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Acne vulgaris - Background information
What is it?
- Acne vulgaris is a chronic skin condition in which blockage or inflammation of the hair follicles and accompanying sebaceous glands (known as pilosebaceous units) occurs. It principally affects the face (99% of people), the back (60%), and the chest (15%), and usually first occurs around the age of puberty.
- Acne presents with non-inflammatory or inflammatory lesions, or a mixture of the two.
- Non-inflammatory lesions are known as comedones.
- Blackheads (open comedones) are follicles that have a wider than normal opening. They are filled with plugs of sebum and sloughed off cells. This material has a typical black appearance.
- Whiteheads (closed comedones) are follicles that are filled with the same material as blackheads but have a much smaller opening to the skin surface, and therefore appear white.
- Inflammatory lesions mainly consist of superficial papules (inflamed lesions) and pustules (pus-containing lesions). In more severe acne, nodules (deep pustular lesions) and cysts may occur. In very severe acne, nodules may track together and form large, deep sinuses (acne conglobata).
[Healy and Simpson, 1994; Brown and Shalita, 1998]
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