By: Peter Vine
The latest statistics from the American Dermatological society suggests that adult acne is much more widespread than most of us imagine, more and more adults are getting acne then ever before. In fact almost 50% of women and 25 % of men are affected by adult acne, at some point in their lives.
Like teenage acne the exact cause of adult acne remains largely unknown. However one of the biggest contributing factors to adult acne is increased levels of stress that people now suffer from. For many, adult acne seems to come out of the blue, while others get it in there teens and never seem to get rid of it. Nobody really knows why so many more people are getting adult acne later on in life, but there does appear to be a clear link with stress.
Stress is thought to interfere with the normal hormonal balance. If you've been under a lot of pressure recently and you've started suffering from adult acne, the best thing you can do, is to address the source of the stress. Until the stress is under control you won't see a dramatic improvement in your acne.
The standard treatments for adult acne are similar to those employed for teenage acne using mainly topical products, many of which contain benzoyl peroxide. Benzoyl peroxide is used to kill the P. Acnes located in the clogged pores. The use of topical solutions (creams, gels or lotions) targets the result or symptoms of acne and not the cause. It also often dries not only "pimples" but also the skin around them. In adult acne it is especially important to limit the number of pimples since dermatologists have known for many years that adult acne is more likely to leave permanent physical scars. The increase prevalence of scarring or pox marks is due to the fact that as the skin ages and loses collagen, it's much harder for the skin to repair itself after tissue damage that is caused by inflammation and enlarged pores associated with acne.
Despite the fact that acne is one of the world's most common medical problems, it is still thought of as being very much a teenage problem. Very little thought is given to the significant psychological effects that the victim may suffer as a result of an outbreak of adult acne. The net result may be in feelings of anxiety and apprehension in leaving the home, and interacting with other adults. These issues must be resolved as part of the long term treatment of the disease.
