Acne is an extremely common entity. It is a disease that affects primarily teenagers in the United States, but can affect adults as well. It is primarily a facial disease, but can be found on the back and chest as well. It's often multifactorially related to hormones and bacteria resulting in red papules and cyst on the areas affected.
Acne can sometimes be treated at home without help from a dermatologist. There are certainly some over-the-counter products that you can try. Some of the lower strength benzyl peroxides are available over-the-counter as are some of the sulfa containing soaps. If those are not effective, its probably the time to see a dermatologist so that you can get a more potent topical treatment as well as an oral antibiotic if necessary.
The most important thing when treating acne is to try to prevent the scarring. It's one thing to have a pimple today, but it's another to have scars that last a lifetime. I think our primary goal is, when the acne appears to be leaving scars, to try to take treatment. Fortunately, we have wonderful medications today to treat acne. We have things like intense pulsed light and laser treatments with levulinic acid that can be performed in the office. We also use oral antibiotics, topical antibiotics, topical retinoid products, and benzyl peroxide products. We're seeing more and more people choosing treatment with the laser.
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