Stress has been pinpointed as the main cause of adult acne.
The latest statistics from the American Dermatological society
suggests that adult acne is much more widespread than most of us
imagine, more and more adults are getting acne then ever before.
In fact almost 50% of women and 25 % of men are affected by
adult acne, at some point in their lives.
Like teenage acne the exact cause of adult acne remains largely
unknown. However one of the biggest contributing factors to
adult acne is increased levels of stress that people now suffer
from. For many, adult acne seems to come out of the blue, while
others get it in there teens and never seem to get rid of it.
Nobody really knows why so many more people are getting adult
acne later on in life, but there does appear to be a clear link
with stress.
Stress is thought to interfere with the normal hormonal balance.
If you've been under a lot of pressure recently and you've
started suffering from adult acne, the best thing you can do, is
to address the source of the stress. Until the stress is under
control you won't see a dramatic improvement in your acne.
The standard treatments for adult acne are similar to those
employed for teenage acne using mainly topical products, many of
which contain benzoyl peroxide. Benzoyl peroxide is used to kill
the P. Acnes located in the clogged pores. The use of topical
solutions (creams, gels or lotions) targets the result or
symptoms of acne and not the cause. It also often dries not only
"pimples" but also the skin around them. In adult acne it is
especially important to limit the number of pimples since
dermatologists have known for many years that adult acne is more
likely to leave permanent physical scars. The increase
prevalence of scarring or pox marks is due to the fact that as
the skin ages and loses collagen, it's much harder for the skin
to repair itself after tissue damage that is caused by
inflammation and enlarged pores associated with acne.
Despite the fact that acne is one of the world's most common
medical problems, it is still thought of as being very much a
teenage problem. Very little thought is given to the significant
psychological effects that the victim may suffer as a result of
an outbreak of adult acne. The net result may be in feelings of
anxiety and apprehension in leaving the home, and interacting
with other adults. These issues must be resolved as part of the
long term treatment of the disease.