Care of Your Children
ACNE seems to be an affliction of adolescence, although it sometimes does make an appearance before that time. The great majority of sufferers are at the age of puberty when they break out in the eruption of pus-producing pimple on the face and neck that we know as acne.The disease attacks both healthy and frail children, boys and girls alike. At times it seems to have a preference for the more athletic types. The disease is definitely connected with the development of sex, because older people do not have it, nor do undersexed individuals.
We think that heredity plays a part in acne, for some families number amongst their characteristics an oily skin and these are the ones most often attacked by acne. I myself have treated girls or boys for the trouble and then, years later. I’ve treated their children for the same thing.The actual cause of acne is obscure, as have said here before. Some researchers believe it is due to an upsetting of the glandular system, others think bacteria are responsible, and still others blame it on some food to which the victim is allergic. Treating acne is an experimental business. What will clear up the complaint in one person won’t budge another. No one treatment will clear up every case. Glandular substances have been used extensively and show limited success. They seem, for instance, to alleviate the disfigurement of the face, but don’t appear to remove the underlying cause. When treatment is discontinued, they break out again. These glandular treatments must be carried out with great care lest they create an abnormality in some other part of the system.
X-rays appear to have the same effect on acne as do the glandular treatments. By that, I mean that with either X-rays or gland preparations, there is a limited improvement in the boy, or girl But treatment by both X-rays and glandular preparations give no better result than when only one is tried. They simply duplicate each other’s work. Diet adjustments may bring improvement but this is a .treatment that must be studied carefully by your doctor. If the patient is strong and robust, it is often well to cut down on the use of dairy products, chocolate, fried foods, nuts, duck and goose. These products contain a fat radical definitely connected with outbreaks of acne. However, the removal of these foods from the diet of a trail, or undernourished person may be dangerous. Hence the need for having the doctor’s supervision in such treatment Condiments and spices of all kinds should be discontinued by anyone suffering from acne.
It is this fact that food seems to have something to do with acne that has led some doctors to think that it is a form of food allergy. Pimple pills are still being sold as cures for ache. Most of these are actually harmful and should be avoided. In almost all cases, they contain iodine, and that is one substance the acne patient is, particularly advised to avoid. Even minute quantities in iodized table salt may be harmful. Bowels should be kept open by diet, not harmful laxatives. Vitamin B, which can be obtained in tablet form is helpful. So is vitamin D, from sunshine or cod liver oil. Cleansing creams with an oil or fatty base shouldn’t be used. Common sulphur soap or a mild mercurial soap, is advisable when washing.
Remember, if your doctor doesn’t cure you with the first try, don’t get discouraged. Don’t lose faith in him for no treatment is effective in every case of acne. The most general beneficial treatment is X-rays, but whatever your doctor tries, stay with him. It won’t take him very long to hit on the treatment that will relieve your acne.
Adolescent Skin Troubles
There is hardly a more disturbing condition to the adolescent boy or girl than acne or pimples. Not that the blemishes are extremely painful or dangerous, but they affect the appearance at an age when appearance seems so important socially to the maturing person.
Boys and girls with acne have tried almost anything to get rid of this disease. In many cases, however, there seemed to be little that could be done but keep the skin clean and free from infection and wait for the acne to pass away at maturity. We now have reports that hormones and antibiotics have shown they can relieve some severe cases of acne.
ACNE IS A disorder of the oil glands of the skin, known as the sebaceous glands. It is believed that an excessive amount of male hormone is the most important underlying cause of the disease. Excess male hormone may occur in girls as well as boys, as the adrenal gland produces male hormone in the female. It is believed that the male hormone disturbs the body’s usage of carbohydrates and fats, which causes a local infection of the | sebaceous glands. The face, shoulders, chest, and back are the most frequent sites for acne. The blemishes first consist of black heads and later little red swellings with pus in them. RECENTLY, A new attempt was i made to treat severe acne without the use of X-rays, since X-ray treatments help acne but sometime although not very often. Leave some scarring.
Adolescents with a large number of abscess lesions from acne were given heavy doses of antibiotic drugs. The treatment also included creams containing female hormone. These were applied directly on the acne lesions. The hormone cream was especially beneficial in cases that had not improved from other means of treatment and those that were severe. ALONG WITH the hormone treatment, the boys and girls also followed the usual methods, including a diet devoid of chocolate, nuts, ice cream, egg yolk and cheese, with little fatty foods and sweets until the condition cleared up.
In addition to such a diet, any deficiency, such as anemia or thyroid deficiency, was, of course, corrected. Treatment with female hormone and antibiotic drugs, it is hoped, will definitely improve the greater part of severe acne cases. Of course, treatment of this type must always be carried out under the doctor’s directions.
ACNE WORSE IN WARM WEATHER
The disorder known as acne often has a tendency to become more noticeable during the summer months. This is due to” the greater amount of perspiration secreted and also to the stimulation of the oil glands of the skin. Acne is an inflammation of the Skin most often affecting the adolescent, which produces the pimples on the face and upper back which make so many young people self-conscious. In a severe case, the skin of the face will be covered with disfiguring blackheads and pimples, and red masses or lumps just underneath the skin.
Around the edge of the pimple itself, the skin may turn a fiery red color which helps draw the eye of the beholder. Undoubtedly, acne may give rise to marked feelings of inferiority and many of its victims hesitate to undertake a normal social life due to the unsightliness of the skin condition.
The common desire when such pimples are present is to squeeze them and such interference leads to further scarring and pitting of the skin. Inasmuch as acne may persist for several years, it may produce an extensive scarring and these skin blemishes may then rob the skin of its attractive appearance, even after the acne has cleared up.
In a frantic effort to get rid of the pimples, the patient may use ointments or salves which make the trouble worse through blocking the pores of the skin. Acne is most often found among those having an oily, coarse skin and excessive oiliness of the hair and dandruff are often associated with the skin disorder. The cause of acne are both internal and external although in a chronic case, where the skin is angry and Inflamed for months or years, the inside causes are more important tnan the outside causes. The patient with acne is usually suffering from constipation and very often the diet is unwisely selected, consisting of a preponderance of sweets. Lack of sunshine and incorrect habits of skin cleansing also play a contributing role in causing acne. Misguided treatment may serve to further intensify the trouble.
In the treatment of acne, the three measures which will be the most beneficial are: First, keeping the intestinal tract thoroughly cleansed, using the enema if necessary; second, the adoption of a fast following by a wholesome, well-balanced diet which includes plenty of vegetables; and third, the correct method of washing the face. There three measures will bring about a satisfactory clearing up of the skin in the average case, although in severe cases, local treatment given with the ultra violet ray may be needed to cause the peeling off of the old skin, thus bringing out the fresh, clean skin from underneath.
Although the eruption characteristic of acne appears to be Intensified during the heat of the summer, nevertheless, the summer months constitute an ideal time of the year for overcoming this disfiguring skin condition.
