Treating Adult Acne

Contrary to popular belief, acne can occure in adulthood and infants, not only during the adolescent years. Research has shown that adult acne affects approximately 25 percent of all adult men, and 50 percent of all women. Have no fear however, as effective treatments for adult acne have become available on the market.

While excisional surgery at a clinic can be described as “squeezing” and “draining” the pimples, squeezing them at home is not considered an effective acne surgery method. Although you might see immediate results when squeezing pimples at home, the fact that you are not in a sterile environment, using sterile equipment to treat them may trigger worse infections and formation of acne scars. It can even spread your acne. So the general advice is - Don’t squeeze your pimples yourself! Leave it to the specialists

You can find a large number of chemical adult acne treatment solutions at most health stores. With the diversity of available treatments, all claiming to be effective, finding the treatment that works best for your own condition is not the easiest task. Before deciding what type of solution you want to try, you must know what skin type and type of acne you have. A visit to your dermatologist for a consultation is a good idea, as they often have samples of various brands of treatments to give you for trying yourself. If, however, the only solution for your condition is a prescription treatment, oil-free and noncomedogenic (solutions that do not block your pores) are known to be effective in treating adult acne.

Topical retinoic acid, a derivative of vitamin A, is a recent breakthrough in the adult acne treatment field. This is a type of acne treatment that can decrease the levels of irritation your acne can cause. There are other available treatments that targets the causes of acne, including azelaic acid cream, topical antibiotics, antibiotic pills, accutane or sotret for acute acne, benzoyl peroxide, alpha-hydroxy acids and others.

Sometimes the mentioned acne treatments are used in different combinations to speed up the healing and get a more effective treatment. This can have some unfavorable side effects. Accutane and sotret have been known to cause birth defects as an example. Instead of trying to find a good combination of treatments, you should consult with your doctor or dermatologist for good advice on effective treatments.