Occlusive acne: a particularly adult form of adult acne
For many people, acne will be consistent with the blemishes of adolescence. Once you have made the painful transition from childhood to adulthood, acne will no longer be a problem. The reality is that acne affects all age groups, from newborns to adults, but because the vast majority of acne cases occur during adolescence, this age group is inevitably the focus of most attention. of people.
It must be said that for a doctor, adolescent acne is the least interesting of all types of acne. Unfortunately, many adolescent acne sufferers fit the stereotype of being both bumpy and spotty, so it is perhaps not surprising that most family physicians, who will typically have over 50 adolescent acne sufferers to treat at a time given, do not give these patients the time, care and attention that they deserve.
The other clinical types of acne are much rarer and also, from a clinical point of view, much more interesting than adolescent acne. The type of acne that arouses perhaps the most interest among doctors, although it must be emphasized that this interest is sometimes lewd in nature, is affectionately known as kinky acne, although technically it is a specific subtype of the clinical form of acne. known as acne caused by occlusion.
The characteristic feature of all the different clinical types of acne are spots. Although the cause of the blemishes is different in different types of acne, the mechanism by which the blemishes form is essentially similar and involves a combination of one or more of the following: blockage of the sebaceous glands, overproduction of sebum, and colonization of the sebaceous duct by the acne-promoting bacterium Proponiobacterium acnes. Acne blemish formation on human skin can be induced experimentally by applying waterproof adhesive plaster over a period of a few days. This type of acne is a form of acne caused by occlusion, since it is the blockage of the sebaceous duct by the adhesive dressing that produces the conditions in which the spots develop.
Curly acne is another form of acne caused by occlusion, although in the case of curly acne, the experimentation that causes the acne tends to be sexual in nature. People who indulge in bondage or sadomasochistic activities may spend long periods of time wearing tight-fitting clothing or restraints made of waterproof materials such as PVC, latex, or leather. A high proportion of people who indulge in sadomasochism or bondage for prolonged periods will develop acne in those areas where the surface of the skin is occluded by tight or restrictive clothing or accessories. Most people with curly acne who see a doctor have already guessed the diagnosis, as the distribution of the spots will follow a characteristic pattern, closely resembling the item of clothing or restraint that caused it. Perverted acne sufferers may be far less pleased to find that the only way to treat the complaint effectively is to completely refrain from their unusual recreational activities until the blemishes clear up. However, some doctors take solace in the fact that their masochistic acne patients may be getting extra pleasure from the discomfort caused by their perverted acne.
The other group that is at risk for a similar form of occlusion acne are soldiers and sailors, particularly those serving in tropical or subtropical conditions. In these military cases of occlusive acne, it is the soldiers’ backpack straps and the straps that occlude the surface of the skin that are the cause of the acne. Hot and humid conditions exacerbate the problem, as soldiers tend to do without uniform garments that often protect the torso from direct contact with backpack straps, and atmospheric humidity and excessive sweating increase the macerating effect. Again, removal of the cause of the problem, which in the case of the military means a period of light duty, is the only effective means of treatment and usually results in rapid improvement of the condition.
Soldiers, sailors, and sadomasochists are perhaps uncomfortable bedfellows as victims of this rare and unusual form of adult acne, but fortunately they provide some slight relief from the tedium of treating adolescent acne.