Exploring the types and Root Causes of Acne

Acne is a skin condition that is particularly common during adolescence. About 95% of adolescents have this problem. Even in adulthood, up to 54% of people have acne, which can last until middle age. But what exactly is acne, and why does it occur? Let’s examine the different types of acne and find out the causes of this troublesome skin condition.

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What is Acne?

It is a common skin condition caused by clogged hair follicles under the skin that are filled with dead skin cells and sebum, an oil that keeps the skin hydrated. On your skin, acne breakouts can occur anywhere. The face and neck, shoulders, back, and chest are among the most frequently affected areas. This is because these are the body parts where the oil glands are the most prevalent.

Let us move further to explore various types of acne.

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Types of Acne

You must know that acne is not just one thing. There are different types, each with its own characteristics and causes. It's vital to identify which type you have so you can treat it properly.

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Acne Vulgaris: This is the most common type of acne. It includes things like blackheads, whiteheads, and pimples. So, if you're breaking out, chances are it's acne vulgaris. Here are two common types of Acne Vulgaris:

Whiteheads: These are small, closed bumps that appear on the surface of your skin. They occur when a hair follicle becomes clogged with oil and dead skin cells and starts trapping bacteria beneath the skin.
Blackheads: Unlike whiteheads, blackheads are open bumps on the skin. They develop when the trapped oil and dead skin cells oxidize, giving them their characteristic dark colour.

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Comedonal acne: This type includes blackheads, bumpy skin, and small white bumps called milia. They are inflammatory skin lesions that are caused by an overabundance of sebum production, bacterial overgrowth, and hyperkeratinization.
Cystic acne: Cysts are the most severe form of acne and appear as large, pus-filled lumps beneath the skin. They can be painful and may cause scarring if not treated promptly. Here are two types of cystic acne:

Papules: Papules are small, red bumps that may feel tender to the touch. They occur when the walls around the pores break down due to inflammation.
Pustules: Pustules are similar to papules but contain pus at their tips. They appear as white or yellow bumps on the skin's surface.

Nodular acne: Another severe type with large, hard, deep pimples called nodules. They are larger, solid, and painful lumps beneath the skin's surface. They develop when clogged pores become further irritated, leading to deep inflammation.
Acne Rosacea: This type affects adults, typically after 30. It shows up on the face and can cause redness, pimples, and visible blood vessels. It's more common in women, but men can also be affected by it.
Acne Mechanica: This type is caused by heat, pressure, or friction on the skin. It often happens on the body, especially in athletes who wear gear that traps heat and rubs against the skin. It can also occur on the face.
Excoriated Acne: This happens when someone picks at their pimples excessively, causing wounds on their skin.

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It's important to understand the reasons behind your acne so that you can treat it correctly. So, let us explore the root causes of acne.

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What are the Root Causes of Acne?

It can be really frustrating when you can see your skin being affected by the problem of acne but you are not able to find out the reason behind it.

Acne has deeper reasons than just what you see on your skin. Here are some possible root causes that lead to acne:

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Distressed Skin: Your skin has its own tiny world of bacteria, viruses, and other microorganisms. When this community gets messed up by things like strong cleansers or antibiotics, bad bugs can take over and cause acne.

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Hormonal Imbalances: Sometimes, glands in your skin produce too much oil because of hormones. This can happen due to conditions like PCOS, pregnancy, or just changes in your body.

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Food Troubles: Certain foods might not sit well with your gut, leading to problems with digestion and your skin. If you're allergic or sensitive to certain foods, it could show up as acne.

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Growth Hormones: During puberty, a hormone called IGF-1 spikes up. This hormone can make your skin produce more oil, especially if you eat lots of sugary or dairy foods.

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Fatty Acid Balance: Your diet might have too much of one kind of fat compared to another. This could make your body inflamed and might be linked to acne. Omega-3 fats are good for your skin and might help with acne.

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Too Much B12: Taking too much vitamin B12 can actually make acne worse for some people. It changes the balance of bacteria on your face, leading to more acne.

