Acne and Its Remedies by Hanna Rejas

This is an article about acne. I am writing about this because most people, especially teenagers have this skin problem. For almost 8 years, I suffered this skin problem. It started when I was a junior in high school and it lasted until I graduated from the university. I know a lot of people who have acne. My younger siblings even complain about this. I know how it feels. I am sharing this so that other people may benefit from my experience and how I dealt with it.

Acne vulgaris or simply acne is a common human skin disease, characterized by areas of skin with seborrhea (scaly red skin), comedones (blackheads and whiteheads), papules (pinheads), nodules (large papules), pimples, and possibly scarring. Acne affects mostly skin with the densest population of sebaceous follicles; these areas include the face, the upper part of the chest, and the back. In my case, during the worst part of it, I have acne all over my face, neck and back. The worst part is my face, it looks red and it has lots of scars and it made me feel bad about myself.

Aside from scarring, its main effects are psychological, such as reduced self-esteem and in very extreme cases, depression or suicide. Acne usually appears during adolescence, when people already tend to be most socially insecure. Early and aggressive treatment is therefore advocated by some to lessen the overall long-term impact to individuals.

As we all know, acne occurs most commonly during adolescence, and often continues into adulthood. In adolescence, acne is usually caused by an increase in testosterone, which accrues during puberty, regardless of sex. My dermatologist told me that one of the causes of acne is being allergic to androgen. It was taken cared of when my ob/gyn (obstetrician and gynaecologist) doctor prescribed hormonal treatments to ease my menstrual cramps. She told me that this hormonal treatment will also help my acne problem because it addresses the problem of being allergic to androgen.

After 3 months of taking the hormonal treatment, my acne subsided but after a year I had acne breakout again and it was worse than ever. My dermatologist took care of me. She addressed the problem with high doses of antibiotic and 25,000 IU of Vitamin A daily for 10 days. She also told me to use a clear soap made from coconut milk and antibiotic solutions to clean my face. After 2 weeks, my acne stopped appearing. This time, the scars were so bad so my dermatologist told me to use Retin-A to hasten the production of new skin. During daytime, I had to use a sunblock with SPF 80 to SPF 110 in order to protect my face from sunburn since I was using this Retin-A. Most people don’t use sunblock during daytime after using Retin-A at night, that’s the main reason why they get sunburn and freckles.

After 5 months of using all the medicines from my dermatologist, I was acne-free and my scars were gone, not all but most of them. And after a year, my scars were completely gone.

During these series of treatments, I also follow a lot of healthy tips from all the books and articles that I have read. Until this day, these tips are my guide to healthy living. I make sure that I have at least 8 hours of sleep every night. I drink at least 2 liters of liquid every day. That includes water and fresh juices. I stopped drinking soft drinks and I don’t drink coffee and alcoholic beverages. I minimize my intake of food that has hormones like meat and dairy products. I have read that food with hormones can cause hormonal imbalance. I do my best that my diet will be mostly vegetables, fruits, fish and rice. Once in a while, I have pork and native chicken or organic chicken. Why? Organic chicken weren’t injected with hormones to make them grow faster unlike the ones mostly in the market. I strive hard to exercise 3 times a week. Mostly my workout routine is: running or brisk walking or playing badminton. These health and wellness tips help me a lot and I am still doing these things until now.

At present, I am still using the clear soap, Dermycin (antibiotic solution) and the SPF 80 sunblock that my dermatologist advised me to use. I am happy to say that I am acne-free and my skin is better than ever.