Health tips - simple pimple solutions

Its 7 am in the morning, you wake up and groggily drag yourself to the bathroom. You take your time slowly brushing your teeth, browsing through a worn copy of your favourite Vampire Diaries series. Finally, you splash your face with water and look up. As the grogginess wears out, you notice a slight blemish on your cheek. Eyes widen at the impending disaster which will reveal itself later during the day at school. A villain we are all too familiar — acne. 

Acne, pimples and zits are all words for the same thing. These are the small, reddened areas usually found on the skin. Oil-producing glands on the skin might go into overdrive, causing skin cells to get trapped in the pores. Sometimes they are white when germs enter and the skin over it is seals — hence the name whiteheads. They can also be black when exposed to air — hence are called blackheads. It is something that is often a cause of great distress for both teenage girls and boys. Occasionally, these pimples are found on the face, neck and back. This more severe form is called acne vulgaris.

It is a common myth that pimples are perhaps caused by bad hygiene. In actuality, excessive scrubbing can actually worsen the condition. It is advised to use facial scrubs no more than twice a day or every alternate day. This is not to say that washing your face is not important, just that it should not be done so often that it dries up the skin. Further, especially after exercising or any activity that causes you to sweat, it is important to wash your face since sweat might clog skin pores.

Simple steps such as not touching your face too much are known to help. If your hair is long, try to keep it away from your face and forehead. If hair products or styling gels are used, they should be applied while staying clear of the face. When buying make up or sunscreen, look if the label says ‘nonacnegenic’ or ‘noncomedogenic’. Also frequently laundering your pillow case and using a clean towel or even paper towels might help too.

Another bad habit which worsens the problem, is trying to pop your pimples. Firstly, it might push the dirt and germs farther into the skin, and secondly, it leaves a scab. Small pits can also form due to attempts of popping them, which are permanent. Of course, most of the time it is done just out of compulsion, which I can relate too, but, think of the remedies that might be waiting out there for you.

There are a few widely used remedies which are available without a prescription from the doctor — over the counter (OTC) medications. One of these is salicylic acid which dries up the pimple, and is a common ingredient of toners. Another product that can be used is benzoyl peroxide, available generally as a cream. Applying this helps dry up the pimple and reduce the redness. It comes in skin coloured preparations as well and hence can be applied even when wandering outside the house. If you have tried and tested everything and the acne is distressing, visit the dermatologist or skin specialist. Remembering one thing is important though, excess of anything will not necessarily help, and this applies to washing your face, using products and so on.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 8^th, 2011.