Acne Essay, Research Paper

Teenage Terror

Have you ever looked into the mirror and recoiled with horror at what appeared to

be the worst pus-filled abomination imaginable? Did you then react with murderous

intentions to kill the intruder? You think, ?Be gone, you damnable spot. I will rid myself

of you immediately. I will attack you and kill you, even if it kills me.? And kill you it

may, if you dare to pick it, for you are not a surgeon.

To pick at that thing on your face might set the wheels of disaster in motion.

Your hands may not be clean, your facial skin may not be clean, and your fingernails may

not be clean. Nothing would be sterile, and you could open up a pathway for hordes of

harmful bacteria to march right into that hole you dug and straight into your bloodstream!

Consequently, your squeezing, picking, and digging could possibly result in problems far

worse than the appearance of the monstrosity you set out to destroy.

The offending pustule you saw on your face is, of course, acne, the enemy of

youth. It is a common skin disorder that plagues mostly teenagers and causes them

misery, embarrassment, and even loss of self-esteem. It can flare up even in later adult

years, and one might have to deal with the scars of it all their lives, for acne cannot be

cured. It can be treated with some success, however, and it can be covered up to some

extent with cosmetics.

Acne is linked to hormonal changes that occur in the bodies of adolescent boys

and girls. Particularly, the sex hormones that cause oil glands in the skin to enlarge and

secrete more oil. Sometimes, producing too much oil, the hair follicles become clogged

and prevent dead skin cells and sebum, or oil, from escaping. The buildup of dead cells

and sebum form pimples in which bacteria grow, and the pimple may continue to swell

and rupture, transforming into pustules and cysts which cause the most scarring.

The cause of acne is heredity, for the most part. It tends to run in families. If

both your parents had acne, three out of four of your brothers and sisters will get it too.

But if your sister is pimple-free while your face is a war zone, be aware that other factors

can aggravate an acne outbreak. Stress, and exposure, seasonal changes, and climate can

bring out an acne attack, and even certain types of makeup can cause a breakout.

If you have acne, and it is serious enough to disturb your life, it is a good idea to

see a dermatologist. The doctor might prescribe antibiotics such as tetracycline or

minocycline, and/or a cream that is put on the pimples to kill the bacteria. The cream

also loosens the dead cells that have clumped together and Retin-A was the first cream

that proved successful in treating acne, and it is still widely used, but many new creams

have been formulated and are equally effective. There are over-the-counter medications

that work also, the favorite being Benzyl Peroxide, which kills bacteria and causes mild

drying and peeling.

It seems to be important to avoid putting anything on your face that contains oil.

Oil-free soaps and cosmetics are popular products that can be purchased in all kinds of

stores. And dermatologists say that price is not the measure of the product?s

effectiveness. The least expensive is generally as effective as the most costly, as long as

the item is oil-free. Fragrances can also be irritating, and it might help to look for

products that are not perfumed.

If you have oily hair, don?t let it touch your face any more than possible. When

the acne outbreak is bad, wear your hair back, away from your face, Also, don?t lean your

hands against your face and create pockets of oil and pressure. So often this is done

when a person is reading, studying, or on the telephone. No matter what treatment you

use, keep your hands off your face, and particularly off your pimples. You want to avoid

scarring by picking. It also helps not to wash your face any more frequently than

necessary. You can even sleep at night with your makeup on, thus eliminating the

bedtime washing. Washing and drying your face causes aggravation to the skin, so

minimize this as much as you can. Even wearing cotton gloves to bed at night will help

you to avoid rubbing and scratching your face while you are sleeping.

So next time you look at yourself in a mirror and you curse your polka-dotted

face, just remember that it probably will go away by the time you are twenty. Practically

everyone?s does. It is regarded as one of the miseries of the young. Remember, to hasten

acne?s departure, less is best in handling it by touching, picking, makeup, and washing,

and one day the face in the mirror will be spot-free.

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