Main points of the article:
- Wounds on the face may appear due to skin diseases such as acne, psoriasis, rosacea, but also due to environmental factors such as weather, care products and bacteria.
- The main cause of facial wounds is the activity of the sebaceous glands in the skin, which produce a natural fatty liquid called sebum. Increased activity of the glands, often in combination with dead skin cells that have not had time to fall off, can cause blockage of the skin pores and the formation of subcutaneous lesions that later appear as pimples.
- Women tend to suffer more from acne due to hormonal changes that cause increased activity of the sebaceous glands and therefore excess fats on the skin. The changes happen during menstruation, in the first trimester of pregnancy and even due to menopause and the use of birth control pills.
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Why do sores appear on the face?
Wounds on the face can be caused by skin diseases such as acne, psoriasis and rosacea, but also by non-morbid factors, including:
Stress and anxiety – Periods of stress or moments of crisis may cause sores to appear on the skin. Chronic skin diseases such as herpes or psoriasis are also affected by stress, when anxiety can cause the outbreak of the disease.
Anxiety may increase the nervous system’s response to stress, which increases the release of histamine, a protein involved in the immune system’s response against allergens and is therefore secreted in response to inflammation, injury or an allergic reaction in the body and causes an inflammatory process that leads to tissue destruction, swelling, redness and itching.
germs – Excessive contact with the facial skin, using dirty makeup brushes, sleeping on dirty sheets – all these are everyday things that allow bacteria to be in direct contact with our facial skin and cause inflammation, infections, pimples and wounds of all kinds.
skin care products – Over-cleansing the face or using products that are not suitable for our skin type can do more harm than good. When you excessively clean the skin of the face, you actually remove natural protective layers that protect against bacteria and also cause excess secretion of fat and the appearance of pimples. In addition, the sebaceous glands in the skin may be blocked by the preparations and cause the appearance of pimples.
Weather – The seasons of transition and winter in Israel are characterized by dry air, which causes excessive secretion of the fatty liquid secreted by the mammary glands – the sebum. The sebum is supposed to keep the skin moist and protect it from the harmful dryness, but it can also cause the skin pores to become blocked and therefore the development of pimples.
Acne and types of facial wounds. Photo: Shutterstock
In addition, in the hot and humid seasons, an increase in the level of humidity that leads to sweating, may also cause pimples. A heat rash, or heat rash, is a rash caused by blocked skin pores. These secrete sweat but it gets trapped under the skin and causes a rash.
Skin diseases that cause sores on the face
acne – Acne vulgaris is a skin disease that causes pimples to appear on the face and sometimes also on the chest and back. The disease is common in teenagers, children and even adults. The disease is caused by an increase in the activity of sex hormones, which is common during puberty. An increase in sex hormones leads to overactivity of the sebaceous glands located mainly in the skin of the face, back and chest. Acne can be caused by several factors, acting together or separately:
- An increase in the production of sebum, the fatty liquid secreted by the mammary glands.
- The culture of acne bacteria.
- clogging of the hair follicle openings.
- Skin inflammation.
Acne lesions can be inflammatory or non-inflammatory:
Non-inflammatory acne – Non-inflammatory lesions called comedones appear due to blockage of pores and hair follicles by sebaceous secretions of the sebaceous glands and even by dead skin cells. Initially, the basis of these are microcomedones, internal skin lesions that are not visible to the eye. When these develop they appear as white comedones, indicating that the pimples are closed and have not been exposed to oxygen, and later as black because they have been exposed to oxygen and get a black color.
Inflammatory acne – Inflammatory pimples, which develop from comedones and are called papules, appear up to 5 mm in size, and pustules, lesions with pus.
Nodular acne – Inflammatory lesions over 5 mm in size that may be sensitive and painful. When left untreated they can cause irreversible scarring.
rosacea – Rosacea is a skin disease that causes redness in the face, especially on the cheeks, forehead and chin. It is called acne of old age and usually develops in women with fair skin who have passed their thirties. The disease manifests itself as a red rash accompanied by burning and dilated blood capillaries, and sometimes also in acne-like pimples that are not comedones, appearing only on the face (and not on the back and chest similar to acne).
The causes of rosacea are genetic predisposition and environmental factors that cause blood vessels to dilate. In women with rosacea, a high level of a parasite called Demodex was found, which is naturally found in healthy skin but in smaller amounts, as well as Helicobacter pyrroli bacteria in the intestines.
Psoriasis – Psoriasis is a chronic and autoimmune skin disease caused by an overactive immune system. The overactive system cells cause an inflammatory condition in the skin, so that the skin cells quickly accumulate on the surface of the skin, before the old cells have had time to fall off, and thus thick, itchy, dry and red scales are formed on the scalp, face, joints, knees, back, chest, stomach , in the nails and genitals. About 30% of psoriasis patients also develop arthritis which can lead to physical disability.
One of the causes of the disease is genetics, with 30% of patients reporting having a family history of psoriasis. An unhealthy lifestyle that includes obesity, smoking, alcohol consumption also has an effect on the development of psoriasis, as well as trauma or mental stress, infections, certain drugs such as lithium, prolol, normitan and normalol, as well as streptococcal laryngitis and the HIV virus.
seborrhea – Seborrhea is an inflammatory condition of the skin that manifests as eczema – redness and scales that appear on the face, scalp, eyebrows, between the nose and lips, ears, upper chest, upper back and body folds. The causes of seborrhea are not clear, it may be caused by the skin’s reaction to a certain fungus, but it is not considered a fungal disease.
