Acne, commonly known as pimples, is not the sole preserve of adolescents, but can also occur in adults. Adults who have acne will take aggressive treatment because of the damage to their image, but adolescent children with acne often delay treatment. Parents often think that acne will heal on its own after puberty, so they let their children’s acne grow unchecked, and only realize the seriousness of the problem when it becomes inflamed and swollen and affects their image, and bring their children to the hospital. So don’t take acne as a disease. It is recommended that patients go to a regular hospital to get treatment after acne, and don’t listen to people who use prescriptions indiscriminately, delaying treatment, leaving scars and affecting the image. First, how acne is formed First of all, let’s understand “How is acne formed?” Only then can we take targeted treatment measures. When the epithelial cells of the hair follicles become keratinized, the exit of the pores becomes smaller, and the secreted oil cannot be discharged normally, and the pores become blocked. In a closed pore, Propionibacterium acnes (the bacteria that cause acne and are also found in normal human skin) increases, releasing free fatty acids, and acne is formed. Therefore, to treat acne, we need to inhibit hyperkeratosis of hair follicles, open up pores, reduce inflammation and regulate oil secretion. Acne in different periods looks different. Acne is divided into three degrees and four levels. 1 mild acne: the patient has only a small amount of acne; 2 moderate acne: in addition to acne, there are a small amount of inflammatory papules; 3 moderate acne: in addition to acne and inflammatory papules, there are also pustules; 4 severe acne: not only contains acne, inflammatory papules, pustules, but also cysts and nodules; Several common terms of acne are mentioned above. Pimples, papules, pustules, nodules, and cysts. These are different periods of acne with varying degrees of severity. If acne is left untreated, it will progress step by step from small pimples to large cysts. Pimples are non-inflammatory, least symptomatic acne that is consistent with the color of the skin and is not red or swollen. Acne is divided into closed acne (whiteheads) and open acne (blackheads). When you touch the skin with your hands, you can feel small raised bumps, similar to the “goose bumps” that occur when you are cold (see the picture below left); blackhead acne is when the contents of the hair follicle are connected to the outside world and oxidized by the air. The pimple is topped with a black “head” (see picture below right). (see picture below right). Whiteheads and blackheads When pimples become inflamed, they form inflammatory papules. An inflammatory papule is usually a red hemispherical or other shaped bumps, usually less than 25px in diameter. It does not have a white head on it and is a small, bare, red bump. (See figure below for morphology.) Further inflammatory deterioration of the inflammatory papule results in the formation of a pustule. The pustule contains yellowish pus, a product of increased inflammation and bacterial infection, and is usually tipped with a white or yellowish raised pus head. Further aggravation of the pustules will fuse to form cystic acne. Cystic acne consists of nodules and cysts of varying sizes. Nodules are harder in texture, less mobile, and appear red and swollen due to visible inflammation. Cysts are softer to the touch, with an intact envelope that can be felt and a liquid pus inside. They are usually larger in size, with multiple follicles fused together, and if not treated properly, they can easily leave acne pits. With the above introduction, I hope you can briefly understand the various forms of acne. Small pimples are acne, and large cysts are also acne. Depending on the severity, a graded treatment approach is required.