EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT ACNE

Due to its prevalence, acne is regarded as a typical aspect of puberty. But even knowing that sometimes doesn't help, especially if you have a big pimple on your face. What exactly is acne, and how can it be treated?

What is acne?

Blackheads, whiteheads, pimples, and cysts are some of the numerous forms of bumps that acne, a skin disorder, can present as. The hormone changes associated with puberty are the cause of acne in teenagers. It's more likely that you will get acne if your parents did when they were teenagers.

Nevertheless, by the time most people are out of their teens, their acne has virtually completely vanished. Acne vulgaris is the prevalent form of acne that many teenagers experience ("vulgaris" means "of the common type"). Typically, the face, neck, shoulders, upper back, and chest are affected.

Who is affected?

● Younger people and teenagers frequently suffer from acne. Acne affects 80% of persons between the ages of 11 and 30.

● Ages 14 to 17 for girls and 16 to 19 for boys are when acne is most prevalent.

● Most people struggle with acne intermittently for years before their symptoms start to get better as they age. When a person is in their mid-twenties, acne frequently goes away.

● Acne can sometimes persist until adulthood. Over the age of 25, acne affects 5% of women and 1% of males.

Why do we get acne even after our teenage years?

Sebaceous glands are located in the skin's pores, or hair follicles (also called oil glands). Sebum (SEE-bem), an oil produced by these glands, lubricates your skin, hair, and nails. The amount of sebum produced by the sebaceous glands is usually ideal. But as the body grows older and develops, hormones encourage the sebaceous glands to produce more sebum.

If there is an excessive amount of sebum and dead skin cells, pores might clog.

This allows bacteria to become trapped and grow inside the pores, particularly Propionibacterium acnes. Acne then develops as a result of this swelling and redness:

● A whitehead is a pore that constricts, shuts, and protrudes from the skin.

● A blackhead is an open pore that clogs up but doesn't close, and it has a darker top surface.

● A pimple is a tiny red lump that develops when the wall of a pore opens and allows oil, germs, and dead skin cells to enter the skin. The body's response to the bacterial infection sometimes causes pimples to have a top packed with pus.

● Nodules can result from a clogged pore that opens up extremely deeply in the skin. These painful infected lumps or cysts are larger than zits. Rarely, big cysts that acne could actually be boils brought on by a staph infection.

WHAT IS ACUPUNCTURE? AND WHAT ARE ITS BENEFITS?

During acupuncture, very small needles are inserted into the body at various depths and locations. It seeks to harmonize the Qi, or life energy, in charge of various health problems. A number of different ailments can be treated with acupuncture, including pain relief. Its precise mechanism is yet unknown, though. While some individuals think it balances vital energy, others believe it has a neurological impact.

What is acupuncture?

In order to activate sensory nerves in the skin and muscles, acupuncture entails putting needles into the body. This might aid in the treatment of physical disorders like chronic pain. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is where acupuncture originated, and it is today a widely used supplemental therapy.

Science behind acupuncture

The life energy known as Qi, pronounced "chi," is said to have a harmonious balance between the complementary extremes of yin and yang. Advocates contend that an imbalance of these forces leads to sickness.

TCM holds that the body's meridians, or energy lines, are where Qi moves. There are 361 acupuncture points on the body that can be used to access these meridians and energy flows. It is possible to restore the balance of the energy flow by inserting needles into these points in the right combinations.

Several acupuncture points may be in locations where stimulation can influence the activity of numerous sensory neurons, according to a 2017 review. Receptive fields are another name for these locations. The physical stimulation of inserting needles at specific places may alter how the central nervous system and muscles process pain while also increasing blood flow to specific body regions.

According to a 2018 study on acupuncture's impact on chronic pain, the treatment can offer pain alleviation effects that are different from placebo. However, it is unclear how acupuncture actually functions.

Historical background of acupuncture

Acupuncture first appeared in China. Although there are references dating back to around 6000 BC, the practice likely occurred even earlier. It is believed that the early practice of lancing boils and abscesses with sharpened stones and bones evolved into a more therapeutic and preventative idea that embraced a philosophy of "life forces."

The principle of acupuncture could be applied further thanks to the evolution of instruments, or technological advancements and discoveries that made thinner and stronger needles possible.

The theory of energy flow, which is the foundation of contemporary acupuncture, took longer to develop. Documents from 198 BC discovered in Chinese sealed tombs show that acupuncture practice was widespread, albeit it may not have been yet related to a meridian system.

Modern uses of acupuncture

According to the NCCIH, acupuncture can be an effective therapy option for:

● A lower backache

● A stiff neck

● Osteoarthritis (OA)

● Headache

● Knee pain

Other research suggests that acupuncture can help with the following conditions:

● Migraine

● Peripheral neuropathy

● Tiredness

● Tendinopathy

● Rheumatoid

● Arthritis

● Nausea

A doctor's suggested therapies should still be used in addition to acupuncture because it is a supplementary therapy. A person should consult a primary care physician before getting acupuncture to alleviate chronic pain or other problems. Acupuncturists themselves may be primary care doctors.