Treatment Of Nodular Acne And Other Types Of Acne

Definition and Treatments for Various Types of Serious Acne

Acne, under normal circumstances, is commonly associated with outbreaks of small, irritating pimples on the face. However, this is not always the case, and people have been known to contract more serious forms of acne that can literally leave permanent, life long scars on a person's skin. Knowing the different forms of more serious acne cases and the various treatments for them can help you in case your "little" pimple problem suddenly decides to take a turn for the worse.

Nodular Acne

Nodular Acne - this is the outbreak of pimples the size of pencil erasers. These are often inflamed and painful, the affected areas becoming very sensitive to physical contact. Thankfully, nodular acne only lasts for several months before fading, though within this time frame it is extremely embarrassing and painful. The pimples themselves are swollen and tender but have a hard lumpish core at the center. Avoid trying to break these pimples, as this will result in scarring. The only known treatment is to use a type of medicine called isotretinoin. This is a drug that helps reduce the inflammation, but has the side effect of causing depression and lethargy in the ingester.

Acne Rosacea

Acne Rosacea Treatment. This is a relatively mild problem compared to nodular acne, but can still be a painful experience. Rosacea acne springs from the basic problem of rosacea, where the skin of the face, especially the forehead, the cheeks, the nose, and the chin, turn a bright shade of red. This redness is literally as painful as a severe sunburn, and acne rosacea is when the condition of rosacea is accompanied by an outbreak of regular acne. The pimples are regular sized, but much greater in density and number than a regular acne problem, too. Azelaic acid cream (a prescription facial cream you can get from a dermatologist) is one of the known effective treatments for this condition. Despite being "regular" in size, the sheer number of pimples this condition causes can lead to massive facial scarring that, if left untreated, will resemble mild burn marks all over the skin of the face.

Acne Inflammatory Vulgaris

Acne Inflammatory Vulgaris. This is, quite simply, an amplified version of the "zits" common to adolescents. While there are quite a few people who naturally develop zits in their puberty and have it fade after a few years, acne inflammatory vulgaris is a more clingy version of it that cen persist into early adulthood. Basically, this is treated just like a regular case of teenage zits - antibiotics and facial cream will do the trick. However, the only difference between this condition and regular puberty pimples is that it takes MORE treatment to get rid of it because the condition is also more persistent.

Back Acne and Chest Acne

Chest Acne and Acne on Your Back. A aside from regular facial acne, some people suffer pimple outbreaks that go as far down as the chest and back area. This can be composed of normal zits or can be a case of nodular acne (ouch!). If it's nodular acne, the treatment method is the same, with the additional precaution that you have to avoid rough or heavy clothing and wearing backpacks to avoid friction and pressure on the affected areas. If it's regular zits however, treatment is to use antibiotics and skin cleansers like with regular acne, BUT it takes a longer time to get rid of because the skin on our torsos is generally tougher than our facial skin. In some cases, the regular skin treatments for acne will be insufficient for dealing with the problem, and it's recommended that you visit a dermatologist who will use stronger acid-based skin scrubs to treat the problem.

Cystic Acne

Treating Cystic Acne. Last but not least, this is where it gets really ugly. This is basically a case of nodular acne in terms of size of the growths, BUT the pimples don't have a hard lumpy core - they're quite soft and squishy all throughout, because the growths are filled with pus. To this end, they also tend to "pop" much easier than nodular acne growths. This can lead to severe scarring much easier than even nodular acne, because the cyst growths eat deeply into the skin. The only solution for this is to see a dermatologist, who will recommend either a course of medication or, in more severe cases, dermatological surgery to get rid of the growths.