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Pimples After Menopause

Acne breakouts that occur during a woman's teenage years can resurface at an older age when a woman is going through menopause. Similar to how teenagers get acne, women going through menopause have hormones that are unpredictable and changing. Fluctuating hormones can leave a menopausal woman with unpleasant outbreaks.

  1. Glands

    • Acne occurs at the sebaceous glands that the skin possesses. It is these glands that produce the skin oil known as sebum. When skin cells die, they are replaced rapidly with new cells. In particular, when the estrogen hormones of your body go crazy, the sebaceous glands will become sensitive. Then they begin producing too much sebum. Too many skin cells die and that results in more oil than a person needs.

    Bacteria

    • A person's skin contains bacteria that feeds off the oil. The bacteria and oil become trapped under the skin and form what is known as a whitehead. When the bacteria breaks the oil down into fatty acids, the skin can become inflamed due to the collection of white blood cells to the site. The whitehead turns into a blackhead when the oil and bacteria come open to the surface of the skin.

    Testosterone

    • More estrogen is available to be transformed into testosterone when the estrogen levels heavily increase. These higher levels of testosterone in your body results in the glands beginning to produce more oil. That oil causes acne.

    Treatments/Prevention

    • The first thing you want to do is take a look and possibly change your diet. Eat a diet high in fiber and calcium. Also, your eating plan should cut down on fats and carbohydrates. The reason behind this is that carbohydrates can take the body's insulin and convert it into androgens, a factor in the production of sebum. Another thing you can do to prevent or treat acne is add Vitamin B and Vitamin C, herbs and minerals to your diet. These things can lower oil production.

    Warning

    • If the acne gets drastically worse, consult a doctor or dermatologist. If you are experiencing any other serious post-menopause effects, contact your health care provider immediately.

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