Acne Treatment Is A Priority Among Americans

Americans spend millions of dollars each year on the acne treatment and prevention. Next to weight loss, acne treatment is one of the most addressed medical concerns of our time. As with weight loss there are as many myths and misinformation about effective treatments as there are truths. The amazing thing about acne is that it is treatable in most people. There are many kinds of medications out there to treat acne ranging from over the counter varieties to those that are deeply and thoroughly watched and regulated. The hard part for most is finding the happy balance between what will work most effectively not only to treat existing acne but also to prevent further outbreaks.

Some common over the counter acne medications include the following active ingredients: Benzoyl Peroxide, Salicylic Acid, Sulfur, and Resorcinol. While you may try one and find it ineffective it is best to try all of the active ingredients before ruling them out all together as effective treatments for your acne problems. If you have tried all of these and found that nothing effectively treats and prevents your acne problems, it is time to see a doctor and find out what he might have in store for you.

Once you've seen a doctor, you might be surprised to find that his first course of action will often to be to try another topical treatment rather than resorting first to harsh chemicals or drugs. Oral contraceptives and antibiotics taken orally are also common and often effective treatments for acne. Occasionally there's an acne problem that goes beyond traditionally prescribed acne treatments and will require harsher medications that carry with them significant risks in order to treat. This type of treatment should be a last ditch effort and reserved only for the most severe acne cases.

The name of this severe but highly effective acne treatment is Accutane (the brand name). This drug has the potential for very serious side effects to all who take it with the riskiest side effects being to those who may become pregnant. There are extreme measures taken in order to avoid pregnancy while taking this drug and women of childbearing capabilities are carefully monitored during the entire duration of their treatment with this medication and for a brief period of time after the treatment ends. Beyond the risks of sever birth defects to unborn babies, the health risks to otherwise healthy adults can be quite severe. This is a treatment that should only be entered into by someone who has been adequately informed of all the risks associated with this treatment and will be closely monitored throughout the process. The one resounding benefit of this drug is that it has been known in many cases to completely cure even acute cases of acne. This is not a drug that will fix all acne problems and as I mentioned it carries with it high risks, but it is by far one of, if not the most successful acne treatments on the market today.

Whether your acne problem is mild to moderate or severe and potentially disfiguring, there are many treatment options available. It is very important that you find the acne treatment that not only works best for you but fits within your lifestyle. No treatment will be effective if it sits unused in your medicine cabinet.

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Melvin Ng
For more info on acne treatment, natural acne cure, etc, please visit our website. Acne Treatment
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Top 10 Causes Of Acne

Here’s my top ten list of the causes of acne. I hope that from the list you can identify what might be causing your acne.

HORMONE LEVELS
Your hormone levels fluctuate at different stages of your life, such as puberty and pregnancy.

TOXINS
Acne can occur if your body contains more toxins than the kidneys can remove.

STRESS
If you are under any sort of stress this can give you acne.

SEBUM
Your own oil glands can produces excess of sebum. This can accumulate and cause blocked pores.

FOOD
Food can significantly affect your acneYou should avoid foods that have been processed or refined. You should also reduce your intake of fried foods and foods containing a high level of sugar.

COSMETIC MAKE UP
If your make-up contains comedogenic ingredients this can lead to acne. Such ingredients are usually derived from petroleum. Make-up can also contain dyes than can contribute towards acne.

SMOKING
Yes, smoking can increase your risk of acne. If you need another reason to quit smoking here it is.

SKIN TONERS.
If your skin toner contains acetone or alcohol this will lead to the drying of your skin and this could cause acne.

HARSH CLEANING
Cleaning with soaps that contain chemicals such as detergent and fragrances will cause acne.

THE SUN
Although sun bathing seems to initially improve your acne, it actually dries your skin which leads to more acne.


About the author:
Copyright Susan Ferguson 2005
If you would like to know more about acne cures, treatments and products please visit http://www.aboutacnetreatment.com
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Your Acne Attitude

Acne dragging you down? Your acne problem is more than just an acne problem. To some extent, you make it what it is by the way you react to it. In other words, no two people have the same experience with acne, even if they have the same symptoms, because responses to the acne problem differ from person to person. And then again, the way you respond has a lot to do with your total experience with acne.

Buck up! It is only acne! For example, if you have a flippant, do not care attitude to your acne problem, chances are that you will not let it get you down. On the other hand, if you really allow your acne to upset you, you are likely to feel much worse about the problem, and may also build up stress. This in turn could prevent you from dealing effectively with your acne.

Be well informed about your acne. There are a number of factors that can affect your attitudes towards your acne problem. The most dangerous of these is the possibility that you may be misinformed about the nature of acne as a condition, and that you may believe facts that are simply not true. As a result, you may be ready to accept that acne is caused by eating fatty food or by dirt and grime.

Dissected further, it would be truer to say that keeping the skin clean would be good for general health and for the health of the skin itself. Acne would be less likely to develop when the skin is healthy.

Check out the facts about your acne. Go a step further and you may find yourself believing that scrubbing will get rid of your acne. This would in fact be disastrous, because skin that has been affected by acne is extremely sensitive and needs to be carefully handled. Scrubbing would actually make matters much worse by torturing the skin. It would also disturb any eruptions of acne, which could burst and spread the infection that was earlier contained within a cyst or lesion.

As far as greasy food is concerned, the fact is that food, greasy or otherwise, has nothing to do with acne. However, grease on the skin can clog pores and attract dirt, causing the pores to get infected. These conditions could ultimately result in the development of acne.

Media menace promise instant cures for acne. In the same way, there are various social attitudes that filter through. Advertisements play a major part in publicizing the attraction of having a perfect skin, citing cases of movie stars etc. Such gimmicks can play on our insecurities and have us believe that perhaps the advertisements are right.

Acne and peer pressure. Children in high school are particularly vulnerable to the information or misinformation they receive on the subject of acne. Because they are at an age when they are conscious of their appearance, they are ready to give in to peer pressure and go along with whatever they hear. The trouble is that what they are being told can sometimes do more harm than good.

Acne is upsetting - offer support as parents. It is therefore important for parents to offer the wisdom of their experience and put their children on the right track before they do something bizarre in the quest for a perfect skin. Parents should be aware of how acne develops, so that they can pass on this knowledge to their children and prevent them from going to extremes.

They may also be able to help their children realize that their acne is normal and should be treated as such, and that the development of acne is no tragedy. Adolescents and young adults could face their acne with confidence and the knowledge that in time, it would pass off, as long as they handled it right.

About the Author:
Louise Forrest has created the ultimate FREE Health & Beauty guide. Find out how you can gain access to FREE articles, tips and techniques at http://www.NaturalElements.co.uk Learn how you can help treat your acne at http://www.NaturalElements.co.uk
Article Submitted On: October 25, 2006
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