Types of acne
Most kids are going to experience a bout of acne at some point or another. The majority of kids will get their first breakouts sometime between the late pre-teen years and their early twenties. Most breakouts are manageable, but some kids may experience severe acne that will be challenging physically and emotionally. Breakouts consist mostly of blackheads, pimples, and cysts:
- Blackheads: occurs when a pore gets clogged with sebum yet remains open. The sebum oxidises and become dark, giving it the 'black' appearance of its name.
- Whiteheads/pimples: occurs when the wall of a pore opens up, allowing bacteria, oil and skin cells to get under the skin. They start with a white-tipped bump on the skin (whitehead) and resulting in a swollen red pimple protruding from the skin, sometimes with a large pus-filled top.
- Acne cyst (or nodules): occurs when clogged pores that open deep within the skin and become infected. Acne cysts are usually bigger than pimples and more painful. Large cysts that seem like acne are often in fact boils caused by a staph infection.
Acne versus pimples
There is a definite difference between acne and the occasional pimple. Having one or two pimples is normal for hormonal teenage skin, whereas excessive amounts of blackheads, pimples or cysts are the hallmarks of acne. Acne also appears persistently and for long periods in the same areas of skin. General over-the-counter treatments will help a pimple outbreak, whereas acne, and in particular severe acne, requires more aggressive treatment and should be treated with medication prescribed by a dermatologist.