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Keeping your skin happy involves more than just washing your face. It's also about what you eat, how your body works, and what you put on your skin.

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Summary

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Acne is a common skin condition that includes the formation of pimples, blackheads, whiteheads, as well as other lesions. It occurs when hair follicles become clogged with oil and dead skin cells, leading to inflammation and the growth of acne-causing bacteria. Factors such as excess oil production, hormonal changes, genetics, and diet can contribute to the development of acne. Understanding the types and root causes of acne is crucial for effectively managing and treating this condition. If you are also struggling with acne, you can focus on getting functional nutrition to achieve clearer and healthier skin.

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RESOURCES

Understanding Acne and How to Treat it Naturally - Rupa Health

https://www.rupahealth.com/post/understanding-acne-and-how-to-treat-it-naturally

Everything You Want to Know About Acne - Healthline

https://www.healthline.com/health/skin/acne

Three Stages of Acne and Treatment - Verywell Health

https://www.verywellhealth.com/types-of-acne-15762

Acne Vulgaris - Examine

https://examine.com/conditions/acne/

Acne 101: Types, Causes, Treatments, Tips and More - Derm Collective

https://dermcollective.com/acne/

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What is Root Cause Analysis (RCA) in Healthcare?

Almost everything in this world happens for a reason. If you are late for work, it might have been that you were late in waking up or got stuck in traffic or some other internal or external forces ended up making you late. The same is with your body. Nothing happens to your body without reason, Not even a disease.

A disease or disorder is the final stage of a body issue. But, it does not originate as a disease from the get-go. The first or initial stage of a disease is an anomaly in your body. It might not be anything severe. It can be as mild or as insignificant as an insufficient amount of oxygen intake. But, this insignificant anomaly, if left untreated or unsupervised, over time, can turn into a cardiovascular disease.

This anomaly is what a Root Cause is. It is the hidden reason behind your health problems.

To understand this better, we can take the example of a torn shirt. You can find a temporary solution of putting a safety pin or sewing it, but none of these will help until you fix the root cause of the issue. That is by asking the question, why exactly did the shirt tear? Is it because the material was not good or had stuck on a nail somewhere, or because you have gained weight? Finding the Why and then working on fixing it will help you more than finding temporary solutions. But how do we detect this?

How to Get Root Cause Analysis (RCA)?

Well, your doctor always asks you to get a blood report done when you go to them with a problem. The reason being, your blood is the information center of your body. Getting your blood analysed can help you detect the root cause behind your health problems.

Multiple root causes affect a person in different ways. The reason being your body is an interdependent system. It is a beautifully complex being. Each cell has its own unique functions, which in turn help different body systems do their assigned roles. And all these systems work together in keeping the body healthy and functioning at its best.

To understand this, let's talk about hair fall. Loads of people suffer from hair fall and after countless treatments still find themselves unable to get rid of the problem. The reason being they never tried finding out the reason why. One of the reasons for this can be underlying thyroid problems, to be more precise hypothyroidism. And the reason behind the origination of hypothyroidism could be an inadequate supply of necessary nutrients to the thyroid gland to produce the thyroid hormones. Now, to identify exactly which of the necessary nutrients are you deficient of you need to get your blood analysed.

To ensure the proper functioning of your body, you must make sure each cell in the body is working efficiently.

How Can Root Cause Analysis Help You Prevent a Disease?

As mentioned above, disease or health disorder is the final stage of a health issue. It takes time for an anomaly to manifest into a disease. This means you have plenty of time to prevent it from turning into a full-blown disease.

As soon as an anomaly starts becoming a hindrance to your body's functioning, your body starts communicating with you. These are seen as symptoms; like headache, loss of energy, itchy skin, bloating, acidity and more. And rather than delving more into knowing why you are facing these symptoms, you suppress them on the surface by taking a tablet or using home remedies to counter them.

