Acne is a very curable disease. It can usually be healed with over the counter drugs and often without scarring. The main key when curing the disease is patience. One acne treatment may not work, requiring the use of several different medications before an appropriate one is found.

While many acne treatments claim healing will occur within a day or two, those claims are false. The lesions may seem to form over night, but the reality is that they form below the skin for several days before appearing. Eliminating both the bacteria and the inflammation takes time and cannot happen over night. For adequate healing, treatments may take as long as two months to become effective. Most acne treatments consist of washes and creams; neither has an advantage over the other, and it is simply a matter of using various products until one proves effective. In some cases, an acne treatment will work for a few weeks, and then become ineffective. This is common, and means the user will have to use different treatments before finding another that works.

For someone suffering from nodules or cysts, common acne treatments will likely prove ineffective. For such extreme cases, it is recommended to see a dermatologist. A dermatologist is a skin doctor who will be able to evaluate the severity of the case and offer a reason for the condition. In addition, he or she will be able to prescribe stronger prescription drugs.

While there are many correct ways to heal acne, there are also very poor ways to treat it. The most common and ill-advised method of self-treatment consists of squeezing or cutting the lesions until they ‘pop’. This is very dangerous to do. Aside from being painful, popping a lesion will leave it exposed to bacteria present on the surrounding skin, which could lead to a new, more severe infection.

When a lesion is squeezed, the surrounding tissue is always damaged. Internal tissue may rupture, offering a means for the bacteria to reenter the body and spread to surrounding tissue, resulting in a larger outbreak. The outer tissue, in addition, will heal irregularly and lead to small, circular scars, which may be indented or raised.

Once an effective treatment has been discovered and the disease cured, preventing a new outbreak is vital. Most causes of acne are poor diets and ineffective hygiene. Regular consumption of excess fat and sugar has been proven to cause lesion outbreaks in both adolescences and adults. A diet consisting of proper portion sizes, adequate fiber, and limited sugar will help a great deal in reducing outbreaks. Persistent lesions on an individual 40 and over, outbreaks may indicate poor liver function.

Proper hygiene is another cause of adolescent acne. As a child reaches their teenage years, the body produces more skin oil, which leads to the formation of blackheads and whiteheads. Proper facial washing to remove dirt, dead skin, and makeup is essential. Astringents are especially effective in eliminating dead skin cells and preventing comedones from forming.