Most acne that develops in teenagers and adults involves a handful of mild or moderate pimples. But some of the 40 million to 50 million Americans who get acne breakouts each year develop more serious cystic acne. This form of badly infected acne can lead to pitted scars. If you suffer from cystic acne, seek treatment from a dermatologist to avoid pitted scars.
Causes
Some speculate that certain foods or environmental toxins contribute to acne, but dermatologists at the Mayo Clinic name three main causes: excess oil, pores clogged by dead skin cells, and bacterial infection. When your skin's glands make too much oil, it tends to mix with sloughed off cells from your skin to block small pores in your hair follicles. In cystic acne, the type that causes pitted scars, bacterial infection plays a big role in causing smaller pimples to swell up.
Scar Causes
Pitted scars develop from cystic acne when the lesions heal but leave behind a depression in the skin where the infected pocket used to be. This depression includes your skin, plus scar tissue below it. Depressions can look shallow, like saucers, or deep, such as marks from ice picks. According to the AAD, genetics and heredity play major roles in acne scar formation, so if you have relatives with pitted acne scars, you may develop them also.
Acne Treatment
Over-the-counter treatments aren't likely to stop your cystic acne, but several prescription medications and procedures can help, according to the AAD. Your dermatologist may drain and extract any large cysts, which can help them heal and lessen scar formation. Injections of corticosteroids also can help large cysts to heal. You may also receive prescriptions for oral antibiotics, which can curb infection, or for a medication called isotretinoin, an extremely powerful acne medication. However, isotretinoin--better known by the brand name of Accutane--can cause side effects. These include headaches, nausea, vomiting or blurred vision; depression or irritability; unusual fatigue or lack of appetite; severe stomach pain, diarrhea or bleeding from the rectum; dry eyes; yellowish skin or eyes; and dark yellow urine, according to FamilyDoctor.org.
Scar Treatments
If you develop pitted acne scars, your dermatologist may be able to help you get rid of some of them and make others less apparent. Surgery to remove the scar tissue or separate it from the skin above it can help treat pitted scars, especially when it's combined with a dermatological filler that plumps up the skin in the affected area, according to the AAD. Other procedures such as laser skin peels, chemical peels and dermabrasion can assist in smoothing out your skin.
Considerations
Cystic acne that causes pitted acne scars can be tough to treat, and you may need to try using several medications at once--including a topical and an oral medicine--in order to get it under control, according to the AAD. You may not be able to prevent all your lesions from healing scar-free, even with help from your dermatologist.
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