Cystic acne is a severe form of acne that is marked by inflamed pustules or cysts. Cystic acne can be damaging both physically and mentally, as it normally strikes adolescents who are undergoing puberty. This is a particularly sensitive emotional period during a young person's life that is compounded by chemical changes in the body. While the chemical regulations may not stabilize until adulthood, several treatments for cystic acne have been proven effective.
Symptoms
In the skin, you have hair follicles, which hold your hair in place, and sebaceous glands that secrete sweat through pores in the skin. When dirt or bacteria get into the pores, they cause the area around your hair follicle to become inflamed, resulting in a blackhead, or cause the pore to swell with sweat and other liquid that is unable to escape. Normal acne usually stops here; however, cystic acne progresses even further. In some individuals, the immune response to the blockage is strong and causes the blocked area to become further inflamed. This causes other pores to become inflamed as well, which increases the likelihood of blockage in those pores. This systematically increases the coverage area of the acne and the amount of pus in the pores.
Chemical Imbalance
During puberty, your body begins to release the sex hormones that result in significant changes in and differences between males and females. For males, testosterone is produced in large amounts, while females produce estrogen in larger amounts. The release of these sex hormones causes a dramatic increase in the amount of liquid produced in your sebaceous glands. Small clogged pores are increasingly filled as a result and cause the acne to appear larger and feel more painful.
Treatments
Treatment of cystic acne should be completed under the guidance of a trained dermatologist. One of the most common treatments for acne is the use of benzoyl peroxide in the form of creams or wipes. Benzoyl peroxide is an anti-bacterial cleanser that helps keep the skin free from bacteria and prevent your pores from becoming clogged. While topical treatment may be effective for some, cystic acne may require more aggressive treatments like oral antibiotics or isotretinoin. The antibiotics limit the inflammation by destroying bacterial growth in the clogged pores. Isotretinoin reduces sebaceous gland activation, helps fight inflammation by clearing up bacteria and causes dead skin cells to be removed more quickly. There are many side effects to isotretinoin. Its use is limited by doctors for severe cases of cystic acne.
Considerations
Artificially induced chemical imbalances caused by injecting testosterone, growth hormone or other hormone pre-cursors can cause cystic acne to develop. Professional athletes or bodybuilders, to build size and strength, sometimes use these hormones. Cystic acne usually gets better as you reach adulthood and the release of hormones begins to stabilize and decline.
References
- British Medical Journal: Acne Vulgaris
- PubMed Health: Acne
- Acne.org: Types of Acne
- Acne Skin Guide: Cystic Acne and Acne Cysts
- MayoClinic.com: Cystic Acne
- SkinCarePhysicians.com: Treating Severe Acne
- MayoClinic.com: Acne - Causes
- MayoClinic.com: Acne - Treatments and Drugs
- MedlinePlus.com: Isotretinoin
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