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If parents would only realize that acne not only can scar the psyche of their children, but also can leave permanent physical scars on the skin, they may take greater interest in this non-life-threatening medical condition - for the short and long term good of their children.
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Although nobody has ever died from acne, most people suffering from severe acne can get to the point where they may think that dying is an easier option than living with an acne covered face.
This feeling is totally unnecessary, as there are many medical and non-medical ways of dealing with this problem, but it should be attended to in time to prevent the acne from forming scars.
Once a scar is formed no single cream will remove it - and surgical intervention will be necessary to minimize the damage - such as dermabrasion, chemical peels or surgical removal of keloid scar tissue.
When an acne lesion is not cleared up in time, the body tries to assist the inflamed site, but in so doing can go a bit overboard and cause scars to form.
In general, acne scars can be divided into two groups:
Both types of scars can be present on the face.
Depressed scars that form are caused by a loss of tissue and have an "ice-pick" appearance, with sharp jiggered edges, or can be softer scars, looking much like scars left over from chicken-pox.
These depressed acne scars form where you have a loss of tissue and can be treated with dermabrasion, chemical peeling, fat injections or cosmetic fillers.
Keloid scars are raised scar tissue where the skin over-compensated and formed fibrous matter by excessive collagen production, which is heaped up at the inflammation site in a fibrous mass, resulting in thickened, smooth, firm and irregular shaped scar tissue.
The formation of keloid scar tissue is normally due to genetics and is found in families. Some ethnic groups also exhibit a greater tendency to form keloid scar tissue.
Raised keloid scars can in some cases be removed by a well skilled plastic surgeon, but as the person might have a tendency to form keloids, it may not be a viable solution.
Injecting steroid drugs around the keloid can in some cases reduce the scar and topical cream containing retinoic acid is also sometimes effective.
There is really no answer to this question, and some people are just simply more prone to scarring and at the same time have a tendency not to heal well in general. Some hypotheses and remedies have been put forward, but none have been extensively tested to obtain clear cut clinical results.
The way in which you heal and form scar tissue may also be influenced by your genetic programming.
Acne lesions should be seen to some extent as a wound, and with this in mind, the oral administration of vitamin C has proven in a clinical study to help with wound healing. This study also mentions that genetic impairment of collagen synthesis was treated with vitamin C. Reference 58
Another study Reference 59 showed that vitamin E produced significant improvement in the treatment of keloids in humans.
Should you have clicked the hyperlinks above which dealt with dermabrasion, chemical peels and fillers (collagen or other type of cosmetic fillers) you would have read that although these procedures can in most cases improve the appearance of the scars, they are not a magic bullet.
In most cases your skin will not be as flawless as before the onset of the inflammation and the resultant scar, but most people are happy with the results obtained using these abovementioned methods. A lot will also depend on the skill of your plastic surgeon or dermatologist who attends to this procedure.
You also need to have realistic expectations of the procedures and a thorough discussion must be entered into with your cosmetic surgeon or dermatologist before committing yourself to any such procedures.
We have divided the pages dealing with acne and pimples into various categories, which you can access by following the hyperlinks:
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