Adult Acne

Adult acne is an important cosmetological problem.

Most people think that acne is an adolescent disease. The truth is that adult acne is very common.

In 1999, Goulden and Cunliffe published a study that showed  the increasing incidence of adult acne. They noted that the mean age of patients treated for Acne had increased in a decade from 20.5 years to 26.5 years.

It has been estimated that about 10-20% of teenage acne sufferers continue to get intermittent attack of acne well into their adulthood.

Some individuals can get acne for the first time in their adulthood, i.e., after 21 years. This type of adult acne, also known as 'pure' adult acne, make up around 5% of all acne sufferers.

Females, due to their hormonal fluctuations during the month, tend to suffer more from adult acne. In pregnancy, though, adult acne can be unpredictable. In some women, acne tend to clear during pregnancy while in some, acne worsens during pregnancy.

This contradiction is seen with oral contraceptive pills also in adult acne. In some females, OCPs induce facial acne eruptions, while some OCP pills are very effective in treating acne in women, especially those suffering from hormone producing tumors in the ovaries.(Thus adult acne in women are also caused by such diseases of the uterus and ovary, like the polycystic ovarian disease).

Another common cause for adult acne is the use of acne inducing skin care and cleansing products and make ups. This type of adult acne is called acne cosmetica. Care should be taken to choose water based skin care products so that your skin does not get irritated by the oily cosmetics. Want to check the oil content of your make up? Acne cosmetica usually clears when you stop using the offending make up.

Excess alcohol consumption, diary products, stress, iodide containing medications and certain other medications including steroids are also important causes for adult acne.

Pure adult acne calls for investigations, especially in females, to rule out hormonal causes.

The treatment of adult acne is same as common acne vulgaris, except that treatment of any predisposing cause should also be carried out.