Acne on back and the appearance industry

Acne on Back Logo Being preoccupied with appearance, the acne on back sufferer usually have a negative self image, and may develop psychological problems. Because the color, texture, and appearance of the skin, are important physical factors contributing to outer beauty; and when many people are more concerned with physical beauty, though inner beauty is more pleasing to the mind, real beauty would cease to matter. Needless to say that, it is not a person’s skin that makes them attractive but a combination of all the unique characteristics that they are. The media, and television in particular, actively promote levels of attractiveness related to appearance and particular physical properties. Attractiveness has thus shaped people attitudes in favor of physical beauty in many life aspects, such as employment, social opportunities, friendship, s*xual behavior, and marriage. The media transmit messages concerning physical beauty, perfection and disfigurement, and usually offer suggestions and practical advice as to how the influence of these aspects can be reduced or altered. As they are promoting certain products, they are creating markets for advertisers at the same time. the media have propagated the idea that perfection is a normal thing in society and that those who are unattractive can easily gain this supposedly ‘normal’ appearance. The concept of body image defined as our perception of the way that others see us, is therefore affected by any physical changes to the way that we look. As acne develops in adolescence, a time when people are generally most sensitive about their appearance; symptoms such as depression or social anxiety reflect their real concern over body image. The costs of treatment may also complicate the problem and can cause great distress. The visibility of acne on back may attract attention in certain social situations, thus making the individual feel that they can’t keep their condition private or personal.The sufferer may find that some people react negatively towards them or treat them differently because of the way that they look. Negative misconceptions about acne are still there; some people still think it is associated with a person’s inability to ‘properly take care of themselves or a lack of cleanliness and reactions to this can range from curiosity to rejection therefore, acne sufferers become socially withdrawn...to be continued.

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

acne on back FAQs logoWhat are the implications of acne on back? (part2)

Biological characteristics of the back skin

The back skin, has certain biological characteristics that have many implications upon the causation, course, presentation and treatment of acne on back.
With the large surface area of the back having thousands of sebaceous glands with their pores producing an oily substance called sebum; there is a higher risk of blockage of these pores.
Such a predisposition, is augmented when coupled with the same quantitative factor of the anatomically associated increased sweat glands and the fact that increased perspiration is important in the causation of acne on back.
The skin of the back is thicker than anywhere else in the body; accordingly ducts of sebaceous glands need to penetrate it for a longer distance to reach the pores located at the skin surface.
This feature promotes relative stagnation and clogging of the sebum inside the ducts. It also favors the development of nodules and deeply seated cysts commonly encountered in acne on back.
The bacterial element (p.acnes), a normal inhabitant of the skin surface and known to contribute to the disease process is also enhanced; simply due to the large surface area, the humidity resulting from sweating and the difficulties associated with the personal hygienic approaches to the back.
Another factor is that blood supply of the back region is relatively diminished in comparison to the face, consequently acne lesions on the face heal better than those on the back.
It is well known that stress does not worsen acne on back, again this feature would be linked to the differences in blood supply of back in comparison to the face; as the chemical mediators of stress mainly corticosteroid hormones which aggravate acne reach their receptors in sebaceous glands via circulation and that means more steroids will be delivered to the face which has a much better blood supply. The back is also unseen and judgment by the back acne sufferer upon any response to stress is not practical.
This rule applies also to changes of back acne in relation to certain diets.
It has been suggested that hereditary contribution in the development of acne operates through the genetically determined size of pores in different individuals; some having relatively smaller pores would have the problem just as their parents did. Since the pores on the human back are larger than the face, such a hereditary role is not played in the causation of acne on back.
The large pores of sebaceous glands on the human back are also responsible for the more severe-looking appearance of some back acne lesions.
Since the back has much tougher skin than the face, topical treatment used for facial acne may not be sufficient, it can therefore tolerate stronger solutions of up to10 percent benzoyl peroxide.
At times it is more resistant to treatment and some dermatologists may recommend using benzoyl peroxide 2.5% in conjunction with another form of back acne treatment, such as glycolic acid or salicylic acid.


Posted by SSS at 2:03 PM

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