Menstrual Cycle And Acne

Women are prone to acne when the menstrual cycle is shortly ahead. This is mostly attributed to the changes in the levels of hormones. The menstrual cycle plays a key role in the formation of acne. Adolescent girls who are at the threshold of puberty also get acne due to changes in hormone levels. Premenstrual acne seems to happen every month. It is also called ‘PMS acne’. In this case occurrence of acne coincides with the menstrual cycle. Acne is often associated with hormones and hence women have a flare of acne in the premenstrual stages. Acne inflammation may increase between day 22 and 28 of the menstrual cycle. This is due to the decrease of sebaceous dust in this period. However, detailed researches are yet to be done on this.

Risk of Acne Occurrence Using Birth Control Pills

Premenstrual acne seems to be a real occurrence. At the same time, using birth control pills also seem to increase the risk of acne occurrence. The cause is anyway hormonal changes. It is but convincing that acne rises and falls with the menstrual cycle. Recent studies show that skin breakouts follow a 28-days cycle. This implies that the skin breakout flares just before the start of bleeding and calms down after the start of the bleeding. However, some medical experts feel that hormones alone are not the only cause of acne and that it is a combination of bacterial infection, inflammation, blocking of follicles, and also hormonal changes. It also depends on the size of the pores. The smaller the pores, the greater are the chances of clogging. It is also interesting to know that in some cases the use of birth control pills has made no difference. If hormonal changes are thought to be the cause of such breakouts, women taking these pills should have a decrease in premenstrual acne, which is not true. Therefore it is evident that something else affects the skin, but this could have a link to the menstrual cycle. The opinion of the experts is that this ‘something’ could be water retention. However, this issue has to be addressed properly in the studies.

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Treatment of Acne During Permenstrual Stages for Woman

If a woman suffers from acne during her premenstrual stages, she should be treated as in the case of any other acne and seek the help of a dermatologist when the problem becomes severe. A therapy that is appropriate to the severity of the case should be prescribed. Sometimes the medication may involve antibiotics too. Simultaneously topical medications may also combine with this. Some dermatologists also opine that birth control pills even help some women having acne. Perhaps, these pills work differently with persons.

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It is also true that when hormones are out of balance during the menstrual cycle, it causes acne to appear around the chin, lower face, and forehead. This acne is also called menstrual cycle pimples. However, the acne appearing in this period disappears also automatically after the menstrual period. Therefore, good care of the skin should be taken during the menstrual period. Treating this type of acne is essential as chance should not be taken just by leaving it unattended.