What is Acne?

Acne

What is acne?

Acne is just another word for pimples. If you have severe acne, you get lots of pimples, or pimples that are large, red and sore.

Most people don't like it when they get pimples on their face. Acne can also affect other parts of your body. You can get it on your neck, chest, back and arms.

Pimples happen when you get a build up of natural oil under your skin. Small glands in your skin make an oily substance called sebum. This stops your skin from drying out.

Sebum comes out onto the surface of your skin through tiny holes called pores.

If a pore gets blocked, sebum can build up. This can cause several kinds of swellings or pimples on your skin.

If sebum builds up just under your skin, you get white bumps called whiteheads.
Blocked pores can get quite wide and open up. This causes small dark marks called blackheads.
Pimples can turn red and

inflammation
If your skin or some other part of your body becomes red, swollen, hot or sore, we say it is inflamed. It means that your body is trying to protect you from germs, from something in your body tissues that can hurt you (like a thorn or sliver), or from things that cause allergies (allergens). Inflammation is part of the way the body heals an infection or injury.

inflamed. These are called papules. They happen if bacteria start growing in the sebum that's built up.
Some inflamed pimples contain pus. These are called pustules.

Pimples can go deep in your skin and become painful.

Source:
Healy E, Simpson N.
Acne vulgaris.
BMJ. 1994; 308: 831-833.

Pustules

Very bad pimples can cause scars as they heal.

Source:
Mallon E, Newton JN, Klassen A, et al.
The quality of life in acne: a comparison with general medical conditions using generic questionnaires.
British Journal of Dermatology. 1999; 140: 672-676.

What causes acne?

We don't know exactly what causes acne.

The main reason teenagers get acne is probably the change in

hormones
Hormones are chemicals that are made in certain parts of the body. They travel through the bloodstream and have an effect on other parts of the body. For example, the female sex hormone estrogen is made in a woman's ovaries. Estrogen has many different effects on a woman's body. It makes the breasts grow at puberty and helps control periods. It is also needed to get pregnant.

hormones that happens when you reach

puberty
Puberty is the time when boys and girls develop secondary sexual characteristics. For boys, the major changes include pubic hair, a deeper voice, and growth of their penis and testicles. For girls, major changes include pubic hair, breasts and starting to have periods. After puberty, girls are able to become pregnant and boys are able to father children.

puberty.

Source:
Brown SK, Shalita AR.
Acne vulgaris.
Lancet. 1998; 351: 1871-1876.

³ The change in hormones can cause your skin to make more sebum (oil). The extra sebum can make your skin greasy.

You're more likely to have acne if other people in your family have it.

Source:
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases.
Questions and answers about acne.
January 2006. Available at http://www.niams.nih.gov/hi/topics/acne/acne.htm (accessed on 14 April 2008).

⁴ And some kinds of oily make-up may block your pores and trigger acne.

⁴

If you have acne, there are things that can make it worse:

⁴

Rubbing your skin
Picking or squeezing your pimples
Tight clothes or bag straps that rub your skin
Pollution and high humidity
If you're female, the change in your hormones that happens when you have your periods, or when you start or stop taking birth control pills.

Myths about acne

There are lots of myths about acne. Here are some of the things that you may hear.

⁴

Source:
Webster GF.
Acne vulgaris.
BMJ. 2002; 325: 475-479.

⁵

You get acne when you don't wash enough

This isn't true. Blackheads aren't black because of dirt. Hard scrubbing can make acne worse.

Greasy foods cause acne

There's no good evidence that eating fatty foods or chocolate causes acne for most people.

You can catch acne

Again, this isn't true. You can't catch acne or pass it on to someone else. Although acne is partly caused by

bacteria
Bacteria are tiny organisms. There are lots of different types. Some are harmful and can cause disease. But some bacteria live in your body without causing any harm.

bacteria, these live on your skin naturally and are usually harmless.

Sources for the information on this page:

Healy E, Simpson N.Acne vulgaris.BMJ. 1994; 308: 831-833.

Mallon E, Newton JN, Klassen A, et al.The quality of life in acne: a comparison with general medical conditions using generic questionnaires.British Journal of Dermatology. 1999; 140: 672-676.

Brown SK, Shalita AR.Acne vulgaris.Lancet. 1998; 351: 1871-1876.

National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases.Questions and answers about acne.January 2006. Available at http://www.niams.nih.gov/hi/topics/acne/acne.htm (accessed on 14 April 2008).

Webster GF.Acne vulgaris.BMJ. 2002; 325: 475-479.

This information was last updated on Apr 09, 2009

This information is for educational use only, and is not a substitute for prompt professional medical advice. Readers should always consult a physician or other professional for advice and treatment.
© BMJ Publishing Group Limited 2009. All rights reserved.

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