Is acne skin caused by eating hot spicy foods?

Hot weather is in season, skin health, especially acne disease is having many impacts on the aesthetics of young people.

The reporter of the Health & Life Newspaper had a talk with MSc.BS Phan Ngoc Huy – Department of Skin Aesthetics – Da Lieu Hospital HCMC around this issue.

From the above questions of readers, can your doctor tell me the causes of acne?

Acne is formed when skin follicles are blocked by excess sebum production. This usually happens when we enter puberty, the body begins to increase production of certain sex hormones, causing the sebaceous glands to enlarge and secrete more sebum. Therefore, adolescents are the most common age group for acne. In addition, women often get acne in the days before menstruation, during pregnancy, or suffer from endocrine disorders such as polycystic ovary syndrome due to changes in hormones in the body. There are 4 main factors that are considered to cause acne: Increased sebum production, follicular hyperkeratosis, acne-causing bacteria activity and subcutaneous inflammation.

When the skin has acne, how to handle it, doctor?

Acne treatment requires a combination of methods. Including skin care, lifestyle regimen and acne treatments with drugs.

The consequences of self-treating acne with topical medications are of unknown type

– Acne care: Wash your face and areas prone to blemishes with an oily, mild, and alcohol-free cleanser. Should gently wash skin immediately after sweating and limit the number of washings to no more than 2 times / day. Prioritize the selection of oil-free products. These products are often labeled “oil-free”, “nonacnegenic”, “noncomedogenic,” “don’t clog the pores” ( wont clog pores).

– Living regime for people with acne: Acne patients need to have a regime of learning, working properly and reducing stress, because stress causes the sebaceous glands to increase secretion and promote inflammation. Sleep moderately, limit staying up late. Avoid sweet, fatty foods (such as tea, cakes, mango, durian, sticky rice …) or drink too much milk. Instead, eat plenty of green vegetables and fruits and drink plenty of water.

– Medicinal acne treatments:

For mild acne cases, patients can treat themselves at home using topical medications containing either benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid. Once the pimple is cleared, treatment is still needed to prevent new pimples from appearing. If the acne still does not respond to treatment, see a dermatologist for more appropriate action.

For moderate – severe acne cases: Need intensive treatment and close monitoring by dermatologists. Usually, it requires a combination of two or more methods such as laser and light, prescription topical drugs such as topical / oral retinoids, and topical / oral antibiotics.

After an attack has cleared up the acne, the patient needs to switch to maintenance therapy to avoid recurrence. Therefore, patients need to be patient and adhere to treatment. Don’t buy medicine yourself or hear someone else advise you about an effective method, because one treatment might work for one person but it won’t work for another.

Readers wonder “can you still eat spicy, hot, but your skin can still be healthy?”, Ask your doctor for advice?

The link between hot spicy foods and acne isn’t really clear yet and more research is needed. However, consuming too much hot spicy food can also adversely affect the stomach, insomnia, and heat in the body. So, in this case, use hot spicy foods in moderation and appropriateness.

Mistakes when treating and caring for acne skin? Doctors can share further recommendations.

Squeeze acne incorrectly or choose a type of red inflammatory acne, severe pustules will increase the risk of acne scars

If done properly for acne skin care and treatment, it will have a good therapeutic effect. However, some misconceptions in acne care and treatment can leave complications such as persistent erythema and severe pitting scarring. In particular, the concept of acne should not be treated but let alone increase the risk of these complications. The sooner and properly treated acne will help reduce the risk of it progressing into follicles and cysts and reducing the chance of scarring. In addition, the following views should be noted:

– When you have acne, you should not use moisturizer or sunscreen: For acne skin, products that do not contain oils or substances that can clog hair follicles should still be used to create lips. Favorable schools nourish the skin and reduce dark spots.

– Habit of squeezing acne: Squeezing acne incorrectly or choosing a type of acne that is red inflammation, severe pustules will increase the risk of acne scars. In some cases it can cause a more serious skin infection. Squeeze pimples suitable for blackheads, hidden acne to help quickly remove acne. However, it should be done gently and ensuring sterility to limit skin infections.

Lack of persistence in treatment: Usually, effective acne treatment takes 6-8 weeks to see a clear effect. Treatment failure is easily changed when the measures are changed. Even after a good response, the patient should also have an appropriate maintenance regimen to avoid recurrence.

Use of topical agents of unknown origin: Usually, these topicals contain acids of unknown concentration and composition, which have the ability to regenerate skin, flake skin and remove acne. However, many cases of allergic contact dermatitis, skin infection, and darkening of the skin following the use of these topical agents have been reported. Therefore, patients should be cautious when using topical medications.