Exploding Some Of The Many Myths Surrounding Acne - By: Don Saunders

Over the years many myths have grown up surrounding acne and so here we will try to see if we can knock a few of the more commonly held misconceptions on the head.

The first is that diet plays a role in acne. It is certainly true that foods which encourage the production of oil within the skin can help to encourage acne, but there is no truth in the belief that eating greasy fried foods or chocolate contributes to the problem of acne. Similarly, there is no evidence to suggest that drinking too many sweet, carbonated soft drinks has an affect either. Indeed, about the only foods which have been shown to directly affect acne (worsening but not causing it) are foods which contain high levels of iodized salt.

What is certainly true is that your general health and skin condition does play a part in helping to clear acne and that one way to help to ensure that you are healthy and that your skin is in the best condition is to eat a good balanced diet which is low in fats and high in such things as fresh fruit and vegetables.

The next myth is that acne is caused by poor hygiene. Again there is no truth in this although what is true is that poor hygiene can make it far more difficult to treat acne. Acne is aggravated by blockages to the pores of the skin allowing excessive skin oil and dead skin cells to build-up and providing a perfect breeding ground for bacteria. Twice daily washing with a mild soap and water will therefore help to keep the pores of the skin open preventing this build-up and helping any acne medication to get to the site of the problem. Be careful however as excessive washing can simply act to inflame the skin further and also help to spread the acne bacteria.

Another commonly held belief is that acne can be caused by stress. It is known that stress can weaken the immune system and influence the production of hormones and so it is not unreasonable to assume that it could have an affect on acne. However, there is no real evidence to support this. Moreover, for stress to have any appreciable affect on acne we would need to be talking about severe clinical cases of stress and not what most of us to consider to be stress, which is really nothing more than the normal day to day trials and tribulations of life.

One thing which is however true about acne and which most people do not believe is that over medication can help to spread acne and can cause some forms of mild acne to turn into much more serious forms of the condition.

In some cases too frequent use of over-the-counter or prescription acne medication, or using acne medication of too high a strength, can harm the skin and encourage the spread of acne or the development of more severe types of acne. As a result, medication should always be used in the lowest strength which proves effective and only as directed on the packet or advised by your physician or dermatologist.

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