Cystic acne, like other forms of acne is caused by four different factors that include excess oil production, excess shedding of skin, acne bacteria and inflammation of the skin. This causes the skin glands, called sebaceous follicles, to get blocked by a combination of dead skin cells and a naturally occurring greasy substance called sebum. At this point the acne bacteria that occur naturally on the skin begin to multiply out of control causing acne of the skin. This acne can take many forms from mild to very severe. As long as the acne is treated early with an acne treatment that is appropriate for its severity, then there is a good chance that scarring will not occur. But if left to run it’s own coarse or the acne treatments that are applied are not suitable, scarring is almost certain to occur. This comes as a result of the body’s healing process as it sends white blood cells and other elements of the healing system to the inflamed area where the damage is taking place. The result of this healing process is to create scarring that can take the form of raised skin or depressions in the skin often called pock marks. The raised skin is caused by a collection of collagen whilst the depressions are caused by a loss of skin tissue. Although this scarring can be helped with surgical methods, it is far easier and less costly to handle the problem early so that these extreme measures do not need to be taken.

Cystic acne is one of the more severe acne forms that one can get. The more mild forms of acne include a scattering of blackheads, whiteheads and pustules that can normally be controlled by washing with soapy water twice a day and if necessary, the application of a topical acne cream. This type of acne should then disappear within about eight weeks after which the acne treatment should be continued to stop a recurrence.

More moderate acne involves lots of whiteheads and blackheads, small red bumps on the skin called papules and pustules that look like a whitehead with a ring of redness around it. In moderate to severe acne, these cover up to three quarters of the face. At this point the person should really go and see a dermatologist to get their expert opinion on what steps to take.

Cystic acne falls into the severe form of acne. It is categorized by cysts that are filled with liquid like material including dead cells, white blood cells and bacteria. Cystic acne can extend into the deeper layers of skin and become highly inflamed and even very painful. This type of acne if left untreated is very likely to cause acne scars and a visit to the dermatologist is absolutely necessary to get this type of acne under control, since it is resistant to the regular acne treatments that are available to the general public. In fact a version of cystic acne called nodulocystic acne, where cysts and nodules occur together, can often only be treated effectively by systemic therapy with isotretinoin.

Oral antibiotics are one form of acne medication that has been used for years. It has the effect of fighting the acne bacteria although when used over a longer period of time, the bacteria can become immune to that particular antibiotic and so a change in the antibiotic used will be required. This treatment for cystic acne begins with a high dose that gets reduced as time goes on.

Another cystic acne treatment involves acne surgery where a surgeon drains and extracts the cysts under sterile conditions with a scalpel. This is required where the cystic acne will not respond to any other cystic acne medicine. Some people may be tempted to pick at the cysts themselves in an attempt to drain them but this is likely to cause the cystic acne to become more infected with further complications.

Sometimes severely inflamed cysts can rupture which forms an acne scar. In an attempt to stop this happening, a dermatologist may inject the cyst with an acne medicine called corticosteroid, which reduces inflammation over a period of a week.

Finally, when it comes to the severe form of cystic acne called nodulocystic acne, a form of Vitamin A called Isotretinoin that comes as a pill, is taken for up to twenty weeks. This is considered the best acne treatment because it addresses all four factors that contribute to cystic acne but cannot be taken immediately before, during or immediately after pregnancy. It can also cause severe side effects including chest pain and migraine headaches.

One method for improving cystic acne scars where loss of tissue has occurred is through the injection of collagen. This replaces skin tissue but only lasts for up to six months at which point it needs to be repeated. This is similar to another method that uses fat taken from another part of the body in an effort to raise depressed acne scars caused by cystic acne. This method lasts up to eighteen months.

The most effective treatment of cystic acne scars is through dermabrasion where the skin is frozen under anesthetic and a high speed brush is used to sand the top layers of skin away reducing the depth of scars and removing some altogether. Another cystic acne scar treatment is of course laser treatment, which can be used to remove scar tissue or reshape scar tissue. This usually only requires one treatment.