Acne vulgaris

Acne vulgaris is a skin condition which is called as simply “Acne”. In this condition there are papules on the skin especially the skin of face,neck and chest which have hair follicle, this is done by stimulation via androgen.Acne usually occur during the puberty in both boys and girls. This due to the sudden increase of the sex hormones in the body. This is very common skin condition affecting around 80% of teenagers worldwide. Apart from sex hormones, genetic factors and bacterial infection are also major causes of acne in many cases. Use of steroids and other drugs may also cause acne as a side effect.

The treatments are many for this acne infection but most popular treatments are,

* Topical antibiotics: Semi solid topical application of antibiotics like clarithromycin,clindamycin etc are very helpful, it kills the bacteria that are in the hair follicle and on the surface of the skin. Regular application of topical antibiotics is aid to speedy recovery.

* Treatment with hormones like Estrogen and progesterone in females is found to be very effective in many cases. The aim of such therapy is to make a balance of the sex hormones in the body.

*Oral antibiotic therapy is also useful but it has more side effects like gastric upset etc and hence topical antibiotics are preferred.

* Light therapy is a modern trend in which violet,blue light lamps are used and weekly treatment with such lights has found to reduce the lesions to about 60%. The light creates prophyrin which slowly kills the bacteria and this therapy is not harmful since there is no UV light but it uses visible deep penetrating light.

Apart from these several therapies are being tried.but psychological factor and diet habits are more important. If they are improved then soon one will get rid of acne. One should not be in a hurry, it may actually worsen the condition.