Severe Cystic
Acne
The most painful, unpleasant, and damaging kind of acne is
severe cystic acne. This type of acne shows up as very deep,
painful, and swollen cysts and nodules that extend far down
into the layers of the skin. Severe cystic acne nearly always
requires professional treatment by a doctor or dermatologist
because it generally does not respond very well to the more
common over the counter medications.
What is severe cystic acne?
Severe cystic acne is similar to regular acne in that it is
caused by excess oil (called sebum) produced by the skin
getting trapped in blocked pores. This blockage doesn’t allow
the sebum to escape onto the surface of the skin, so as
bacteria begin to grow the result is a cyst filled with pus and
infected fluid. What makes severe cystic acne so much worse is
that the infection extends deep into the skin layers rather
than rising to the surface like a normal pimple.
Because the cysts and nodules extend so deep into the skin
and they rarely break through to the skin surface, each lesion
takes much, much longer to heal. It is also common for them to
spread under the skin’s surface until they measure as much as
several centimeters across. Needless to say, for those
suffering from severe cystic acne it is critical to get the
right treatment early on, both to minimize the development of
more cysts and to minimize the great potential for facial
scarring if left untreated.
There are a number of excellent treatments available for
severe cystic acne; some of them are topical (creams and gels),
some of them are oral (pills), and others of them are
injections (using a syringe and needle). Most often a
combination of these treatment courses is used to ensure the
patient gets the bests results as fast as possible.
Here are some of the most common treatments for severe
cystic acne:
Isotretinoin – Also known by the brand name of Accutane,
this is an oral medication that you take once or twice per day.
It affects the oil glands under the skin, shrinking them
significantly and reducing the amount of sebum they produce.
Isotretinoin often leads to some significant side effects,
however; these may include extreme dryness all over the body,
increased likelihood of depression, and serious birth defects
if the patient is pregnant.
Cortisone/steroid injections – The doctor or dermatologist
uses a very thin needle to inject a cortisone mixture directly
into the cyst or nodule. It is generally a pretty painless
procedure, and the results can be dramatic. Most patients
experience very fast relief of inflammation, swelling, and
pain; additionally, the cysts and nodules tend to heal up
fairly rapidly as well.
Surgery – This is an option for those who have a great
number of cysts and nodules and who want a faster initial
response to treatment. Surgery for severe cystic acne involves
the doctor or dermatologist using special tools to manually
clean out cysts and nodules, removing the infected material as
completely as possible.
In the end, people who suffer from severe cystic acne
achieve the best results when they work closely with their
doctor or dermatologist. Prompt intervention and treatment can
greatly reduce the severity of this most difficult type of acne
and help prevent long term scarring and damage to the skin.
|