Before considering your acne treatment, it is important to know a few quick facts about acne vulgaris and acne treatment
- No direct link has been established between acne and diet (pizza, nuts, sweets, chocolate )
- There is no link between acne and diet. In particular, no cause and effect has been established between acne and chocolate, dairy products (milk products), shellfish, sweets, or fatty foods (french fries, pizza, etc.). Healthy diet is good for your overall health but it will not be enough to get rid of acne.
- Acne cannot be cured (There is NO acne cure); it can be effectively treated (see acne treatment) and controlled (but there is no permanent acne cure)
- There is a widespread belief that acne is curable and that a course of antibiotics is all that is required to treat acne. People will often make statements such as my acne treatment did not work because when I stopped the tablets the acne came back again, and after my acne treatment the acne only improved but did not completely disappear. It must be made clear that continued acne treatment is required and that there is no cure for acne (although isotretinoin may cause long-term remission of the disease).
- Acne is NOT a result of poor hygiene
- Dirt and surface skin oils do not cause acne. However, accumulation of daily dirt on the skin and excessive skin oils should be removed by gently washing your face twice a day with a mild soap, pat dry and use an appropriate acne treatment.
- Constant washing does not improve acne
- Constant washing does not improve acne. Excessive scrubbing dries and irritates skin further and can actually make your acne worse.
- Getting a tan does not clear acne
- Although there has been little scientific evidence that sunlight has any reliable beneficial effect on acne, and even less evidence for the benefits of solariums; nevertheless, there has been a resurgence of interest in effects of sunlight on acne. Before recommending such acne treatment one should carefully evaluate any positive effect of using sunlight in acne treatment against the possible long-term carcinogenetic effects of ultraviolet light on the skin. In addition, some studies have shown that acne treatment using sunlight can even worsen acne.
- Not only teenagers can have acne, adults get acne too (adult acne)
- Even though, acne vulgaris is mainly a skin disease of teenagers; the prevalence of acne in teenage boys and girls is so high that acne is considered almost universal in this age group; nevertheless, adults suffer from acne, too.
- Acne should be treated and controlled, do not just "let acne run its course"
- Even though, in most cases acne will "run its course"; nevertheless, untreated acne can leave you forever with unaesthetic acne scars, reminding you about your teenage acne skin problems for the rest of your life. There are multiple acne treatments available; therefore, acne should be treated and controlled, avoiding any potential unaesthetic acne scars in the future.
- Stress does not cause acne, but it can exacerbate the existing condition
- A study of 215 graduating medical students showed that 67% believed that stress plays a role in acne exacerbations. Anxiety was considered an acne-exacerbating factor by 74% of students and their relatives. There is also evidence that stress may exacerbate acne during examinations. It has also been noted that treatment with biofeedback mechanisms is useful in some acne sufferers.
- Exercise does not increase risk of acne
- According to Stanford University School of Medicine (Stanford.edu) research and contrary to popular beliefs, exercise and sweating during exercise do not increase acne in athletes.
- There are misconceptions regarding variably of too little or too much sexual activity and acne.
- There are myths regarding too little or too much sexual activity and acne.
- First sex and acne myth that too much sex or masturbation may worsen acne.
- Second sex and acne myth that somehow when females begin having a regular sex life their acne will be improved.
- Although acne is linked to androgen metabolism at the level of the sebaceous glands; nevertheless, there is no evidence supporting neither of these rather strange extrapolations.
- There are myths regarding too little or too much sexual activity and acne.
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