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Explode The Myths Which Surround Acne
There is a lot of information distributed about acne and its causes and that information tends to be a mixture of both fact and fiction. Thus, let us look at some of the things which are being circulated and see if we can work out the myth from the fact. Food First of all there is no direct link between eating such things as greasy cheeseburgers and chocolate or drinking excessive soft drinks and getting pimples. What is true is that what we eat plays an important role in all the body's systems and thus it does have a minor role to play in whether acne is less or more likely. For instance, eating greasy foods does not directly translate into rising oil production from the sebaceous glands which contributes to acne, although foods that do cause a rise in oil production would have an effect. However, iodized salt is as yet the only food substance which has been demonstrated to have any appreciable effect and it simply exacerbates existing acne but does not cause it. Hygiene The odds of developing an acne spot rise when a pore gets blocked and bacteria get trapped inside. What this means is that hygiene habits which work to close the pores can play a role. But this effect is only minimal and the bacteria and dead cell skins which get trapped and cannot make their way out of the pore are influenced only to a minor degree by an absence of regular face washing. But, once acne arrives then good skin hygiene is particularly important and mild cleansing two times a day with soap and water can help in treating acne and promoting healthy skin in general. Cleanliness is an excellent for a number of reasons but it helps most in treating acne because it provides a good surface for medications to work most effectively. Acne spots are strongly influenced by excess production of sebum (skin oil) which is triggered chiefly by hormones and harsh cleansers which are applied roughly do not only clear away this excess oil but also affects the skin's ability to cope with it. Stress Because stress has a tendency to weaken the body's immune system and influence its level of hormones it may be thought that stress should play a role in the onset of acne. However, there is no evidence that stress causes acne, but there is evidence to show that it might play a minor role after acne has developed. One problem in assessing the role played by stress is that people who are suffering from chronic stress normally also suffer from additional health problems that can complicate the picture. Bear in mind too that we are talking here about clinical stress and not merely the worries which we all experience as part of the ups and downs of day to day living. Medicine A lot of people are tempted to raise the dosage of over-the-counter medications believing that if a little medicine can do a little good then a lot of medicine will do a lot of good. Regrettably, this is not so and it is both a waste of medication and could actually damage the skin. You should always follow the instructions on any acne medication and if an over-the-counter medicine is not showing signs of working within a reasonable period of time then it is a good idea to talk to a dermatologist.
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