Acne Myths Exploded - By: Don Saunders

As with many conditions there is a great deal of information distributed about acne and its causes and this information is a mix of both fact and fiction. Accordingly, let us look at some of those things that are being circulated and see if we can work out the myth from the fact.

Food

First of all there is no direct link between eating such things as chocolate or greasy cheeseburgers or drinking too many soft drinks and developing acne. It is true however that food plays an important role in all the body's systems and therefore it does have a minor role to play in whether developing acne is more or less likely.

For example, eating greasy foods does not directly translate into rising oil production in the sebaceous glands that contributes to acne, but foods that do contribute to an increase in oil production would of course have an effect. However, iodized salt is the only food substance that has been shown to have any substantial effect and it just exacerbates existing acne and does not cause it.

Cleanliness

The odds of developing a pimple are increased when a pore gets blocked and bacteria are trapped inside. This means that hygiene habits that tend to close the pores can play a role. But this effect is only minimal and the dead skin cells and bacteria that get trapped and cannot make their way out of the pore are only influenced to a minor degree by an absence of regular face washing.

Nonetheless, once acne occurs then good skin hygiene is particularly important and mild cleansing two times each day with soap and water helps in treating acne and encouraging healthy skin in general. Good hygiene is an excellent for several reasons but it helps most in treating acne by providing a good surface for medications to work most effectively.

Spots are greatly influenced by excess production of skin oil (sebum) that is triggered chiefly by hormones and harsh cleansers which are applied roughly do not merely clear away this excess oil but also damages the skin's ability to deal with it.

Stress

As stress tends to weaken the body's immune system and also impact its level of hormones it could be thought that stress would play a part in the onset of acne. However, there is no clear evidence that stress produces acne, although there is evidence to show that it might play a minor role after acne has arrived.

One problem with assessing the role played by stress is that people who suffer from chronic stress generally also suffer from additional health problems that complicate the picture. Remember too that here we are talking about clinical stress and not just the worries that we all experience as part of the ups and downs of day to day life.

Medications

Many people are tempted to raise the dosage of an over-the-counter medication in the belief that if a little does a little bit of good then a lot of medicine will do a lot of good. Unhappily, this is not so and it is both a waste of medication and might actually harm the skin. You should always stick to the instructions on any medication and if any medication is not showing signs of working within a reasonable period of time then it is a good idea to seek the guidance of a dermatologist.

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