Home Link

updated November 20, 2009

Cystic Acne

One of the most painful forms of acne, cystic acne is caused by an infection under the skin, and it can be extremely severe. It cannot be cured overnight by any means, and if you use the spot treatments that are generally meant to work in only a few hours, it will have little to no effect on cystic acne.

Essentially speaking, cysts develop and they are formed with swollen skin and red pustules filled with you guessed it, puss. They appear on the surface of the skin, and the exact cause of cystic acne has not actually been determined at this point in time. According to popular reports, the cause varies between individuals. However, it may be cause by hormonal issues, dirt buildup on the skin, and excess oils.

Cystic acne can occur at any age, and it is even more important not to try to pop these zits or otherwise squeeze them or touch them, because by doing that you are ensuring that you will suffer scarring. And it has been more commonly seen in teenagers. So basically speaking, teenagers are more likely to try to pop pimples and therefore they are more likely to suffer scarring.

So how do you prevent cystic acne? There is no sure way to prevent cystic acne. However, if you take basic steps, you significantly lower your risk. Remember to wash your face with a gentle cleanser every day, twice a day. Also, remember to use a good acne gel, serum, cream, something of that nature afterward to kill off excess bacteria and otherwise help you in fighting acne vulgaris in general. This will give you the best possible chance of preventing cystic acne. This is also especially important during pregnancy being that cystic acne manifests at a high rate during that particular time.

Second, how do you fight cystic acne? When you have cystic acne, it is extremely important to keep the area clean. This means not touching it a lot, not squeezing it, and more importantly, washing it on a daily basis, again twice daily. It is also important to use a good acne cream, gel, etc, because these often have more active ingredients than you will find in a wash.

However, taking the regular steps you would take to fight acne vulgaris is not always enough. This would be the first step. However, should your cystic acne remain or even get worse, which does happen, it is extremely important to visit your dermatologist. Sometimes, he will drain the cyst and sometimes he will actually inject it with a powerful antibiotic or otherwise treatment. But if it gets to this point of lasting weeks or even months in some cases, there is no other option ultimately speaking but to visit your dermatologist for these harsher methods of action.

If you suffer from cystic acne, it is more common and even more normal than you think. It is more important than ever that you take good care of your skin and otherwise use the right acne treatments. However, in most cases, if these steps are taken, you will get rid of cystic acne within a few days to a couple of weeks. Most do not require professional intervention.