by perowlifick

Created on: May 23, 2008

Should Your Teen Age Child's Acne Be Ignored

In a parent's evaluation of how detrimental the effect of their teens acne is, there are more factors to take into consideration than the physical appearance. You would want to consider if any of the following has facilitated change in the skin condition.

The original advice included such statements as:

1. You'll outgrow it.

2. Avoid greasy food
3. Wash your face three times a day
4. Do not squeeze pimples

This may have been adequate advice before the results of acne and scarring were well understood. There is also the emotional damage to be considered. An obsession can develop in a young person who does everything suggested with no adequate improvement. Some young ladies even begin to take on guilt for their own acne condition.

A good dermatologist will not only treat the outer symptoms but take into account the emotional distress that is caused and how it in turn, can make the condition worse. The young person's concerns should be taken seriously especially in view of the fact that food is not always a causative factor and the emotions can affect and worsen a condition of the skin. Let's cite eczema as a prime example.

There can be severe scarring in some individuals serious enough to warrant plastic surgery. Not all marks that appear to be scars however, are technically classified as scars. One such example is the macule or "pseudo scar." This is a flat, red spot which is the final stage of an acne lesion. This reddish spot (medical term macule) can remain for a time period as long as six months. To the typical teen girl scheduled to attend her first prom the concept of waiting six months is the end of life as she knows it.

Another consideration is the post inflammatory pigmentation that remains as a macule is healing. The lesion has discolored the skin. A fair skinned person is not as prone to this condition as one with darker skin tones. This is one instance where a dermatologist can have a successful effect. She can minimize the development especially in cases complicated by excessive time in the sun. She will utilize treatments such as chemical peels to get rid of the offending pigmentation in a much shorter time.

When acne damage occurs to the tissue it is due to an inflammatory reaction to bacteria, sebum and dead cell tissue. The occluded sebaceous follicle is the human body's natural response to the injury resulting in raised tissue such as keloids which give a thickened appearance. Another type of true scarring is an area of depressed skin.

There have been inadequate results to research into the causative factors and the reasons why reactions may differentiate among groups as well as variation within the same individual. Although most scarring is a result of deeply located inflammatory nodulocystic acne, it infrequently occurs with superficial infected lesions. The discrepancies in occurrence and severity of cases of acne remind us that the medical arts are not an exact science.

The patient with extensive scarring over a large area does not present as a good candidate for surgical intervention. Instead treatment consists of resurfacing techniques. Some success has been found with CO2 resurfacing and Erbium laser resurfacing. One of the newer methods is Fraxel. As lasers are an ablative method they do required about a week of down time on the part of the patient. Varied levels of success are achieved across patient groups. Generally there will be some degree of improvement.

There is a surgical procedure called Zplasty which has had successful outcome. Details are beyond the scope of this introductory article.

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