Acne Vulgaris commonly called Acne is a type of skin disease. It also commonly referred to as pimples spots or zits. It is caused by changes in the skin structures, hair follicle and the associated sebaceous glands. It can be inflammatory in condition but it can also occur in non inflammatory forms. It most commonly occurs during adolescence, affecting more than 85 % of the teenagers and can continue into adulthood. When the increased hormonal activity weakens the immune system and subjects it to disorders.



The upper neck and face are mostly affected by acne; it can also affect the chest, back and shoulders as well.

It can also occur due to impurities in the air and water. When the hair follicle pores on the skin become blocked, sebum builds up inside the skin and becomes infected with bacteria. Whiteheads develop when the infection remains under the skin surface, if the infection partly reaches the skin surface and changes color, it develops into a blackhead.

The blackhead in turn develops into a pimple and turns red. This redness is caused by the body's inflammatory response. Inflammation is a sign that the immune system is working to fight an infection. The inflammatory response doesn't always work perfectly, and can result in scarring. Most often it does not lead to scars however the after-effects of the inflammatory response can leave the skin red for months, sometimes for more than a year.

In adolescents who are the most socially insecure the effect of acne is mostly psychological affecting the self esteem and can also result in depression. Hence its aggressive and early treatment is most desirable.

There are many products available for the treatment of acne, most without any scientifically-proven effects. Generally speaking successful treatments give little improvement within the first week or two; and then the acne decreases over approximately 3 months, after which the improvement starts to flatten out.

The treatments are believed to work in at least 4 different ways by normalizing shedding into the pore to prevent blockage, killing the bacteria which cause the acne, anti inflammatory action and through hormonal manipulation

A daily oral intake of vitamin A derivative isotretinoin over a period of 4-6 months can cause long-term resolution or reduction of acne. It is believed that isotretinoin works primarily by reducing the secretion of oils from the glands but it has severe side effects.

Photo therapy using blue and red light has also been found to be beneficial. Intense violet light used twice weekly has been shown to reduce the number of acne lesions by about 64%; and is even more effective when applied daily. Its effectiveness is further enhanced when used along with red light. The light is applied through purpose-built fluorescent lighting, dichroic bulbs, LED's or lasers.

Lasers are normally used to burn the follicle sac from which the hair grows, to destroy the sebaceous gland which produces the oil by burning and to induce formation of oxygen in the bacteria to killing them. Laser treatment can also be used for the scars left behind by acne. However this form of treatment is expensive