Acne vulgaris is a chronic inflammatory disease of the hair follicles and sebaceous glands that occurs mainly in the lipid-prone areas of the face and chest and back. It can affect people of all ages, but the incidence is higher in adolescents.
Basic knowledge]
The development of acne is mainly related to four major causes, including androgens, increased sebaceous secretion, hyperkeratosis of follicular sebaceous glands and Propionibacterium acnes infection, and in some cases, genetic, immune and endocrine disorders.
The disease is most common in young men and women between the ages of 15 and 30, with lesions occurring on the cheeks, forehead, chin and nasal cheek groove, followed by the chest, back and shoulders, and mostly symmetrically distributed. Whiteheads can be picked and squeezed out with white-yellow bean curd-like material, while blackheads, also called open pimples, are formed due to the oxidation of sebum and dust when the top is exposed on the skin surface. The lesions may be aggravated by inflammatory papules with small pustules at the top, and may develop into dark red nodules or cysts, which may become abscesses if left untreated for a long time and form scars after breaking down. The disease generally has no conscious symptoms, but can be painful when the inflammation is obvious. The course of the disease is chronic, sometimes mild and sometimes severe, and in women it is often aggravated cyclically before menstruation.
In recent years, acne has been clinically classified into degrees I-IV according to the Pillsbury classification.
Grade I (mild) is characterized by blackheads, disseminated or multiple; sporadic inflammatory papules.
Grade II (moderate) shows an increase in the number of inflammatory lesions in addition to grade I. Superficial pustules appear, but are confined to the face.
Grade III (severe) shows a grade II deepening of the inflammatory papules, which are distributed on the face, neck and chest and back.
Grade IV (severe – clustered) manifests as grade III plus nodules and cysts with scar formation, occurring on the upper part of the body.
【Treatment plan
The course of acne fluctuates greatly, and therefore treatment is highly variable. The general principle of treatment is to remove lipids, dissolve keratin, sterilize, and regulate hormone levels with anti-inflammatory agents.
1. General treatment. Pay attention to washing your face with water, avoid squeezing and scratching with your hands. Pay attention to dietary habits, eat as little spicy food as possible, control fat-rich food and sweets, eat more fresh vegetables, fruits and vitamin-rich food, adjust the function of the digestive tract. In addition, moderate labor and rest, correct constipation, prohibit bromine, iodine drugs is also very important.
2, topical drug treatment. Mild patients can only be treated with topical drugs. Commonly used drugs such as vitamin A acid, antibiotic ointment, peroxybenzoic acid, azelaic acid, etc.
3, internal drug treatment.
(1) Antibiotics: Oral tetracycline, erythromycin, roxithromycin, minocycline, etc., can make the concentration of free fatty acids in the sebum drop significantly and inhibit the chemotactic activity of Acinetobacter propionicus and on leukocytes.
(2) Anti-androgen drugs: Since androgens can stimulate excessive secretion of sebaceous glands and cause acne, the purpose of applying hormones is to resist the action of androgens in sebaceous glands or to resist androgen secretion with estrogens. Commonly used drugs include Daing-35, spironolactone and cimetidine, etc.
(3) Isotretinoin: It can reduce sebum secretion, control abnormal keratinization and the formation of blackheads and acne, and inhibit Propionibacterium acnes, which is effective for nodular, cystic and coalescent acne.
4.Phototherapy. Red and blue light irradiation can be effective for acne by destroying Propionibacterium acnes and reducing the inflammatory response through the peri-photodynamic effect. In addition, in recent years, laser acne treatment has made safe, rapid and effective progress. Laser acne treatment uses specific wavelengths of laser light to inhibit the excess sebum that causes acne and to kill the bacteria that cause acne, thus making the new acne fade away in time. In addition, the laser can also effectively stimulate the regeneration of skin collagen, so that the uneven marks left after the birth of acne can be restored to flatness, coupled with the laser grinding effect, so that the two-way effect of acne removal and scar removal into one, is a better solution to acne.
Preventive measures]
Acne occurs in the adolescent population. Young people are emotionally unstable, sensitive and easily stimulated during the adolescent development period, and they are especially concerned about their appearance at this time, so they are extremely distressed about acne and are eager to seek treatment.
1, acne is best to avoid the following foods
(1) Less spicy food: such as chili, onion, garlic, etc. This kind of food is hot and easy to raise fire after eating.
(2) Eat less greasy food: such as animal oil, vegetable oil, etc. These foods can generate a lot of heat. This kind of food can produce a lot of heat, so that the internal heat aggravated. Therefore, must avoid eating such as animal oil and liver.
(3) can not eat fishy things: such as sea eel, sea shrimp, sea crab, scallops, etc.. Fishy things can often cause the body allergies and lead to aggravation of the disease, often make the sebaceous glands of chronic inflammation to expand and difficult to get rid of.
(4) Do not eat tonic: Most of the tonic is a hot product, after the tonic makes the internal heat aggravated, more likely to induce acne.
(5) Eat less high-sugar foods: such as white sugar, icing sugar, brown sugar, glucose, chocolate, ice cream, etc. When the body eats foods high in sugar, the body’s metabolism will be exuberant and the secretion of sebaceous glands will increase, thus causing acne to appear continuously.
(6) Less exposure to more stimulating foods: such as cigarettes, alcohol and strong tea, etc.
2, acne eat more of the following foods
(1) Eat more foods rich in vitamin A: foods rich in vitamin A include goldenrod, leeks, carrots, spinach, milk, etc.
(2) Eat more foods rich in vitamin B2: foods rich in vitamin B2 include milk, eggs and green leafy vegetables, etc.
(3) Eat more foods rich in vitamin B6: foods rich in vitamin B6 include egg yolk, milk, dried yeast, cereal germ, fish and vegetables (carrots, spinach, shiitake mushrooms).
(4) Eat more zinc-rich foods: foods rich in zinc include lean meat, dairy, eggs, etc.
(5) Eat more cool foods: foods that clear heat and detoxify the body include lean pork, mushrooms, silver fungus, black fungus, celery, bitter melon, cucumber, winter melon, wild rice, mung bean sprouts, soybeans, tofu, lotus root, watermelon, pear, etc.