Normal zits are already unpleasant enough, but cystic acne is a much more painful and potentially scarring experience for your skin (and your self esteem!). There is no “easy” remedy for getting rid of acne cysts, but there are certainly some treatment options that can help speed the process, as well as some things that you should be sure NOT to do. This advice is meant for acne sufferers with a mild to average number of cysts. If you have severe cystic acne that covers your face and body, you should really seek the advice of a dermatologist immediately, as an affliction such as this can leave your skin scarred for life.

Understanding cystic acne:

Unlike the small whitehead pustules that most people with acne experience on the surface of their skin, cystic acne appears as large irritated bumps, often with the pustule hidden deep beneath the skin’s surface. These cysts are caused when hormonal shifts result in your skin glands overproducing oil (sebum) at an unnatural rate. The gland becomes swollen and eventually bursts, but not before the sebum has swelled and hardened into a clump too large to escape by means of your pores. The irritation from your gland bursting results in inflammation, and buried pustule can remain in your skin for a very long time.

What to do:

The first thing to keep in mind is what you should not do. Never try to force a deep cyst to the surface of your skin prematurely. Trying to force cysts to burst is one of the major causes of acne scars, and will often leave your face looking much worse than it did before.

There are some things that you can still do to help. Strong acne creams with 2.5% benzoyl peroxide will help speed the healing process by killing the bacteria that forms in the cyst. Anti-inflammatory treatments such as Neosporin can also help by taking some of the red out of the inflamed region. After this, it simply takes patience and the discipline not to pick at your skin. Your cysts will eventually be broken down by the body, and this usually takes less time than healing from the inflammation caused by forcing them out.

Prevention:

Cystic acne happens below the surface of your skin and has very little to do with personal hygene. Creams and cleansers will not help much at all in preventing it. You need to target your oil glands in order to counter those hormonal shifts. Start with a daily multivitamin to make sure you’re getting the minimum of essential nutrients that your body needs to metabolize oil, and then consider other supplements.

Zinc is an important mineral in regulating the activity of your oil glands, as well as being a powerful antioxidant. Taking an extra 30-50 mg per day of Zinc has helped many acne sufferers. Vitamin B5 is also a key ingredient in fighting excess oil. There are many online resources about vitamn B5 acne treatment. B5 is necessary in order to produce Coenzyme-A, which in turn is needed for the metabolism of skin oil. Supplementing with 5-10 grams of vitamin B5 (less if time-released) has helped many acne sufferers get their skin under control by enhancing oil metabolism. Since cystic acne is caused by excessive oil production, this may be exactly what you need.

If nothing else works for you, see a dermatologist, as you may need a prescription treatment such as Accutane (a vitamin A derivative that directly lowers your production of skin oil). However, this should only be a last resort, as the side-effects from prescription acne treatments can sometimes be more serious than the acne itself.

Don Amodeo is the webmaster of Acne-Vitamins.com, where you can find vitamin B5 acne products and a free guide to vitamins for acne.

Curing cystic acne in effect means, taking care of the skin properly. Taking care of the skin means giving the skin what it wants, what it deserves. Vitamin D ingredients are essential for the healthy skin. To enable the skin to breathe freely, give it fresh air and sunshine. Oxygen is a great stress reliever. Do it within limitations and don’t go to the sunburn extent. Use a good tanning lotion.

Never think for a moment that body and mind are separate. They are intimately related. The goings in the mind will definitely have a telling effect on the body. So, carefully budget your time and plan your events, to avoid the stress at the last moment. Give a fixed time to your exercise schedule. Yoga asanas and meditation are highly recommended.

You know that the blocked pores are one of the reasons for acne, but do you know what is the reason for the blocked pores? The simple remedy is water. Drink lots of water. Shortage of water in the body leads to dehydration. By doing so, you are causing the pores to be blocked, and extending invitation to acne. Have you ever, realized why you feel so fresh, when you take a bath? It is due to the cleaning of the pores.

There is another school of thought which says that dirt has nothing to do with acne. Since the exact causes of acne are still not known, you can welcome any logic relating to the appearance and growth of acne.

But over washing, over scrubbing the face or any part of the body is to damage the skin. It will result in dry skin. What happens next is creation of more oil. More oil and more dead cells make a mess of it, resulting in blocked pores giving scope for the appearance and growth of acne.

Mind your diet. Since acne is the outward manifestation of the internal purities, take that food which helps to purify the system. Seasonal fruits and seasonal vegetables are the answer. Avoid all those heavy and oily stuff, which are not easily digestible.

To get detailed information on Acne and more Acne articles visit http://www.acnetalks.com/pimple/

Generally speaking, each individual will have a somewhat unique set of guidelines for rosacea skin care because what evokes a rosacea flare-up for one person may have no significant effect on another. However, despite the unique nature of this condition for each person, there are common triggers to avoid and particular guidelines that each patient should follow.

Drastic environmental change is an enemy of rosacea skin. It is not so much the sun or cold itself which causes the rosacea to flare, it’s the drastic change that causes the negative reaction in the skin. The skin essentially “throws a fit” in response to this drastic change. Such environmental conditions can have a significant effect on rosacea and can keep a person from ever gaining a hold over their embarrassing redness.

Gaining control is not easy, especially for those who live in colder climate zones. However, there are precautions a person can take to help reduce the effects of environment. In colder zones, a simple face scarf or face mask is very effective in tempering a drastic temperature change. For those in sunnier zones, high SPF sun lotion and a hat can keep a person’s face cool, along with a little dab of water. Some find aloe to be a great benefit as well.

In addition to external environment, emotional factors are part of the equation of rosacea skin care. If you are prone to emotional situations or are in a stressful environment, this can cause a drastic change on your blood pressure and hormonal levels. Again, just as drastic changes externally can have an adverse effect on your skin, so also can an internal change cause facial redness. Avoid such situations, if at all possible, either by removing yourself from these situations, or by learning inward mental skills to deal with these stressers. Consultation with your physican is important in any case.

Just as emotional states can have an effect internally, so can diet. As an example, alcohol consumption can cause your rosacea to flare-up in response to the drastic changes in blood chemistry. In addition to the direct alcohol content in the blood, the liver also produces certain enzymes and proteins that can be released or inhibited according to alcohol levels. These drastic changes in blood chemistry have a bearing on rosacea skin and can cause flare-ups to occur.

Just as alcohol can cause blood chemistry to change, so can spicy or otherwise exotic foods. As you can probably guess, spicy foods release adrenaline into the bloodstream and causes the skin to sweat – another drastic change that triggers rosacea. For some, even milk can cause flare-ups because of the hormones introduced into the bloodstream. It is recommended that you cut your diet to simple bland foods, such as rice and beans, and add other foods in time to test what may cause your skin to react negatively. This can be a long process, but is vital to gain control – to know your boundaries.

Cleaning your skin with harsh soap or acne solutions can cause your skin to react violently to the chemicals. For such cases, certain rosacea skin care products have been developed with the help of science to avoid such reactions and to help keep the skin clean and free from chemicals and dirt. These face cleansers can do a great deal to reduce or even eliminate the redness commonly associated with the condition. However, if these rosacea skin care products are not performing the duty of eliminating the condition, it is best to see your doctor as your condition may be something more serious than rosacea.

By: Josh Darity

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Josh Darity writes about various topics. He maintains a Rosacea Skin Care journal detailing his girlfriend’s experience with rosacea. To read more about his girlfriend’s experiences with this skin condition, please visit Rosaceaskincare.org