Steves struggle with Acne and bad skin

What is Acne, other than being a complete fucking pain in the ASS!!! And what are the various types?

Acne is the term for plugged pores (blackheads and whiteheads), pimples, and even deeper lumps (cysts or nodules) that occur on the face, neck, chest, back, shoulders and even the upper arms. Acne affects most teenagers to some extent. However, the disease is not restricted to any age group; adults in their 20s - even into their 40s - can get acne. While not a life threatening condition, acne can be upsetting and disfiguring. When severe, acne can lead to serious and permanent scarring. Even less severe cases can lead to scarring.

Types of Acne
When you read about acne or other skin diseases, you encounter words or phrases that may be confusing. For example, the words used to describe the lesions of acne—comedo, papule, pustule, nodule and cyst—are understandable only if you know each word’s definition. It also is helpful to have a photo that is characteristic for each type of lesion.

Here is a brief summary of definitions of words used to describe acne, with accompanying photos. Let’s begin, though, with the definition of lesion, an
all-purpose word:

Lesion—a physical change in body tissue caused by disease or injury. A lesion may be external (e.g., acne, skin cancer, psoriatic plaque, knife cut), or internal (e.g., lung cancer, atherosclerosis in a blood vessel, cirrhosis of the liver).

Thus, when you read about acne lesions you understand what is meant—a physical change in the skin caused by a disease process in the sebaceous follicle.

Acne lesions range in severity from comedones (blackheads and whiteheads) to nodules and cysts. Here is a brief definition of acne lesions:

Comedo (plural comedones)—A comedo is a sebaceous follicle plugged with sebum, dead cells from inside the sebaceous follicle, tiny hairs, and sometimes bacteria. When a comedo is open, it is commonly called a blackhead because the surface of the plug in the follicle has a blackish appearance. A closed comedo is commonly called a whitehead; its appearance is that of a skin-colored or slightly inflamed "bump" in the skin. The whitehead differs in color from the blackhead because the opening of the plugged sebaceous follicle to the skin’s surface is closed or very narrow, in contrast to the distended follicular opening of the blackhead. Neither blackheads nor whiteheads should be squeezed or picked open, unless extracted by a dermatologist under sterile conditions. Tissue injured by squeezing or picking can become infected by staphylococci, streptococci and other skin bacteria.

Papule—A papule is defined as a small (5 millimeters or less), solid lesion slightly elevated above the surface of the skin. A group of very small papules and microcomedones may be almost invisible but have a "sandpaper" feel to the touch. A papule is caused by localized cellular reaction to the process of acne.

Pustule—A dome-shaped, fragile lesion containing pus that typically consists of a mixture of white blood cells, dead skin cells, and bacteria. A pustule that forms over a sebaceous follicle usually has a hair in the center. Acne pustules that heal without progressing to cystic form usually leave no scars.

Macule—A macule is the temporary red spot left by a healed acne lesion. It is flat, usually red or red-pink, with a well defined border. A macule may persist for days to weeks before disappearing. When a number of macules are present at one time they can contribute to the "inflamed face" appearance of acne

Nodule—Like a papule, a nodule is a solid, dome-shaped or irregularly-shaped lesion. Unlike a papule, a nodule is characterized by inflammation, extends into deeper layers of the skin and may cause tissue destruction that results in scarring. A nodule may be very painful. Nodular acne is a severe form of acne that may not respond to therapies other than isotretinoin.

Cyst—A cyst is a sac-like lesion containing liquid or semi-liquid material consisting of white blood cells, dead cells, and bacteria. It is larger than a pustule, may be severely inflamed, extends into deeper layers of the skin, may be very painful, and can result in scarring. Cysts and nodules often occur together in a severe form of acne called nodulocystic. Systemic therapy with isotretinoin is sometimes the only effective treatment for nodulocystic acne. Some acne investigators believe that true cysts rarely occur in acne, and that (1) the lesions called cysts are usually severely inflamed nodules, and (2) the term nodulocystic should be abandoned. Regardless of terminology, this is a severe form of acne that is often resistant to treatment and likely to leave scars after healing.

Sunday, 15 February 2009

why you should always wash your face

hey, went out last night, was awesome!!! got trashed, but i was a little stupid. when i got back in at 3am i forgot to wash my face and when i woke up today i had 2 bloody spots on my face. 1 just to the left of my mouth and the other in the crack of my nose and check. so it was a good wash in the morning then put some nixoderm on them to help dry em up. cant go out though with the nixoderm on my face as it looks like someone has jizzed on me, lol!!!!

Wednesday, 11 February 2009

photos done

well been to get my passport photos and everything was cool. not to sound like a girl, but i did have to put on some of my mums coverup make up on the spot, but it didnt show up on the photos. starting to run low on the Agera Rx cleanser, so ill have to get some more next time i go for a microdermabrasion( thats where i buy it). all in all my face is clear, but i still do have old spot marks on my neck, the docotr told me a while ago that they would disappear of over time.

photo day 2moro

hey hey,

a little pissed off, i have to go get some passport photos done tomorrow, so i can renew my passport for when i go travelling. but now i have a spot forming just under my eye brow, fucking great, it couldnt just wait could it eh? anyway i'll see how it is tomorrow and i may have to pop it. i know i shouldnt.

Monday, 9 February 2009

hows my face today

hi, all the redness has gone from my face(from the microdermabrasion). and its feeling nice and smooth. it helps using the Agera rx ultra mild cleanser and the Agera rx SPF25 moisteriser. my face is looking alot clearer and the tone is lots better than it was last year. im not to sure if it helps, but i do take loratadine which is a allergy tablet. the reason for this is, i do sometimes get hives(little red inflammations) on my face and the loratadine helps. this might help with keeping mmy skin looking better.

Saturday, 7 February 2009

blogging fun

hey, just to let peeps know, this blogging stuff is fun. didnt know the amount of different tools there are. ive managed to add a google search thingy at the bottom of the screen. if n e 1 knows how to get it up towards the top of the screen that would be a great help.

cheers

Back from microderm

Yo, just ot back from nottingham after having my 4th microdermabrasion. was a good one today, my face was a little red after, but thats know fading away. the tone and texture of my skin has improved loads. plus my pores have decreased in size. gonna have a shower now, the face wash i use at the momment is Agera rx Ultra mild cleanser. i find it very gentle and it leaves my skin fresh. it has Vit A and Vit E in it. then after im gonna use Agera rx Moisturizing Protector SPF 25. really fucking good, doesnt leave the skin greasy.

Friday, 6 February 2009

my first post

hey yall!!! my first post and whats happening. well im off to nottingham tomorrow to have my 4th microdermabrasion session. to be honest i think the microderm are helping me out a little. it does leave the face a little red afterwards but that does soon disappears and by the next day the skin is really smooth. the reason why im having them is not because of acne, but more to do with the tone and texture of my skin. which for the last year and a bit has been dull and lifeless. i will post again over the weekend as to how i got on. thanks

Steves struggle with Acne and bad skin