More Evidence to Bust the Myth That Bacteria on the Surface of Your Skin Causes Acne

I’ve read or overheard countless times the faulty warning, “Be careful not to touch your skin because you can move bacteria around and cause acne to spread.” On the myths page here at Acne.org I dispel this myth. Let’s get into a little bit of the science behind this. Now that the genome of acne bacteria (P. acnes) has been decoded, we know that there are three types: I, II and III, and two subtypes, IA and IB. Recently, a group of researchers took a close look at acne bacteria in both people with acne and “healthy” controls

Key Points:

  • 1When you touch your skin, especially roughly or frequently, you are physically irritating the skin which can lead to acne symptoms.
  • 2The genome of acne bacteria (P. acnes) has been decoded, now we know that there are three types: I, II and III, and two subtypes, IA and IB.
  • 3Researchers found that the presence of P. acnes bacteria on the surface of the skin was almost identical between people with acne and controls: 40.4% vs. 40.0%


The more we understand exactly which types of bacteria are involved in which types of lesions, the better we might be able to specifically target them in the future.

Read the full article at: https://www.acne.org/blog/2014/11/13/evidence-bust-myth-bacteria-skin-causes-acne/

Share

HealthStatus has been operating since 1998 providing the best interactive health tools on the Internet, millions of visitors have used our health risk assessment, body fat and calories burned calculators. The HealthStatus editorial team has continued that commitment to excellence by providing our visitors with easy to understand high quality health content for many years.

User Reviews

Reply

Your email address will not be published

five × one =

Written by HealthStatus
Medical Writer & Editor

HealthStatus has been operating since 1998 providing the best interactive health tools on the Internet, millions of visitors have used our health risk assessment, body fat and calories burned calculators. The HealthStatus editorial team has continued that commitment to excellence by providing our visitors with easy to understand high quality health content for many years.

View all post by HealthStatus