Infected Pimple – Treatment, Prevention and Causes

Infected pimple can be a pain on the back, face, leg, neck or lip for people who have it. Although infection is indeed a sign that a case of acne is about to become severe, the infection itself is not always severe. At the outset, acne might not show any signs of infection and inflammation. What we often call comedones, whiteheads and blackheads often don’t contain pus underneath them.

Infection occurs only if bacteria, fungi or viruses interfere. Even so, the earliest stages of the infection are not considered severe as what we often call papules and pustules rarely cause pain or cosmetic problem. The infection is considered severe only if nodules and cysts begin to take form.

Infected Pimple on Face

The term infected pimples is actually redundant as what is referred to as pimple is an inflamed and infected pus-filled bump on the skin. Regardless, many people still use that term to name pimple to emphasize that there is a kind of infection that causes the condition to become severe. To make sure that you can deal with this condition properly, you need to understand the causes, some remedies that you can use to treat it, and the right measure to take in order to prevent it from occurring again.

Causes

Infected pimples occur when bacteria, viruses or fungi interfere in the formation of acne. This can occur either during the early formation of acne when the early stage of pore blockage occurs or much later when acne has fully developed. In the former case, infection occurs because sebum mixes not only with dead skin cells and dirt, but also with infection-causing microbes. In the latter case, infection occurs when microbes infect open acne wound or scars. Picking acne or failure to treat acne scar after a successful acne removal often become the cause of infected pimples occurrence and recurrence.

No matter what causes the infection, the root of the problem is that infection will not cause problem if there is no acne growing on the skin. Therefore, to avoid infected pimples are basically the same with to avoid acne itself. Knowing the causes of acne is thus essential in your effort to prevent the infection from ever occurring.

As we already know, acne has some known causes, including poor hygiene, hormonal imbalance that involves overproduction of androgenic hormones, drugs that contain high level of androgens, excessive pressure of the skin, and genetic traits.

Infected Pimple Treatment

When infected pimple has already taken shape, your doctor may recommend you to take antibiotics to kill the infecting microorganisms from inside your body. While you follow your doctor’s recommendation, you may want to expedite the healing process of your pimple using the following home remedies to get rid of infected pimples. Be sure to consult your doctor before using them because some of their ingredients may cause allergenic effect to your body.

1. Honey

Honey is known to be an excellent disinfectant. You can use honey to treat your infected pimples because honey has a potent ability to kill bacteria, thereby removing the infection. Here are two ways to use honey in your pimple treatment.

  • Use honey alone as a topical remedy. Dab a drop of honey using a clean cotton ball on the affected area regularly until the pimple disappears.
  • Mix honey with cinnamon powder to make a thick pasta. Use the pasta either as a mask or a topical remedy for your pimple every night before you go to sleep. Leave the pasta on your face overnight and then rinse your face in the morning.

2. Lemon juice

Lemon juice is an excellent remedy for infected pimples because it plays two roles that essentially help expedite the healing process. First, it functions as an astringent that helps reduce excessive production of sebum. Second, it is a potent germicide that effectively kills bacteria. To use lemon juice, use the following methods.

  • Dab lemon juice directly on your pimple using a clean cotton ball. Do this treatment every night before you go to sleep until the pus in your pimple disappears and until your pimple dries out.
  • Mix lemon juice with cinnamon powder and use the mixture to treat your infected pimples. Let the mixture stay on the affected area until morning and then rinse you face after you wake up. Experiment with this mixture for a while to test your skin sensitivity as this mixture may cause itch or even pain when used on sensitive skin.

Prevention

Infected pimples prevention generally starts with acne prevention. To prevent acne from ever occurring, be sure to keep your entire body as hygienic as possible while giving emphasis to the most vulnerable areas to acne, i.e. the ones with abundant sebaceous follicles, including face, neck, upper chest, and back. Acne that occurs because of genetic or hormonal factor may often be unavoidable, but as long as you keep the affected area hygienic enough, infection can hardly occur.

If acne has already developed, the best way to avoid infection is by keeping your fingers away of it. Never pick, pinch or squeeze the acne as doing so may trigger tissue damage, which leads to more permanent scarring, and infection. If you have successfully removed the acne, keep the affected area clean for some time to avoid acne recurrence. Always use the most recommended ways to treat your acne and you should be able to keep infected pimples at bay.

Infected pimples are often a sign of a poorly treated acne. It occurs either when acne develops in unhygienic area on the skin or when you do something bad to your acne after it develops. There are several home remedies that you can use to treat it, but the best treatment is prevention. Keep your body hygienic all the time and avoid putting your fingers on your acne. If you can be consistent with such good behavior, you can make sure that infected pimples will never be a serious problem.

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