Acne is a terrible condition to deal with especially during the difficult adolescent years and indeed for the many adults having to deal with it.

Today there are many ways of treating acne some more effective than others but what of the myths surrounding this awful skin condition?

One myth is that acne is related to diet but it is agreed amongst the dermatology community that acne and diet are no way related. Although science is not always 100% accurate there is no firm evidence that chocolate, sugar, oil, milk, seafood or any other types of food cause acne or make it worse. Some people are quite convinced that a certain food either causes or aggravates their acne condition. For these people the obvious thing then is to avoid that food and remove it from their diets. Chocolate has often been accused of aggravating acne but there have been many clinical studies performed and the resounding agreement is ’no’, chocolate is not a culprit!

It is also believed that washing your face more often will help clear this skin affliction. But contrary to belief, blemishes are not caused by dirt and pores do not get blocked from the top down. The reality is, is that the entire pore collapses from within the skin which begins the acne process and frequent washing will do absolutely nothing in preventing this. In fact over washing can irritate and actually worsen the condition of acne. The advice given concerning the washing of the face is to wash only twice a day and do not use a flannel but use only the bare hands.

Another myth concerning acne is that stress can be a factor but regardless of this common belief, that is not true and stress is not a very important factor. Some drugs prescribed to treat severe stress may cause acne as a side effect, but stress in itself is no aggravator. Time should be spent finding help for the acne rather than feeling guilty that your stress levels are causing the problem.

Some people believe that the sun will help in ridding them of the acne spots and pimples. In the short term the sun may hasten the clearing of existing acne whilst reddening the skin which will then take on a reddish tone and blend in with the red acne marks. But the fact is a sun-tan is actually damaging to the skin and exposure to the sun can cause irritation which in fact will make the acne worse. The sun can only be a short-term fix which will in later weeks bite back causing more problems.

The most antiquated myth concerning acne is that masturbation or sex causes acne. This in fact dates way back to the 17th century in the hope that it would stop youngsters from having pre marital sex. Needless to say this is just a myth used as a scare tactic.

There are many treatments available to help treat acne. Some can be purchased over the counter but if the condition is more severe then a trip to the doctors will help enormously.

Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to Acne