But if you get a proper analysis of your bloodwork, you, with the help of a good nutritionist, can detect early on the internal issues of the body and take steps to overcome those issues. These will help maintain proper blood parameters, which informs you that there are no issues plaguing your body.

How Can Root Cause Analysis Help You Treat a Health Problem?

Knowing the Root Causes does not merely help you prevent but can also help you reverse diseases.

Once you know the reason behind your health problem, rather than putting your time, energy and money into treating the disease symptoms on the surface, you can start targeting the root cause. Treating the root cause will automatically start helping your body fight the adverse effects of the root cause. Or in simple terms, it will help your body reverse your disease.

You might question this saying, "how is that even possible?" Well, your body has structures in place that help it fight unwanted elements. Your body is one of the most intelligent systems. The only thing it needs to work smoothly is our support. This support comes in the form of proper nutrition and lifestyle.

Diagnosing root causes helps prevent loads of health problems and also helps in reversing chronic diseases.

Root Cause Analysis Benefits

Analysing the reason behind your symptoms can help you in many ways, namely

Finding out the reason behind your disorder
Reversing chronic diseases like diabetes
Preventing genetic diseases
Detecting the cause of your symptoms
Preventing diseases related to ageing
Achieving optimum health
Treating lifestyle diseases like heart diseases
Maintaining your body's nutritional level
Achieving sustainable health
Eliminating almost all health problems

Functional Nutritional Approach to Root Cause Analysis

Finding out the root cause of your health problems is steadily gaining attention in many healthcare sectors. Functional Nutrition, a holistic approach to healing, also uses RCA to help treat people of their health dysfunctions with a huge distinction. Rather than using normal reference ranges, Functional Nutrition uses Optimal Ranges to make a diagnosis.

Let's see what the difference between Optimal Ranges vs Normal/Reference Ranges is

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Optimal Ranges	Reference Ranges
Uses ranges based on tests taken using healthy individuals as the subjects.	Uses ranges based on tests taken using a large population as subjects that include unhealthy subjects and make no distinction in age or lifestyle.
They are updated every few years.	They have never been updated.
They use narrow ranges.	They use wide ranges.
They are very precise.	They are not precise.

Another distinction in Functional Nutrition's approach to RCA is that they do not check just the necessary parameters but rather dive deep into all body parameters. A comprehensive analysis of a blood report helps get a better idea about your body's health. A Functional Nutritionist does not give up until she/he finds the Root Cause.

Why is RCA Important?

Root Cause Analysis is an essential part of treatment, or at least should be, as it helps the healthcare practitioner pinpoint the reason or reasons behind your health dysfunction. Also, it gives insight into what parameters are to be prioritised. This helps in creating better treatment plans. Also, RCA can help distinguish areas you must work on to prevent the onset of any other health dysfunction.

RCA helps reverse and prevent diseases and to get better results out of your blood work, it is recommended to approach a Functional Nutritionist. They will make sure the diagnosis is done using Optimal Ranges. Also, they will give you a better direction on how to proceed with your treatment.

A good experienced Functional Nutritionist will, after the RCA, help you treat your health problems through diet, supplementation, lifestyle changes and different holistic practices.

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Introduction

A blood test also referred to as a blood panel is nothing but a laboratory examination of a blood sample that is usually extracted from a vein using a syringe and is used to check for a variety of things. Many blood tests do not have any special requirements while some others require the testee to be in a fasted state like not eating any food for 8-12 hours before the test. Approximately 70% of your dietary decisions are actually based on the blood report analysis. Different parameters are assessed in order to address the root cause of your symptoms/health problems.

But what is that these tests tell us and why are they so important?

This blog will uncover 10 specific reasons why blood tests are important.

Here are top 10 reasons why analysing your blood is important:

1. Deciding a dietary regime

The first and foremost importance of examining blood tests is before making any dietary changes. This will help you to decide on foods to be included and also the ones to be kept at bay. Further, it can also help you fix the deranged parameters with either food itself or with the help of supplements. It also helps you maintain a track of how these changes have in turn impacted your body.

