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Getting acne....Q&A............(part 3 of 5)

I’ve started getting acne spots. How long do they last? This depends on what type of spots they are and, even then, it can be very difficult to predict what will happen. Some spots will appear and then disappear during the course of a day but others will evolve more gradually through the various stages. Comedones can be very persistent if they don’t get inflamed. Mildly inflamed spots will last 5–10 days before settling down, but can leave a flat red mark (macule) for several weeks. Nodules and cysts may last for weeks or months unless you get some treatment. What is the difference between a whitehead and a yellow- head spot? These two common terms describe quite different types of spot. A whitehead is a closed comedone where the pore is blocked and not open to the air. There is no inflammation (redness). A yellow- head suggests a spot with pus in it. The medical term is a ‘pustule’. Whiteheads may become yellowheads if the blocked pore becomes infected. My daughter is only 9 but she seems
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Taking Care of Acne Over the Counter

Taking Action Topically: A Primer
A topical product is one that is applied on the skin, such as a cream, ointment, gel, foam, or lotion. Almost every OTC acne medication is topical rather than oral, taken by mouth. Topical therapy is generally safer than systemic (oral or injected) therapy.Topical acne treatments (both the OTC and prescription varieties) are made up of two general types of ingredients that you find on all labels:
Active ingredient: This part of the medication does the real grunt work. I recommend you start your search for an OTC reatment by looking at the active ingredient because it’s the most important component of a product. Most commonly found are benzoyl peroxide, salicylic acid, sulfur, and resorcinol. You can read more about these ingredients in the section “Getting In on the Active Ingredients.”
Inactive ingredient(s): This part of the medicine is the stuff that holds onto the medicine and preserves it, keeps the product moving easily through the container, and makes the medi-
cine easier to apply. Inactive ingredients are sometimes referred to as the inert ingredient or the vehicle because they deliver the medicine. You can read more about these ingredi-
ents in the section “The Lazy Bums! Inactive Ingredients.”In choosing the right topical treatment, you need to consider both active and inactive ingredients. Just as some active ingredients may be more beneficial for your particular acne, certain vehicles may be more conducive to your skin type. The rest of this chapter explains what the various active ingredients do and how you use them. I also explain what type of delivery vehicle is best for your
particular skin type.
tip:Don’t buy brand-name products when you can spend less on generic. That way, you don’t have to pay for the fancy packaging and marketing that the name brands put into their products! After you start to treat your acne, don’t get into the routine of checking your face every day and looking for improvement. The treatments take time to start working — sometimes up to six to eight weeks, so be patient!
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