Acne, Causes and Treatment

Acne vulgaris (commonly called acne) is a common skin condition affecting 85-100% of people at some time during their lives. According to the dermatologist pomona, acne is usually a result of blockages in follicles by elements or factors either found outside or inside of the body. Though there's currently no concrete answer on why people get acne, several causes are being studied to determine the root cause of acne. These causes have involved:
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Heredity
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Diet
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Consuming milk
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Carbohydrates
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Vitamins A and E
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Hygiene
Available treatments to acne have been largely introduced commercially, many of which are without any scientifically-proven effects. According to dermatologist pomona, successful treatment to acne usually takes about 3 months, depending on the type of treatment used. Treatments to acne may involve the simple use of substances or medication to a more invasive method. Here is a list of treatments commonly used today that are said to remove and prevent acne from coming back.

Bactericidals

Widely available OTC bactericidal products containing benzoyl peroxide may be used in mild to moderate acne. The gel or cream containing benzoyl peroxide is rubbed, twice daily, into the pores over the affected region. Bar soaps or washes may also be used and vary from 2 to 10% in strength. In addition to its therapeutic effect as a keratolytic (a chemical that dissolves the keratin plugging the pores) benzoyl peroxide also prevents new lesions by killing Propionibacterium acnes. In one study, roughly 70% of participants using a 10% benzoyl peroxide solution experienced a reduction in acne lesions after 6 weeks.

Antibiotics

According to the dermatologist pomona, there are currently two kinds of antibiotics used to treat acne, these are the external antibiotics and oral antibiotics.

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External Antibiotics - Externally applied antibiotics such as erythromycin, clindamycin, stievamycin, or tetracycline kill the bacteria that are harbored in the blocked follicles. While topical use of antibiotics is equally as effective as oral use, this method avoids possible side effects including upset stomach and drug interactions, but may prove awkward to apply over larger areas than just the face alone.
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Oral Antibiotics - Oral antibiotics used to treat acne include erythromycin or one of the tetracycline antibiotics (tetracycline, the better absorbed oxytetracycline, or one of the once daily doxycycline, minocycline, or lymecycline). Trimethoprim is also sometimes used (off-label use in UK). However, reducing the P. acnes bacteria will not, in itself, do anything to reduce the oil secretion and abnormal cell behaviour that is the initial cause of the blocked follicles. Additionally the antibiotics are becoming less and less useful as resistant P. acnes are becoming more common.

Hormonal Treatments

In females, acne can be improved with hormonal treatments. The common combined oestrogen/progestogen methods of hormonal contraception have some effect, but the antiandrogen, Cyproterone, in combination with an oestrogen (Diane 35) is particularly effective at reducing androgenic hormone levels.

Laser Treatment

Laser surgery has been in use for some time to reduce the scars left behind by acne, but research has been done on lasers for prevention of acne formation itself. Since lasers and intense pulsed light sources cause thermal damage to the skin, there are concerns that laser or intense pulsed light treatments for acne will induce hyperpigmented macules (spots) or cause long-term dryness of the skin.