janet’s journal

The way to treat cystic acne is similar to treating other forms of acne. Cystic acne is a more severe form of the more popular acne vulgaris but is characterised by painful and often very large nodules deep within the skin. The glands that produce oil in the skin overproduce and become blocked and infected causing them to burst and produce inflammation of the surrounding skin. If you have cystic acne you will have soft lumps underneath the skin that are filled with fluid. Another form is called nodulocycstic acne in which hard nodules form that are very slow to heal and is caused by infections invading the hair follicle.

As well as treating cystic acne to clear up the infection and reduce the inflammation it is important that you know how to look after your skin properly. The first thing to be careful of is to avoid squeezing or picking at the cysts as this will cause the bacteria to spread underneath the skin and cause further infections. It can also lead to more damage to the skin resulting in scarring. You should wash your face with a mild soap no more than twice a day.Benzoyl peroxide soap, a mild soap with no perfume or Oxy-5 can be used. Shampoo your hair regularly to prevent oil from your hair being transferred to your face.