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Acne Mega Thread

basix

Bluelighter
Joined
Sep 22, 2003
Messages
840
Does getting acne have anything to do with your diet or is it only hormones. Or a combination?
 
Acne has nothing to do with diet, and is caused by hormones.

http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/en.asp?TopicID=4&AreaID=2168&LinkID=1771

Causes

Acne that begins at puberty is the result of increased sensitivity to the hormone testosterone, which is present in both boys and girls. Testosterone causes excessive sebum to be secreted from the skin’s sebaceous glands. Skin cells rapidly divide and sometimes block the opening of hair follicles. The resulting build up of sebum behind the blockage helps produce blackheads and whiteheads.

At puberty changes in skin acid levels also encourage the growth of bacterium, which can become trapped in the hair follicles. This produces a deeper infection, in the form of pustules and nodules.

Other causes:

  • Acne sometimes seems to run in families, so there may be a genetic factor that makes certain people more likely to have it.

    Acne may become worse in times of stress, although it is not clear why. It may be because stressed people touch their faces more, spreading the bacteria, or because they are sweating more.

    In girls, outbreaks may be affected by the hormonal changes that occur during the menstrual cycle.

    Another cause may be excessive production of androgens (hormones like testosterone), resulting not from puberty but from conditions such as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

    Certain drugs such as corticosteroids, anti-epileptic medicines like phenytoin, and oral contraceptives containing levonorgestrel or norethisterone, may aggravate acne.

    Anabolic steroids, sometimes used by body-builders, can cause acne as a side-effect.

    Exposure to dangerous chemicals called dioxins can cause a rare form of acne called chloracne.

Eating greasy foods or chocolate does not cause acne. Having poor hygiene is also not a direct cause, although if you do not wash your face or remove make-up, bacteria will be able to multiply on your skin.
 
believe it or not... BEST cure in the world is the tanning bed, spent over $3000 on Dr. and Meds but nothing has worked better than tanning bed. I guess it dries up your pours or somthing, but noticed a huge difference in 3 weeks
 
usererror001 said:
believe it or not... BEST cure in the world is the tanning bed, spent over $3000 on Dr. and Meds but nothing has worked better than tanning bed. I guess it dries up your pours or somthing, but noticed a huge difference in 3 weeks

Or just spend time in the sun when you can.... don't spend too long on those sunbeds, those UV rays are harmful if you are over-exposing yourself...

Zinc supplements are also recomended, as are vitamins.
 
Nothing really ever helped me, topical, vitamins, minerals, sun... What worked the best so far were different detox herbs to support liver, like artichoke, milk thistle, nettle extract and such, so when I take them regulary my skin is clear. Once I stop they come back :)
 
^^^
Can you list the precies herbs you take and dosages? :)

I have to agree with the sun, works wonders for acne!
 
Diet has an effect on everything and can most definately affect acne. It may be caused by hormones, but whos to say diet has no effect on hormones?? Dont listen to anyone who says diet has no effect, I KNOW it does, from my own personal experiances. And Ive been through years and years of fighting the war against my own skin. Trust me.

Something that helps a lot of people is cutting out milk. Cutting out all dairy would be good, but I noticed a definite change when I stopped drinking milk. I still eat a little cheese and use milk in recipies, but not drinking 3 glasses a day definately made a difference. Milk is hard for a lot of people to digest, and digestion seems to have an effect on the skin.
 
thanks, and another question, why do people say not to squeeze pimples? Is it just because they can scar or is there another reason.
 
Squeezing pimples can actually push the infection deeper into the pore..if a pore is clogged you have a really delicate situation happening in the skin. You dont wanna mess it up worse. Ive found its best never to squeeze them unlessthe white stuff is RIGHT at the surface, like, ready to pop. Then use a hot washcloth..not your fingers. Your fingers have bacteria on them.
 
I wouldn't say that sunshine "cures" acne by any means, but my skin does look fantastic after a day spent in the sun, for sure.
 
Sun didn't help me like I said, but many of my friends UV lamp or tanning bed works wonders for pimples, acnes, comedons (not sure of spelling).

fairnymph I used this product for a month, really cleaned me well:
http://www.renewlife.com/products/detail/cleansesmart.html

For now I take
Artichoke extract 3x30 drops per day
Nettle extract 3x30 drops per day
Milk thistle (sylimarin) extract 3x30 drops per day
I will probably switch to bulk milk thistle powder. Not sure of dosing yet.
 
My doctor won't give me (ro)acutane, because it can cause depression and suicidal behaviour in some people. I am some people it seems, or at least my doc thinks so. I guess needing AD-meds, valium daily, and sleep meds make him think I can't handle acne meds. I NEED IT, but now some laser treatment is working, albeit slowly:\
 
I want accutane even though I have really mild acne, so I'm sure no dr would give it to me, I want it anyway though.
 
they make you sign a disclaimer stating that you have tried at least two other oral treatments. However, my friend had trouble getting some from his doctor (mild acne and didn't try the other stuff) so he told his doctor to give him a perscription or he would just go to another doctor. The doctor ended up perscribing it..

srsly though, I don't see the trouble in trying it just to see...especially if your acne is causing some of your depression. You can always discontinue it immediately if you start to feel suicidal. I'm no doc, just my 2 cents ya know.
 
Sun...sun...sun...sun

When I was using heavy stimulants a few years ago my acne was coming back from my teenage years. I wasn't leaving the house, always in the dark, bad nutrition, bad hygene, no vitamins. I got depressed just having acne. None of the medicines worked. I changed my eating habits, started taking a multivitamin, started washing my face twice a day and taking a shower every day, steered clear from greesy food but still had some acne. I decided that I would go out in the sun so that I could get a tan but not only did I get a good tan but the acne cleared up. I try to stay in the sun these days. It just feels healthy.

Oh, and no acne
 
(ro)acutane is the devil!! True, it does really work well for some people but you have to think about the very serious side effects.

From personal experience, this drug nearly killed me. Not just the suicidal thoughts but it actually distroyed my liver and caused me to become extreamly sick for many many months. I spent a lot of time in hospital that year. My immune system is still crappy 3 years afterwards (i'm home sick right now).

I would be very careful about going on (ro)acutane. Yes, my opinion is biased but it nearly put me 6ft under!
 
^^^definately be very careful as pullacone said. Acutane is hardcore! I guess I was one of the lucky ones because all I got was EXTREMELY dry lips and skin...but that stuff fucks some people up big time. no joke
 
I have battled with acne all through my teenage years and into my twenties, and not wanting to take meds to solve my problems I decided to experiment with my diet. By making adjustments to my diet I have almost fully extinguished my acne problem (I still get minor breakouts every couple of months or so).

I really noticed my skin clearing up after a couple of weeks after reducing refined sugars and stuck with complex carbs as my primary carbohydrates source. Doing this I have seen great results, although I also increased consumption vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, healthy fats etc. (so it may be the combination of many things). I am a strong believer that diet can at least give some help to anyone having issues with acne.
 
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