Seborrhea symptoms may worsen in the autumn and winter seasons when the temperatures drop, following stress and mental stress as well as following hormonal changes or neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s disease which may increase the risk of inflammation.
Types of facial wounds
White and black dressers – A comedone is a hair follicle that is blocked by dead skin cells and sebum. They may develop as whiteheads and blackheads as a result of the whiteheads being exposed to oxygen.
Papules – A comedone that has become inflamed and turned into a small red bump on the skin. A papule may be painful and tender to the touch. Poking and not treating the papule can cause a scar.
pustules – A pustule is actually a comedone that has become inflamed, it looks like a white head and is surrounded by a red ring, which under the surface contains an accumulation of white or yellow pus. Probing the pustule may cause scarring.
nodules – A stiff, swollen lump of cells that protrudes through the skin but lies deeper than the surface.
Sebaceous cyst – A skin cyst is a closed sac with an abnormal membrane that may appear on top of the skin. A sebaceous cyst is actually a nodule caused by fat blocking drainage points in the skin, so this cyst contains the sebum and skin remnants.
millions – Small, white cystic lesions containing trapped lipids that are also caused by the blockage of skin pores. The milia most often appear around the eyes, in the armpits, arms and neck. They do not endanger health, but are considered unaesthetic.
Subcutaneous wounds on the face
Most of the wounds that develop on the face begin as a subcutaneous lesion, for example comedones begin as micro-comedones, which due to the blocking of the skin pores by the accumulation of fat, develop as subcutaneous lesions and later rise above the surface of the skin as black or white heads. Nodules are also skin wounds that develop deep as a stiff and swollen collection of cells, but they can be seen on the surface of the skin as a swollen and stiff bump.
Wounds on the face in early pregnancy
Pregnancy is a possible cause of acne breakouts, especially in the first trimester of pregnancy, when there is an increase in the production of hormones in the body that cause increased activity of the sebaceous glands in the production of sebum, the skin’s natural oil. This oiliness, combined with dead skin cells, can cause skin pores to become blocked, allowing acne bacteria to develop into inflamed pimples. Similar hormonal changes happen during the menstrual cycle and also affect the breakout of facial acne.
Wounds on the face in old age
Acne in adults can appear in the 30s, 40s and 50s and may even appear in those who did not suffer from acne in adolescence. The phenomenon in adults is more common in women than men. The main cause of acne in older women is a change in hormonal balance – around menstruation, during pregnancy, before menopause and even during it, as well as after stopping or starting birth control pills. In addition, the main causes of acne in adults are quite similar to the general development of acne.
Acne and sores on the face of a baby
In the first months of his life and up to two years of age, a baby may develop facial acne. Medical research has not yet proven what causes acne in babies, but the hypotheses are that pregnancy and childbirth hormones may cause acne breakouts in babies as well.
I will buy in babies. Photo: Shutterstock
The treatment is with normal washing and not with preparations and drugs intended for the treatment of acne in teenagers or adults. Babies may develop other skin diseases that appear as lesions on the face, such as seborrhea and milia.
Treatment methods for facial wounds
Treatment of acne in teenagers and adults is done with several methods, preparations or drugs administered orally:
- Antibacterial preparations – Preparations containing Benzoyl peroxide that destroy bacteria that cause acne
- Topical retinoids – Intended for external use when applied to the skin and help with anti-inflammatory activity, treating microcomedones and inflammatory and non-inflammatory pimples.
- Antibiotics – When applied to the skin or administered orally, it treats the bacteria that cause the appearance of acne.
- birth control pills – Help women balance the levels of hormones that cause increased production of milk in the skin.
- Isotretinoin – The active substance found in Roaccutane and Curetane drugs and chemically similar to vitamin A reduces the production of natural lipids in the skin and therefore prevents the development of acne pimples.
Treatment of acne scars – Acne that is not treated or worsened due to messing with and probing the face can cause irreversible scars, which can be removed with surgical or non-invasive aesthetic treatments such as laser treatments. Sometimes a combined treatment is done, in which fillers are injected which are supposed to improve the texture of the skin and release the sunken scar, as well as laser treatments to tighten the skin.
Questions and Answers
How to quickly disappear facial wounds?
It is possible to use a preparation containing benzoyl peroxide. The preparation is sold in pharmacies and pharma chains. It is an anti-bacterial agent that kills the bacteria that lead to acne lesions.
How to dry wounds in the face?
You can use tea tree oil, one small drop on top of the pimple will dry it and prevent the development of inflammation and redness.
How to prevent facial wounds?
Wounds on the face are caused by the accumulation of old skin cells in combination with natural oil, produced by the sebaceous glands in the skin, which block the pores of the skin. One of the ways to prevent acne is to wash your face no more than twice a day. Excessive face washing can cause acne due to the removal of the skin’s natural protective layers, which can lead to overactivity of the sebaceous glands.