What You Need to Know about Cystic Acne

by Kevin Smith Author

Acne is a common skin condition treated by a dermatologist in San Diego, CA. However, a more serious form of acne called cystic acne can become extremely painful and take much longer to resolve than a normal pimple. This type of acne often needs to be treated by a dermatologist to resolve it and prevent addition problems like scarring. Here's what you need to know.

What Is Cystic Acne?

Cystic acne differs from other acne in that it doesn't look like a typical whitehead that clears up in a couple days. Cystic acne is an infection that goes deeper under the skin, so it looks like a large, red bump that often never develops a head at all, even though the pore is filled with pus. These bumps are painful and may even be itchy for some people. With a regular pimple, the pore becomes clogged with dead skin cells. With cystic acne, the pore gets bacteria trapped in the pore as well, which causes the swelling and redness on the surface of the skin.

What Causes Cystic Acne?

Like other acne, cystic acne is caused by clogged pores. However, hormones called androgens are an additional factor that cause more pores to become clogged. Androgens increase during the teenage years, which is why cystic acne is most common in teenagers and those in their early 20s. However, some pregnant women and women with other conditions affecting their hormones may struggle with cystic acne.

Can Scars Be Avoided?

It's always recommended that people avoid popping pimples or picking at them because this can increase the likelihood of infection and scarring. Unfortunately, scarring can't always be avoided with cystic acne even if you don't try to pop it, simply because of the way it affects the skin. Since the inflammation occurs at a deeper level than other types of acne, the inflammation may trigger the production of pigment cells, which results in scarring. That's why it's important to have cystic acne treated properly.

How Is It Treated?

Over-the-counter acne treatments are almost never successful with cystic acne. Most cystic acne requires treatment from a dermatologist in San Diego, CA, because dermatologists can use more aggressive treatments like antibiotics, hormone regulation medications like birth control for women, prescription-strength creams, and oral medications that are taken over a number of months to permanently clear up acne. In some cases, injecting steroids into individual cysts may be used to treat the acne.