Accutane and the myths of adult acne

What are myths?

Go into any public place where people gather to pass their time in conversation and you will hear the same stories. Most of the time, they are amusing tales of terror. But some of the time, they spread dangerous misinformation. Here are some myths about adult acne.

Acne does not affect adults

Just walking around the streets confirms this is not true. More scientific surveys find people get acne up to the age of 50 (and occasionally beyond). There is a slight change to the appearance of the skin. During your teen years, it is usually red nodules. As an adult, it tends to be blackheads and whiteheads.

Acne is not a disease

It may not be a serious physical disease, but the psychological effects make this a potentially dangerous problem. If not properly treated, acne can leave real emotional scars.

What you eat gives you acne

Pick your poison — some people blame chocolate, others milk products because of the bacteria. In fact, there is no scientific evidence to prove any link between food and acne. Further, it is not a good idea to cut out milk from your diet because that is a natural source of calcium to keep bones strong.

Stress causes acne

There could be a link between stress and acne, but proving cause and effect is never going to be easy. Face it. If this was true, people would never recover from acne while they were stressed.

Do not wear heavy make-up or sunscreen

The theory is that blocking up the pores is bad for your skin. While there may be some truth in the idea this makes acne worse, there is no evidence of cause. Compromise on covering up the problem and use looser powders and non-oil creams.

Washing cures the problem

This is completely untrue. In fact, the more you wash your face, the more you dry out the skin, and the worse the acne. Never wash more than twice a day. Scrubbing the skin solves the problem

This is really bad for your skin. If you pick at the skin or try to force puss out of a pimple, this is the fastest way to create a scar.

All you have to do is wait

. . .and the problem goes away. There are effective treatments and, as an adult, if you have been waiting for years, there is no reason to refuse treatment.