Fight Acne with Vitamins and Over the Counter Products

Acne is a common skin condition that can have many forms. Generally, acne refers to the medical term Acne Vulgaris and is caused by bacteria called Propion. This is the most common form of Acne and it is an inflammatory disease, which affect the hair follicles and oil producing glands of the human skin.

Acne is nearly always the product of blood impurities. Rising hormones levels during puberty, in both male and females, and will cause your oil glands, which open into pores on the surface of your skin to expand by producing more oil called sebum. If the oil produced in those glands, 2,000 of them per square inch on your forehead alone, mixes with skin cells and bacteria just under the surface of your skin, a blackhead develops. And if the top of the oil gland isn't wide enough, a whitehead develops, builds and erupts into a pimple.

In severe acne cases, large red bumps called cysts form. The cysts can be very painful and may cause permanent scaring. These physical scars can cause extreme emotional distress that can last a lifetime through anxiety, loss of self-esteem and depression.

To avoid these emotional and physical scars, Dermatologists recommend starting treatment as soon as symptoms appear and continue appropriate treatment for as long as necessary to prevent the acne from recurring.

Acne usually appears on the face but can also appear on the neck, chest, back, shoulders and upper arms. Whey acne being in boys and girls between the ages of 8 and 11, it usually results in a very severe case of acne as a teenager.

25 percent of adult men and 50 percent of adult women suffer from occasional occurrences of acne. Acne in adults is thought to be caused by, heredity or genetic factors, vitamin deficiency, stress, poor hygiene and other factors associated with adult life styles choices.

Common Vitamins and over the counter products can help with treating acne such as Vitamin A, Vitamin B, Vitamin E, Zinc, Amino Acid, Aloe Vera, Tea Tree Oil, Beta Carotene, Benzoyl Peroxide, Resorcinol, Sulfur, and Salicylic Acid.

Vitamin A, B and E are all essential for the proper health and maintenance of the skin tissue. Vitamin A will help unplug the existing cysts and pimples allowing other topical medication to enter the follicles.

Isotretinoin, a Vitamin A derivative, is an oral drug that is usually taken once or twice a day with food for 4 to 6 months. Isotretinoin has been shown to be very effective in treating severe acne and can either improve or clear over 80% of patients studied. Isotretinoin has a much longer effect than anti-bacterial treatments and will often cure acne for good. It reduces the size of oil glands and much less oil is produced and as a result the growth of propion bacteria is reduced.

Vitamin A is stored in the fat cells of the human body and can reach toxic levels. DO NOT take more than the recommended dosage of Vitamin A.

Zinc is needed for healing and maintaining healthy tissues. Amino Acids are the building blocks of protein and are the vital components of skin, hair, muscle tissue, the body's organs, blood cells, various enzymes and hormones.

Aloe Vera will help rejuvenate and tone skin all over. A naturally cooling gel, the Aloe Vera botanical ingredients work together to stimulate the blood circulation and naturally soften the skin.

Tea Tree Oil has natural anti-inflammatory properties and helps sooth and treat problem skin. It is used to help tighten pores and firm skin for a more youthful, healthy appearance.

Symptoms of Beta Carotene deficiency include ache, dry dull hair, dry skin and thickened scaly skin on the palms and soles of the feet.

Some over the over the counter topical treatments prescribed by Dermatologists include the following.

Benzoyl peroxide which kills the Propion bacteria and may help reduce the production of excess oil.

Resorcinol, Sulfur, can help breakdown blackheads and whiteheads.

Salicylic Acid also helps breakdown blackheads and whiteheads. It also helps cut down the shedding of cells lining the hair follicles clogging the pores of the skin. Salicylic acid is used as a mild abrasive to chemically exfoliate the skin to encourage the peeling of the top layer and to prevent a build-up of dead skin cells which combine with the oil to block pores.

Always consult your doctor before using this information.

This Article is nutritional in nature and not to be construed as medical advice.

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Grow Lemon Balm and Let its Aroma Enrich Your Life

Are you anxious or under some serious stress? Using lemon balm is an excellent way to calm yourself. This aromatic herb has several other beneficial medicinal properties besides relaxation. Not only does it pep up your mood and spirits but it relaxes your mind, promotes sleep, improves digestion, reduces flatulence, and heals cuts and injuries on your body too. Its helps seal up wounds and in other words, it can make an excellent surgical dressing. You can rub lemon balm on your skin to repel mosquitoes and it can help heal bites of venomous creatures like scorpions. It even brings down fever, as it induces perspiration. These are just a few of the many of its uses. In fact, you can make a long list of its anti-viral and ant-bacterial properties as also its medicinal and cosmetic uses or its uses in the kitchen.

Growing Lemon Balm

From the mint family, lemon balm is a very plant easy to grow. You can either sow its seeds in a piece of land that is fertile and moist or grow it from stem-cuttings or root divisions. As the seeds are quite small, ensure that you cover them with a thin layer of rich soil so they do not blow away in the wind. You can use stem-cuttings taken from the plants in summer. If you use root divisions, it is best to do so in early fall or spring. See to it that each root- cutting has at least 3 or 4 buds. Space the plants about 2 feet apart to allow the necessary freedom for it to grow well. As with many plants, lemon balm takes more time to grow from seed than from cuttings. You will also have more success growing plants with more succulent leaves in shade than under bright direct sunlight.

In winter, if ground conditions are freezing cold, mulching the crowns will help. Proper irrigation, suitable fertilization with chemicals like nitrogen, phosphorus and potash, prevention and removal of weeds, usage of organic and other controls for keeping away insects, adopting good cultural practices are some of the important aspects that will help you in harvesting healthy, disease-free, lemon balm. You need to cut off the decayed stalks and loosen the soil around the roots to allow faster growth. Trim the plants quite frequently so as to stimulate branching and to increase foliage.

They usually are in bloom from late spring to midsummer. The flowers are white or yellowish and attract bees. The leaves are oval or heart shaped, shiny and crenate. When fresh, lemon balm gives better fragrance than when dried.

You can harvest once or twice a week, once the plants start to bloom. Take care to avoid bruising the leaf during harvesting, as otherwise the quality of the product will suffer. Dry the harvested lemon balm outside, but in partial shade rather than directly under the sun. If there is moisture in the air at night, the lemon balm will turn brown. Alternatively, you can air dry it in your shed, or even oven dry it on screens. You need to store the dried balm in airtight containers.

With the umpteen ways in which lemon balm can be put to use, there is no doubt that you will find many uses for it with your own bountiful harvest.