LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Acne: Skin
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Acne where infections are deep under the skin and do not raise to the surface of skin is called severe nodular acne or cystic acne. Cystic acne heals very slowly as infection waste material is not discharged. People with nodules or cysts should be treated by a dermatologist. For patients with severe inflammatory acne that does not improve with medicines such as severe nodular or cystic acne, a doctor may prescribe isotretinoin (Accutane*), a retinoid. Isotretinoin is an oral drug that is usually taken once or twice a day with food for 15 to 20 weeks. It markedly reduces the size of the oil glands so that much less oil is produced.
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Acne is characterized by minor, though occasionally severe, skin eruptions due to inflammation around the sebaceous glands. Most prominent on the face, upper chest, and back, the sebaceous glands secrete sebum, a thick, oily substance that lubricates the skin. The male hormones called androgens can trigger over activity of the sebaceous glands. Acne develops when sebum flow is blocked by skin cells, dried sebum, or bacteria. A complete blockage produces a light-colored bump (whitehead); an incomplete blockage leads to a dark-colored spot (blackhead). Bacteria normally found on the surface of the skin may then infect the whitehead or blackhead, produce pus, and cause an eruption (pimple).
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Acne occurs when the hair follicles become plugged with oil and dead skin cells. Each follicle is connected to sebaceous glands. These glands secrete an oily substance known as sebum to lubricate your hair and skin. Sebum normally travels up along the hair shafts and then out through the opening of the hair follicle onto the surface of your skin. When your body produces an excess amount of sebum and dead skin cells, the two can accumulate in the hair follicle and solidify as a soft plug.
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Acne occurs when tiny holes on the surface of the skin called pores become clogged. Each pore is an opening to a canal called a follicle, which contains a hair and an oil gland. Normally, the oil glands help keep the skin lubricated and help remove old skin cells. When glands produce too much oil, the pores can become blocked, accumulating dirt, debris, and bacteria. The blockage is called a plug or comedone.
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Acne occurs when oil glands become plugged. Normally, sebum (oil) flows out of the gland and out a pore to the skin's surface. Acne occurs when this path gets blocked and sebum cannot reach the skin's surface. The main contributors to blockages are skin cells and thickened sebum. A common bacterium called P. acnes grows excessively in clogged gland, contributing to pimple formation. The most acne-prone and are located on the face, back and chest.
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Acne starts when the sebaceous glands overproduce oil, or sebum, secreted through the pores. Sebum carries dead cell debris away with it, but its overproduction blocks the pores with a sticky mass of oil and dead cells. When this happens, the bacteria normally present in the skin convert the mass into compounds that irritate and rupture small glands, causing inflammation and unattractive pustules.
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