It is ironic that the group of people most in need of acne blemish treatment and most often afflicted with acne blemishes are adolescents, who already often suffer great emotional and psychological distress. No one escapes high school without a zit or two or hundred. For many, acne blemish treatment is a very serious matter that has physical and social consequences. Effective skin care is simple but you must keep at it.

Because so much importance has been placed upon acne blemish treatment, it is no wonder so many myths surround acne breakouts. For instance, it is not true that sweets themselves contribute to acne breakouts. However, high sugar intake may make already oily skin more prone to infection. Consumption of milk, has been linked to hormone-related breakouts. Eating a lot of seafood may make existing acne worse.

It’s not even a matter of having dirty skin. The causes of acne are directly related to how effectively your body rids itself of dead skin cells in the pores and hair follicles. If at any time the delicate balance of this natural process is upset, the pore will clog and an acne blemish will form.

Many things can set this chain of events into motion. Hormonal changes are the culprits for teenagers, causing a cascade of events that interfere with normal skin function from several angles. But even adults can get acne from steroids, testosterone treatments, drinking too much milk or even just stress. Anything that irritates the skin can also cause a breakout and just resting you chin in your hands is enough to get the eruption started in some folks.

So, the first thing you need to determine is how bad your acne really is and whether you should see a dermatologist. If the acne blemishes have the potential of leaving lifelong scars or are impacting your other life decisions, it is probably time to make an appointment.

Acne blemish treatment usually involves addressing one of four major modes of action:

• Keeping the irritation and swelling down
• Regulating hormone levels
• Slowing the rate at which dead skins cells in the pores are sloughed off
• Killing the bacteria and fungus that contribute to redness and swelling of the blemishes

For most who have mild to moderate acne, self treatment with benzoyl peroxide, increasing their oral intake of vitamin A and being very careful not to touch the affected areas if at all possible is enough to keep the blemishes at bay.

Those who seek medical treatment have many more options than even 20 years ago. Topical and oral antibiotics are very commonly prescribed to those with advanced cases. Retin-A, perhaps better known as an anti aging skin care treatment product, is a type of vitamin A that has proven effective. It may be very drying when applied topically. In recent years, vitamin B3 has been shown to help down the swelling associated with acne blemish formation. Some researches have found that blue and red lights are effective and killing the offending bacteria.

It is very important, not only to not pick at or otherwise irritate existing blemishes but also, to maintain a dedication to the acne blemish treatment regimen you’ve adopted or been prescribed. You will find that for acne blemish care, medication skin treatment works best when you keep at it.