Acne vulgaris, (Updated) A Simple Guide To The Condition, Diagnosis, Treatment And Related Conditions

By Kenneth Kee

This book describes Acne vulgaris, Diagnosis and Treatment and Related Diseases

Recently my second grand-daughter had a severe episode of Acne vulgaris and was emotionally upset by her change of facial appearance.
Being a teenager she was prone to having acne or pimples at this time.
I have tried to calm her down and treated her with some topical medicine which has helped her acne temporarily.
However acne is common in recurrence during the teenage years and she has a long time to go before her acne will stop flaring up.

New treatment in acne is being researched all the time.
There are dozens, if not hundreds, of beliefs on preventing and treating acne.
Even the best treatments can produce problems, such as dry skin, sensitivity to sunlight, and birth defects.
These imperfect treatments make it especially exciting that there is a new acne vaccine in development.
As promising as this may be, it may result in many of the adverse side effects as present treatments.
The vaccine, which if put into use, would be the first of its kind, is planned to decrease the body’s inflammatory reaction to the toxins produced by bacteria in the skin.
So far the vaccine has only been tested in mice and human-tissue samples, but the possible impact of these findings is huge for the hundreds of millions of patients suffering from acne.
The bacteria directed by the new vaccine are just one possible cause of acne; hormones, genetics, and certain medicines can also be factors to the acne disorder.
Doctors often give isotretinoin, an oral medicine that remains under a class of treatments called retinoids.
It is one of the best treatments for acne vulgaris.
It can be excessively drying, and risks producing such severe birth defects that those female patients who take it are needed to prove that they are on two forms of birth control or abstaining from sex with men.
Doctors occasionally prescribe the blood-pressure-regulating drug spironolactone to treat acne.
Dermatologists often advise less invasive (and often less effective) methods such as topical retinoids, antibiotics, birth control, and over-the-counter products with salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide.
Most of these treatments direct at just one possible cause of acne:
For bacterial acne, there are antibiotics to treat the bacteria.
For hormonal acne, there is birth control to treat the excessive male hormones in females.
Few doctors treat both, along with the many other factors, from pore-clogging makeup to time spent wearing a helmet, that add to acne formation.
While the acne vaccine in development is really promising, it, too, has a narrow aim: the inflammatory reaction to skin bacteria.
There is reason to be hopeful about the development of the new vaccine, but that it will possibly come with side effects of its own.
Targeting C. acnes (the bacteria most often linked with acne) with a vaccine would be more specific and less toxic than chemical treatments.
But not all C. acnes bacteria is bad; they are made up of different strains, and while some cause acne, others are beneficial.
If it targets the wrong strains, the vaccine might worsen patients’ condition by disturbing skin bacterial flora integrity.
The vaccine would be best used together with other more established acne treatments.
Other new acne therapies have also shown promising results in the past twenty years.
One such method uses probiotics which may assist to reduce acne in some patients.
Some studies have determined that applying a particular bacterium may have anti-inflammatory and bacteria-killing effects.
Lasers are also more often used to treat acne, though they are time intensive and the results unpredictable.
Acne treatment can help the patient.
TABLE OF CONTENT
Introduction
Chapter 1 Acne vulgaris Updated)
Chapter 2 Causes
Chapter 3 Symptoms
Chapter 4 Diagnosis
Chap

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kenneth Kee
• Release date: Aug 10, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463854495

Kenneth Kee

Medical doctor since 1972.Started Kee Clinic in 1974 at 15 Holland Dr #03-102, relocated to 36 Holland Dr #01-10 in 2009.Did my M.Sc (Health Management ) in 1991 and Ph.D (Healthcare Administration) in 1993.Dr Kenneth Kee is still working as a family doctor at the age of 74However he has reduced his consultation hours to 3 hours in the morning and 2 hours inthe afternoon.He first started writing free blogs on medical disorders seen in the clinic in 2007 on http://kennethkee.blogspot.com.His purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of his patients which is also his dissertation for his Ph.D (Healthcare Administration). He then wrote an autobiography account of his journey as a medical student to family doctor on his other blog http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.comThis autobiography account “A Family Doctor’s Tale” was combined with his early “A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders” into a new Wordpress Blog “A Family Doctor’s Tale” on http://ken-med.com.From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 1000 eBooks.He apologized for typos and spelling mistakes in his earlier books.He will endeavor to improve the writing in futures.Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.The later books go into more details of medical disorders.He has published 1000 eBooks on various subjects on health, 1 autobiography of his medical journey, another on the autobiography of a Cancer survivor, 2 children stories and one how to study for his nephew and grand-daughter.The purpose of these simple guides is to educate patient on health disorders and not meant as textbooks.He does not do any night duty since 2000 ever since Dr Tan had his second stroke.His clinic is now relocated to the Buona Vista Community Centre.The 2 units of his original clinic are being demolished to make way for a new Shopping Mall.He is now doing some blogging and internet surfing (bulletin boards since the 1980's) startingwith the Apple computer and going to PC.The entire PC is upgraded by himself from XT to the present Pentium duo core.The present Intel i7 CPU is out of reach at the moment because the CPU is still expensive.He is also into DIY changing his own toilet cistern and other electric appliance.His hunger for knowledge has not abated and he is a lifelong learner.The children have all grown up and there are 2 grandchildren who are even more technically advanced than the grandfather where mobile phones are concerned.This book is taken from some of the many articles in his blog (now with 740 posts) A Family Doctor’s Tale.Dr Kee is the author of:"A Family Doctor's Tale""Life Lessons Learned From The Study And Practice Of Medicine""Case Notes From A Family Doctor"

Book preview

Acne vulgaris,

(Updated)

A

Simple

Guide

To

The Condition,

Diagnosis,

Treatment

And

Related Conditions

By

Dr Kenneth Kee

M.B.,B.S. (Singapore)

Ph.D (Healthcare Administration)

Copyright Kenneth Kee 2019 Smashwords Edition

Published by Kenneth Kee at Smashwords.com

Dedication

This book is dedicated

To my wife Dorothy

And my children

Carolyn, Grace

And Kelvin

This book describes Acne vulgaris, Diagnosis and Treatment and Related Diseases which is seen in some of my patients in my Family Clinic.

