With new laser therapy, acne doesn't turn into scars.
What's a four-letter word for a skin condition that affects almost 80% of people in different ways and can cause a lot of emotional stress? If you said acne, you were right on the mark with this hard-to-treat condition. Even though the question of how to treat acne might have been harder, dermatologists are at the forefront of using laser technology to stop acne in its tracks and stop the scars that often come from acne.
No. 1 Skin Problem
Acne is the most common skin problem in the world, and it is the number one reason why people go to a dermatologist. Studies show that acne is caused by hormones, too much oil, and bacteria, not by what you eat or how stressed you are. However, patients often blame themselves.
A dermatologist said, "People with acne are often very upset, and rightfully so." "They hear different things about what causes acne, and they sometimes spend a lot of time and money trying out the newest over-the-counter treatments. By the time I see them in my office, their acne has usually gotten so bad that it hurts their self-esteem and makes it hard for them to make friends. But it's important to keep in mind that acne is a medical condition that can be treated."
Acne lesions are common on the face, neck, chest, shoulders, and upper back, which all have a lot of oil-producing sebaceous follicles. Blackheads and whiteheads form when these follicles get clogged and red. If a whitehead or blackhead bursts, its infected contents come in contact with the skin, spreading the infection and making what people usually call a zit. In the worst case, the pimple gets so infected that it turns into a cyst deep under the skin. If you don't treat these painful spots, they can turn into acne scars if you don't.
Up until recently, acne was almost always treated with a mix of topical and oral medicines, such as antibiotics, with varying degrees of success. Dermatologists now use non-ablative laser technology to treat both active acne and the scars that it often leaves behind.
One of the best things about non-ablative lasers, as opposed to ablative lasers, is that they can clear up acne without hurting the top layer of skin too much. Acne is caused by sebaceous glands that work too much. Non-ablative therapy works by focusing on these glands. The laser sends out a wavelength of light that is strongly absorbed by the water in the skin. This makes the sebaceous glands and the area around the warm-up. A non-ablative laser changes the structure and function of the sebaceous gland by causing a mild thermal injury just below the skin's surface. This causes acne to clear up for a longer time.
The dermatologist said, "I think laser-based treatments for acne will one day be the first choice for acne patients, many of whom are unhappy with topical and systemic treatments and are afraid of their risks and side effects." "In my practice, I use non-ablative therapy a lot. I've found it to be a safe, cost-effective treatment that has made a big difference in the lives of my patients."
Non-ablative treatments usually take between five and twenty minutes. During that time, the patient may feel a slight snapping or stinging sensation, which can be eased with a topical anesthetic before the treatment and ice after the treatment. In order to get the desired results, a series of three to five treatments are given once a month.
Lesions from acne often get much better after just a couple of treatments, and a series of treatments should clear up acne for more than six months. The only side effects are mild redness and swelling that won't get in the way of a person's daily life.
Acne's Cruel Reminders
Laser therapy that doesn't cut into the skin is also used to treat acne scars that stay after the acne has gone away. Scars from acne are rarely dangerous to a person's health, but they are hard to treat and can hurt a person's self-esteem a lot. Dermatologists have traditionally used dermabrasion, surgical excision, and fillers like collagen to get rid of scars. But in many cases, the results were not very good.
Laser technology has become more and more important in treating acne scars over the past few years. At first, ablative lasers were used to shape or melt the surface of the skin. Now, techniques that use non-ablative lasers have taken over, mostly because they can help collagen grow under an acne scar without hurting the skin on the outside.
A dermatologist said, "Our experience has shown that people whose acne scars are treated with this therapy see a big improvement in how they look." "After a series of three non-ablative treatments once a month, patients have often surpassed our expectations and often done better than what ablative lasers could do."
Since medical technology is changing quickly, Dr. Alster told his patients to make sure they got the right treatment by going to a dermatologist who knows how to use laser therapy.
