Authored by Dr Harsh Sharma, Edited and Peer Reviewed by Dr. Pooja Sharma

Published July 3, 2014, Last updated October 21, 2016

Acne explained

Acne is a common skin problem that is seen in the youngsters or teenagers, though it can affect even those past this age group. If you understand the thinking of the youngsters, you will know that the biggest fear in the minds of youngsters, more so in girls is that it will affect their looks badly. This can in fact affect their self esteem also. Due to acne, the the skin of the face tends to become rough and the natural smooth texture of the facial skin is lost. The eruptions tend to have pus in them and there is pain on touch and sometimes otherwise too. Some people try to pick at the pimples but that is not the right thing to do as it will always leave scars on the face. While the growing age is a sensitive time even otherwise for kids, they find it quite difficult to handle such a problem which does not have an easy solution. While they have a great desire to look good, the presence of pimples on the face or scars therefrom can cause them to lose confidence. It has often been observed that such teenagers tend to withdraw from company. Most of the medicines and the cosmetic creams offer little relief on a lasting basis. Once the medicines are stopped, the acne come back with a vengeance. A lot of advertisements seen in newspapers and other media promise magical cures for pimples but fall short of giving even temporary relief. They happen to be just a waste of time, money and effort. It is because none of these try to cure the root cause of the problem and are concentrating on treating just the end result.

 Causes of acne

It is very important to understand the various causes or things that cause this problem to occur in the first place. There are so many things that conspire to cause this trouble. During the teenage, the body is growing at a furious pace. This growth is fuelled by a lot of changes in the horomonal system in the human body. These hormonal changes are one of the most important cause of acne. Another important factor that plays a huge role is that of stress. It is one of the causes that is often overlooked as one tends to think that youngsters will hardly have any sort of stress at this tender age. On the contrary, the youngsters are also subject to a lot of stress and have poorly defined mechanisms to deal with this stress. The present scenario of personal issues, competitive exams, pressure of studies and peer pressure offer a lot of reasons for the teenagers to feel stressed.

Multiple factors are at play when it comes to causing acne. In the growing age, there are a lot of hormonal changes that occur in the human body and they are the most prominent cause of acne. Another factor that tends to aggravate this trouble is the underlying stress. The cause of this stress may be related to personal life, career, studies or peer pressure but the effect on human body remains the same. Ironically, the creams that claim to cure acne in a magical way may themselves be the cause or aggravating factor of acne. Having an oily face which means that there is increased production of sebum, is also one contributory factor to acne, though people with dry skin are also affected by acne.

The present day food habits of youngsters too become a contributory factor in the incidence of pimples. Junk food, which has become more or less the staple diet can be a major factor which increases the occurrence of acne. Fried food, too much intake of sweets and little intake of fibre rich food all tend to aggravate this problem. It has been observed that there is some familial incidence of this problem, which means that you are more likely to suffer from this trouble if your parents or siblings also had it but this does not mean that you are sure to have it or that this is a hereditary problem. Cosmetics which can cause dryness or interfere with the production of sebum can also contribute to this problem.

Do’s and Dont’s

Take a lot of water whether you feel thirsty or not. Drinking at least 10-12 glasses in a day is advisable and more your intake, the better it is. At the same time, the diet should consist of fresh fruits and vegetables so that the intake of fibre, necessary minerals and vitamins is good. One should avoid processed foods, fried foods and junk food. It is not advisable to pick the pimples or rub them with a hard cloth or towel. One should wash the face with plain water more than once in a day. It helps to wash off the dirt, perspiration and smoke particles that may have stuck to the skin.

Homeopathic Treatment of acne

Homeopathic medicines are able to root out this problem as Homeopathy recognises the various causative factors and take them into consideration while prescribing the right medicine. Even the psychological factors and stress are taken into account which are not at all recognised by the conventional system of medicine. The common medicines that are used for the treatment of acne are Sulphur, Natrum Mur, Hepar Sulphur and Graphites.