The Embarrassment of Acne Scars – Options for Relief
Perhaps the worst consequence of severe acne is the situation where a person has to live all their life with the embarrassment of acne scars. Most adolescents who struggle with acne take some comfort in knowing that they’ll eventually outgrow it. Unfortunately that not true for people with severe acne.
Acne is associated with inflammation and sometimes out right infection. In severe cases the body’s response to this is scaring.
How bad and deep the scars are depends on the severity of the acne that caused them and the individual’s response.
Obviously, this is another example of a problem that’s better to avoid than to have to treat after the fact.
But once a person has then and the acute acne has settled down, it’s time to look into the treatment options for acne scarring.
Treatment Options for Acne Scars
There are several treatment options available for acne scars. Which ones are best for an individual depends on their unique situation. This is really a situation where you need to work with a dermatologist or a plastic surgeon who specializes in such care.
This may seem a little odd, but one thing to keep in mind when selecting a physician is the old adage that if you only have a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
You generally are best with a physician that has experience with several different techniques. This makes it more likely that you’ll be able to get the treatment most appropriate for you.
Perhaps the most common from of treatment for significant acne scarring is dermabrasion. This involves freezing and abrading the superficial layers of the skin. It made sound a little crude, but you can think of it as sanding the skin smooth.
As the partially abraded skin heals, it is hoped that it will be both softer and smoother than before.
Both chemical peels and lasers attempt to do essentially the same thing using different methods to remove the superficial skin (chemicals and laser light of a specific frequency, obviously).
These methods each has its pros and cons and is best used in certain situations. This is where it is best to discuss the options with an experienced physician.
With that in mind, there are milder over-the-counter chemical peels that can be worth trying. If they give satisfactory results, great. Severe acne scarring may require more aggressive treatment.
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