Type Of Myths About Acne

There are three sorts of myths about acne: those that deal with putative causes, those that deal with supposed cures, and those that with the conditions surrounding the disease. Since the last are least diverse, let us deal with them first.

Really Severe Acne Is Catching

Many skin diseases are indeed highly contagious. Acne is not one of them. Since P. acnes bacteria exist on all human skin, there is nothing that surface contact will transmit from one person to another that is not already there.

Conceivably, if acne is left untreated, becomes very severe, and then leads to a really nasty secondary infection, that might possibly be transmitted to another person who also has open, but not yet infected, lesions. However, this circumstance is far-fetched-there is no need for things ever to get that out of hand. As a general rule, acne is not contagious.

Infant Acne Always Leads to Teenage Acne

This is not true. There appears to be no correlation between ordinary infant acne and teenage acne. However, since most teenagers do suffer from acne, it is true that most babies who experience infant acne will also develop the teenage form. But, then, so will the majority of teenagers who never showed symptoms of the disease as newborns.

However, the situation here is even a little more confused because) there is one form of infant acne that is hereditary, usually from the father. Left untreated, it would persist for months or years in the infant, and would be very likely to recur in the teenager

Thus, this old wives’ tales has some basis in fact–even though it is not generally true.

Acne and Balding Are Related

Male-type hormones, or androgens, affect both hair and oil glands, tending to speed up the loss of one and the production of the other. Thus, theoretically, bald men may be more likely to suffer from acne. However, if there is any truth to this rumor, it has yet to be proven, a task complicated by the fact that acne tends to decrease and baldness obviously tends to increase with age. On balance, we believe that there is no significant likelihood that if you are a man, you will be cursed with premature balding and long-lasting acne at the same time. One scourge at a time!

The situation is slightly different for women. There is a rare condition where women, whose ovaries normally produce low levels of androgens, overproduce the hormones. This may lead to a number of symptoms, including increased facial hair, a loss of scalp hair, and acne, sometimes severe. The appearance of any such symptoms necessitates immediate medical intervention.