremely difficult to remove and can go on to infect many other patients.

Using a product such as Aknicare which has 4 antibacterial agents which control p.acnes by changing conditions in the area under the plug rather than directly destroying it means you can prevent damage and inflammation without breeding resistant bugs. Aknicare can reduce p.acnes and all the other key causes of an acneic skin (inflammation, oil production, cell turnover) all without breeding resistant bugs.

As a final thought the main treatment for rosacea recommended on PRODIGY, the GP prescribing database recommends ROSEX creams and gels. Rosex contains the antibiotic metronidazole. Rosacea patients often use it for months and years. It works in a few. Metronidazole is also a powerful antioxidant and it is these properties that help with rosacea symptoms, not the antibiotic properties. Rosacea is not caused by bacteria. It is a sobering thought that the antibiotic most used in theatre to prevent infections during and shortly after surgery is metronidazole. Imagine if you had been using it for months or years before that operation.

It is concerning to think the antibiotic you are using today could end up leading to someone dying in hospital in the near future. Change prescribing habits for acne and rosacea now and have an impact on MRSA in hospitals.

Use Aknicare, a new medical device with a CE mark . Once in the drug tariff this should be prescribed by GPs. PCTs should act now

Posted on 14.38 / 0 komentar / Read More

Acne: An Adult Dilemma as Well

Acne is often regarded as a major teenager's problem. Although there are several adults who also suffers from what we call “adult acne”. Adults in their twenties and beyond can still experience acne, and the negative effects of stress adds to the strain of having it pop up in their face.

Studies show that mental stress can be a major cause in developing acne for adults. Moreover, women are likely to suffer from it because they are more exposed to stress which they acquire throughout their daily lifestyle. They are also prone to hormonal imbalances, especially at times when they have their monthly menstruation and during pregnancy.

The environment is another factor in developing adult acne. If your surroundings are always dirty, most likely all the dust will be carried through the wind and eventually land on your face. If left unwashed, these dust and dirt can clog up your pores and infect them making the pore inflamed.

Just like teen acne, the best treatment that you can avail of is maintaining proper skin care and a healthy personal hygiene. Take a bath everyday, and use mild soap only so that your acne wont further develop into an infection.

Also watch out for your diet. Drink enough water and exclude from your meal some oily foods. Eat more fruits and vegetables.

Take enough sleep and rest. It will relax your skin pores and eventually prevent acne from developing.

The lifestyle of an adult is an important factor in the appearance of adult acne as well. Avoid drinking liquor, alcohol-based beverages and smoking. It will just make your face riddled with acne.

You can also take some acne medications like skin care products and skin treatments. Just see your dermatologist so that he/she can determine which treatment would be right for you.

Posted on 14.36 / 0 komentar / Read More

Acne: A Basic Understanding

Statistics indicate that as high as 80% of the entire American population has ever had acne. Acne afflicts all genders, sexes and ages making it a universal skin disorder. As a form of skin disease, the good news is that acne is not transmittable.

Although acne is not contagious from person-to-person, it can spread to the whole face and can severely affect all the skin tissues that have pilosebaceous units. It is not true that acne just affects those going through puberty. Even infants or individuals who may be well over their forties, can develop this skin disorder. Acne infantilis is the term used for acne that grows on newborn babies, on the other hand acne rosacea is related to middle-aged people.

Acne has different classifications, according to the severity of the infection.

Comedo is the form where all severe acne cases originate. This is characterized by red swelling or small lesions on your skin. Whiteheads and blackheads are two forms of comedo. Conversely, blackhead is an open comedo. The coloration is due to the accumulation of dark skin pigments called melanin, plus hardened sebum and other skin debris and particles. This is the basic structure of whiteheads, however, the only difference is the coloration and these are deeply situated into the skin layers.

If you have sandpaper-like skin around the tissue of your mouth and on the surface of your forehead, chin and cheeks, you probably have papules. Pus-filled lesions are also termed as pustules.

Nodules on the other hand are similar with pustules. However, nodules are firmer and are larger acne growing deep in the skin. Inflammation may develop your pustules into containing semi-liquid or liquid materials composed of white blood cells (which are dead because of the acne-infecting bacteria named as Propionibacterium acnes), dead skin cells and active or inactive bacteria. This can result into more serious acne called cysts. In such situations, you may need the assistance of a skin dermatologist or physician.

What is the cause of acne? It is quite difficult to exactly determine what may have caused your acne infection as reasons differ case to case. Studies indicate that the skin disorder may be brought about by many factors, including poor diet, stress, weather elements, and hormone changes or may be genetically influenced.

Medically speaking, acne starts from the formation of hardened sebum, or the oily substance secreted to the skin through the sebaceous glands. This then will be permeated with acne-infecting bacteria, which in return will trigger the immune system to release white blood cells to obstruct the attack of the bacteria. As this happens, dead white blood cells and bacteria will accumulate in the hair follicles mixed with skin debris and dead skin particles, which then will inflame the lesions.

Most mild case acne may be treated with over the counter acne medications. They are generally topical drugs, which you apply on your skin for acne treatment. They may come in the form of soaps, lotions, gels and creams. Conversely, systematic acne medications are taken orally. The most common of which are the antibiotics.

Knowing that you are not the only one inflicted with acne at some point in life or another helps in that there will always be new research and new products coming on stream. Continue to read up on acne research and help your fight against it.

Posted on 14.36 / 0 komentar / Read More