Acne: Tips for managing

Dermatoloigsts often share the following tips with their patients who have acne:

1. Do not squeeze acne to get rid of it. Acne treatment takes time to work. While you are waiting for treatment to work, it can be tempting to squeeze acne to get rid of it. Squeezing tends to make acne worse. It can even cause a permanent acne scar. This is why dermatologists tell their patients with acne not to pick, scratch, pop, or squeeze.
   
   
2. Do not tan to get rid of acne. Trying to clear your acne by getting a tan may not be as safe as you think. Research shows that people who use tanning beds and sunlamps increase their risk of getting melanoma, the deadliest skin cancer, by 75%. Getting a tan from the sun also increases your risk of skin cancer.
   
   Tanning also causes people to see wrinkles, age spots, and other signs of aging much earlier. And many acne treatments increase the skin’s sensitivity to ultraviolet (UV) light. Both the sun and tanning beds emit UV light. If you are using an acne treatment, tanning can cause your skin to become red, sore, and start to peel.
   
   What should you do instead of tan? Dermatologists recommend using an acne treatment. There are many effective acne treatments.
   
   
3. Treat your acne. Thanks to research breakthroughs, virtually every case of acne can be controlled. If you cannot find a treatment that works, a dermatologist can help.
   
   
4. Be gentle to your skin. Scrubbing your skin clean will not clear acne. Scrubbing irritates the skin and tends to make acne worse.

For more tips, be sure to visit the American Academy of Dermatology’s website, AcneNet, to see what can help clear acne.