Saturday, January 31, 2015

The pimples and its effect on our daily life

The pimples and its effect on our daily life
Image Courtesy: CC0 Public Domain
(Free for commercial use / No attribution required)
If we had something important such as an important official meeting, marriage ceremony, party or a date and suddenly in the morning of that auspicious day we find a small reddish pimple making its appearance, what will be our reaction? We will be just dejected. That is the effect of a small pimple.
Pimple is a condition that arises when minute openings called pores that appear on the skin gets blocked by bacteria, oil and dirt.  While the occurrence of pimple is not considered as a severe condition, it may be quite throbbing, mostly if it is severe. A person may get emotionally distressed with its appearance. It really affects our daily routine adversely. A pimple that emerges in the face can affect self-esteem and, eventually, results in permanent blemish. Luckily, this condition is curable with a reduction in the number of pimples formation of scars too.

The Real Cause of Pimples

Occurrence of pimple is due to blocking of pores on the skin bacteria, oil, dead skin, and dirt. Every pore on skin opens to a follicle. The follicle is composed of a sebaceous (oil) gland and hair. Sebum (oil) released by the oil gland, progresses up the hair, reaches the pore, and finally onto the skin. The skin gets lubricated and soft due to the secretion of sebum. The possible grounds of appearance of pimple include:
  • Production of excessive sebum or oil by the follicle
  • Build up of dead cells of the skin inside these pores of the skin
  • Growth of bacteria in the pore
Risk Factors for Development of Pimples

There are some common myths about the causes of pimple.  Several people consider that foodstuffs like French fries or chocolate contributes to pimple. Although these claims are not scientifically supported, some risk factors may prevail, that may result in the development of pimples. These are:
  • Puberty or pregnancy related hormonal changes/ hormonal imbalances
  • Medications, for instance contraceptives or corticosteroids
  • High sugars or carbohydrate rich diet like chips or bread
High sugars or carbohydrates rich diet like chips or bread 

Puberty may be one of the leading causes of pimple in young people. At this period, the body experience radical hormonal changes that generate oil production that increases the risk of pimple development. With the advancement of adulthood puberty related pimple usually abates.

Main Symptoms of Pimple

Pimple may appear anywhere on the body. Usually it develops on face, neck, back, shoulders. When pimple develops you will particularly notice the emergence of pimples that are black or white in its appearance. Blackheads and whiteheads are also referred to as comedones. Blackheads appear on the skin surface therefore black in colour, while the whiteheads are situated just under the skin surface, making them white in appearance. Despite the fact that blackheads and whiteheads are the most frequent forms of pimple, other bruises may also occur. Following are some of the eruptive lesions that cause skin scarring:

  • Papules—these are tiny red, raised bump appears due to contaminated hair follicles
  • Pustules—minute red pimples with pus at their end
  • Nodules—tender, solid swelling that appears underneath the skin surface
  • Cysts—infection containing pus that occurs under the skin surface and are sometimes quite painful.

Diagnosis and Treatment of Pimple

Symptoms of pimple are diagnosed by the doctor by proper examination of the skin.

Home Care Solutions

You can undertake various self-care ventures at home to check and clear off your pimple.  Some of the home remedies are as follows:

  • Regular cleaning of skin with a gentle soap to eliminate excess dirt and oil 
  • Avoid crushing or picking pimple, to stop spreading of bacteria 
  • Regular cleaning of hair
  • Stay away from touching your face as it may spread infection
  • Apply water-based or “noncomedogenic” (i.e. Not pore-clogging) makeup

Medications to Cure Pimples

Beside self care activities, a number of over-the- counter pimple medications are available that may be quite useful. Most of the ingredients of these medications have bactericidal effect and removes excess skin moisture. These ingredients are as follows:

  • Benzoyl peroxide: composition of many pimple gels and creams that eradicates existing pimples and stops the formation of new ones
  • Sulfur: is a common ingredient in anti-pimple medication
  • Salicylic acid: composition of pimple face washes and soaps 

Apart from the above mentioned medication your doctor may also prescribe some topical or oral antibiotics. Antibiotics are typically used for a short span to prevent the body from getting resistant. Resistance to antibiotic resistance may enhance the infection. Topical creams such as prescription strength benzoyl peroxide and retinoic acid are some of the stronger over-the-counter formulas for pimple treatment. Hormonal pimple in women may be controlled with contraceptive pills or spironolactone. Cases of severe nodular pimple can be controlled with Isotretinoin (Accutane) a vitamin A based medication. But it has terrible side effects, and is applied if other treatments become unsuccessful.

Other Available Treatments

Other treatments usually work by eliminating damaged skin.

  • Photodynamic therapy: also referred to as laser treatment, employs  light pulses to abolish the top skin layer 
  • Chemical peel: a chemical is applied to your face by an aesthetician that fundamentally burns the uppermost layer of the skin. Later, that part of the skin  is peeled off to expose the uncontaminated skin underneath.

Cortisone injections are often suggested by the doctor if the large cyst is present in the pimple. Cortisone is a steroid that is synthesised naturally by the body. It can lessen swelling and heal rapidly.

Pimples and its Outlook

Pimple treatment is often quite successful. Generally people think of that their pimple may disappear by six to eight weeks. Yet, the condition may often erupt need further treatment.

You can visit http://bit.ly/GPABlogLinkIndiBloggerActivity and http://bit.ly/GarnierPureActiveNeemWebsite for more such suggestions to cure your pimples.

The pimples and its effect on our daily life
Image courtesy: Garnier and Indiblogger
This post is a part of the contest from Garnier In association with Indiblogger

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