Acne - Types of Acne
Sometimes acne is nothing more than a simple pimple, a
bit of trapped pus consisting of sebum, dead skin cells and white blood
cells. But it can be more severe. Knowing which type you have is key to
a proper diagnosis and treatment plan.
Professionals recommending a course of treatment will rank acne by
Grade.
Grade I includes milder, non-inflamed types such as blackheads,
whiteheads or milia. Grade II involves a larger number of these, and
frequently includes papules or pustules that are mildly inflamed.
Papules are small lesions, a change or break in the skin, that is
smaller than 5 mm - about the width of a thin cigarette. They're in the
form of a bump that rises above the surface. A pustule, by contrast, is
pus-filled - a mixture of bacteria, white blood cells and dead skin
cells.
Grade III is more severe. The papules or pustules will be red, larger
and more numerous. Grade IV is the most severe level, and includes
nodules and cysts. The inflammation is usually wide spread and includes
more than just the face.
Acne vulgaris is the common form of mild acne. Any of the Grade I forms
will fall under this heading. They can usually be treated with over the
counter medications.
In more severe form acne can develop into a type known as acne
congoblata. The name may sound amusing, but the condition is anything
but. It's characterized by heavy inflammation and deep abscesses. The
result is often scarring and other forms of serious skin damage.
Inflamed nodules will form around comedones - a general term for
blackheads, whiteheads and milia. They often grow until they
spontaneously discharge pus. While they do, they're painful. When they
do, they're unsightly. Keliod-type scars are commonly left behind.
Another type is known as acne fulminans. Here, the nodules will often
ulcerate, leading to a painful and recurrent form of acne. The person
afflicted may even develop a fever or aching joints. Treatment with
corticosteroids or NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) is
usually called for. But these treat symptoms, not the underlying cause.
In still more severe forms, a person may develop nodulocystic acne.
Cysts form (red bumps produced by severe inflammation), but they're of
an unusual type. Sometimes they become numerous and close enough
together to form a larger inflamed area. When they form small tunnels
under the skin, infection can spread more readily. A treatment of
antibiotics is called for, and isotretinoin (brand name: Accutane) is
frequently employed.
Gram-negative folliculitis occurs when the follicles - the shaft in
which hairs grow and sebum flows from the sebaceous glands - become
infected. Bacteria grow inside and the body responds by dispatching
white blood cells to fight the infection. The result is a deep eruption
that calls for special treatment.
The type of bacteria that produces it may be resistant to normal
antibiotics. In fact, the condition may have resulted from treatment of
other types of acne treated with antibiotics.
Proper diagnosis of these forms of acne calls for a visit to a
professional. A dermatologist's care is warranted in these cases, as it
may be in other forms of severe acne.
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