Your body is different from everybody else, so your health program should also be fully customized based on your needs. By undergoing regular blood tests, you can get the exact numbers that will help you plan your dietary regime accordingly.

2. Investigating the root cause of illness

If you are someone who’s suffering from a certain illness, then going for blood tests can be useful in finding out what exactly is causing the problem. Symptom specific blood tests are advised by experts in order to find the possible reasons. For example, high levels of homocysteine are excellent predictors of a risky heart health.

3. Functioning of organs

Routine examination of vital organ parameters (liver, kidney, thyroid, etc) can give you a general overview of what is happening inside the body. Altered levels within these organ function tests might indicate an array of prevailing conditions (inflammation, alcoholism, toxins and plant antinutrient damage, infection, drug abuse or metabolic diseases). Further tests may be done to determine more precisely the extent of the damage.

4. Weight issues

If your weight is stagnant despite your strenuous efforts towards reducing it, there might be a possibility of an underlying problem which can be detected upon blood examination. Excess weight can be a sign of hormonal imbalance, insulin resistance, toxin build up or heavy metals accumulation. You can clear the mystery behind your unchanged weight by taking blood tests.

5. Infection

Sometimes pathogens can enter your body, evade the immune system and result in hidden infections likely to be manifested as chronic fatigue syndrome or something as grave as stomach cancer.

Common bugs causing these hidden infections include Epstein Barr Virus (EBV), Cytomegalovirus (CMV), Human Herpes Virus (HHV-6), Parvovirus (Parvo B19), Mycoplasma sp., Borrelia Burgdorferi and chronic mold and mycotoxin exposure. H-pylori is yet another toxic microorganism which is capable of destroying your gastrointestinal health. All of them can be brought to notice by blood inspection.

6. Nutritional status

Regular blood testing can ensure you check for deficiencies and you don’t miss out on the required amounts of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients in your body. Lack of essential nutrients in your body can not only lead to minor health conditions like a headache or constipation but can also indicate serious situations like neurological disorders, muscle impairment, diseases of the bone and joint, and metabolic disorders.

7. Hormonal balance

Hormonal imbalance can devastate your mood as well as your health. Also, problems like erectile dysfunction, infertility, low libido can all grow out of poor hormone levels. These can only be diagnosed through blood tests.

8. Food allergies

Food allergies can make your life miserable, worse if left undiagnosed. Blood tests can measure your immune system's response to particular foods by measuring the allergy-related antibody known as immunoglobulin E (IgE).

9. Autoimmune diseases

The possibility of autoimmune diseases can also be ruled out by blood examination. One of the most common blood tests for detecting autoimmune disorders is ANA (antinuclear antibodies). Specific tests are available for testing probable antibodies attacking your internal organs. E.g-Thyroid antibody testing is usually recommended if there are continuously fluctuating or unchanged thyroid hormone levels in the body.

10. General state of health

Regular blood examination plays an important role in maintaining your overall health and fitness, just like diet and exercise. If you are serious about living a long and healthy life, then take your blood tests seriously.

We at iThrive analyze the core systems through our Root Cause Analysis. This means looking closely at the foundation blocks for good health including hormones, digestive health, immune function and nutrient status. We also check for allergies, chronic infections or toxins, build up of environmental toxins or heavy metals and clogged detoxification.

So partner with us to get to the root of your health problems and to do away with them. Let’s get functional nutrition in action!

Key Takeaway

Our Root Cause Analysis digs deep into your blood work and health history to find why your body is struggling in the first place, whether it's a nutrient your body's been quietly starving for, a hormonal imbalance that's been throwing everything off, or a chronic infection hiding in plain sight. Because here's the truth, you can eat well, sleep enough, and still not feel your best and there's always a reason for that. You just need the right lens to find it.

So don't wait for a wake-up call. Get your blood tested, understand what your body is telling you, and let us help you connect the dots. Your health journey doesn't have to be a guessing game anymore.