(What You Need to Treat Acne vulgaris)

This e-Book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader.

If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy.

Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Introduction

I have been writing medical articles for my blog: http://kennethkee.blogspot.com (A Simple Guide to Medical Disorder) for the benefit of my patients since 2007.

My purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of my patients.

Health Education was also my dissertation for my Ph.D (Healthcare Administration).

I then wrote an autobiography account of my journey as a medical student to family doctor on my other blog: http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.com.

This autobiography account A Family Doctor’s Tale was combined with my early A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders into a new Wordpress Blog A Family Doctor’s Tale on http://kenkee481.wordpress.com.

From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 800 eBooks.

Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.

For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.

The later books go into more details of medical disorders.

The first chapter is always from my earlier blogs which unfortunately tends to have typos and spelling mistakes.

Since 2013, I have tried to improve my spelling and writing.

As I tried to bring the patient the latest information about a disorder or illness by reading the latest journals both online and offline, I find that I am learning more and improving on my own medical knowledge in diagnosis and treatment for my patients.

Just by writing all these simple guides I find that I have learned a lot from your reviews (good or bad), criticism and advice.

I am sorry for the repetitions in these simple guides as the second chapters onwards have new information as compared to my first chapter taken from my blog.

I also find repetition definitely help me and maybe some readers to remember the facts in the books more easily.

I apologize if these repetitions are irritating to some readers.

Chapter 1

Acne Vulgaris (Pimples)

Acne (Pimples) from Wikipedia)

What is Acne (Pimples)?

Acne Vulgaris (Pimples) is a medical skin disorder which is featured by papules, pustules and inflamed sebaceous oil glands.

Nearly all of the people have acne at some time or another.

It mainly affects adolescents (and can start as young as 8 years old), but acne may persist, begin or become more severe in adulthood.

Most people with rashes have a medical disorder called acne vulgaris.

Vulgaris is the medical term for common.

It is given this name to differentiate it from less common variants of acne.

Acne (Pimples) is a skin disorder that produces pimples or zits.

Whiteheads, blackheads, and red, inflamed patches of skin (such as cysts) may form.

It normally happens on the face, neck, upper back, chest, or shoulders where the concentration of these glands is normally sited.

What is the cause of Acne (Pimples)?

Cause

It is a disease produced by the over-activity of the sebaceous glands which are sited at the base of the hair follicles of the skin.

Acne (Pimples) happens when tiny holes on the surface of the skin become blocked.

These holes are called pores.

Each pore opens to a follicle.

A follicle is made up of a hair and a sebaceous gland.

The sebum released by the gland assists remove old skin cells and keeps the skin soft.

When glands produce too much sebum, the pores can become obstructed.

Dirt, bacteria, and cells collect in the blocked glands.

The blockage is called a comedone or plug.

If the appearance of the plug is white, it is called a whitehead.

If the appearance of the plug is dark, it is called a blackhead.

If the comedone breaks open, swelling and red bumps occur.

Acne (Pimples) that are deep in the skin can cause hard, painful cysts.

This is called cystic acne.

Acne (Pimples) is most frequent in teenagers, but anyone can get pimples, even babies.

The disorder is likely to run in families.

Some things that may spark off acne are:

1. Hormonal changes that make the skin oilier.

These may be related to puberty, menstrual periods, pregnancy, contraceptive tablets, or anxiety.

2. Oily cosmetic and hair products

3. Certain drugs (such as steroids, testosterone, estrogen, and phenytoin)

4. Heavy sweating and humidity

5. Research does not show that chocolate, nuts, and greasy foods cause acne.

6. The diets high in refined sugars or dairy products may be related to acne in some people.

Sebaceous glands produce an oily moisturizing secretion (sebum) which assists to wax the hair growing from the hair follicle.

The oil then enters into the skin's hair follicles which cover most of the body.

Normally tiny skin cells shed so that a new layer of skin can replace the ones on the surfaces.

If the shedding of such cells is abnormal, the opening of the hair follicle can be blocked.

The result is an accumulation of sebum in the follicle which can easily become infected.

Bacteria infecting the collected sebum will produce pus and toxins that then resulted in an infected swollen gland or infected pimple.

The infected acne glands if serious may lead to scars.

What are the causes in Acne (Pimples)?

Causes

1. Hormonal:

During puberty especially in boys there is a higher amount of the male hormones which can cause the skin follicles to grow larger and produce more sebum.

The excess sebum and dead cells can block the opening of the oil glands

The accumulation of the oil and sebum in the gland leads to infections and pus formation.

2. Hereditary:

The tendency to have acne can run in families.

3. Stress

There is a relationship between stress and acne formation.

Whether stress causes the acne or the acne causes the stress is controversial.

One factor definitely exacerbates the other.

4. Infections

Any unhygienic hand that touches the face or scratches the body will definitely causes bacterial infection of the skin.

Where there is collection of sebum or breaks in the skin the bacteria can enter and cause infection of the sebaceous glands and skin.

The frequent bacteria in acne are the Propionibacterium acnes and staphylococcus epidermis.

5. Diet

A diet rich in oils and sugar is more likely to raise the oil in the skin oil glands with consequences of plugging the pores of the skin follicles.

What are the symptoms of Acne (Pimples)?

Symptoms

Acne often happens on the