Acne is a skin condition that shows up as bumps and lumps
anywhere on the body. These bumps include blackheads, whiteheads,
pimples and cysts.

Teenagers get acne because of their raging hormonal changes that
come with puberty, and unfortunately if your parents had acne as
teenagers it's possible you will be more prone to developing acne
as well. The good news is that, for many people acne disappears
almost completely by the time they hit their twenties.

The type of acne most teenagers get is called acne vulgaris, and
it usually shows up on the face, neck, shoulders, upper back, and
chest.

The hair follicles, or pores, in human skin contains sebaceous
glands (also called oil glands). They make sebum which is an oil
that lubricates hair and skin. Most of the time, sebaceous glands
make the right amount of sebum, but as a teenagers body begins to
mature and develop, hormones stimulate the sebaceous glands to
make more and more sebum, and the glands become overactive.

The pores of the skin become clogged if there is too much sebum
and too many dead skin cells and bacteria (especially a bacteria
called Propionibacterium acnes) get's trapped inside the pores
and multiply, thus causing swelling and redness - the start of
acne.

Reports show over 90 percent of all adolescents and almost 25
percent of all adults are acne sufferers. And though acne affects
about 50 percent of all adult women, acne affects males and
females worldwide, regardless of nationality.

Acne has a significant impact on a person's outlook on life, and
recent studies have detected the following as common among people
with acne:

• Social withdrawal

• Decreased self-esteem

• Reduced self-confidence

• Poor body image

• Embarrassment

• Feelings of depression

• Anger

• Preoccupation

• Frustration

• Higher rate of unemployment



About the Author
Kim is a Registered Nurse working for a large Hospital Trust in the UK,

She can be found at http://www.acne-and-you.com and http://www.nursing-hints.com