ACNE OUTBREAK LEFT ME SCARRED
Q I am 15-year-old girl who, until last month, had never had pimples or acne. Then I had a severe outbreak and even though the acne itself has cleared up, I have been left with scars. Is there any way I can get rid of them?
A First, let me tell you that acne is the most common skin disorder affecting teenagers and outbreaks affect males and females equally.
Approximately 75 per cent of teenagers suffer from a certain degree of acne at any stage during their teens. Acne is believed to be caused by hormonal fluctuations occurring at puberty and that continue for some period thereafter.
Clinically, acne is assessed and classified into several grades based on its intensity. Since you do not give a detailed morphological description of your acne lesions, it would be difficult to conclude the severity grade of your acne. A detailed examination would be necessary to suggest a proper course of therapy.
Not every acne sufferer ends up having scars; only those with a severe variety of acne or those left with untreated or incompletely treated acne are at risk of developing post-acne scars. Clinical statistics show that approximately 10-15 per cent of total sufferers end up with post-acne scars. Your condition – developing a severe acne outburst in just one month – appears to be very unusual.
In my opinion, you are probably confusing acneinduced skin blemishes with acne scars. A detailed examination would be necessary to reveal the causative factors.
However, I’d like to reassure you that acne is completely curable in most cases with timely and appropriate treatment.