Introduction
There’s a plethora of causes for acne outbreaks and one of the more common ones is from the taking of steroids especially by bodybuilders and athletes who take them to attain rippling body muscle mass and athletic performance respectively. Taking steroids actually increase the amount of androgen levels in your body due to the higher secretion of oils from the sebaceous glands on the skin. How is steroid induced acne treated? Just read on and find out how.
Common acne
Acne can be simply defined as a highly active inflammation of the oil gland in the skin especially around the roots of your hairs with the technical title of acne vulgaris.
Even so, they are more commonly referred to as zits, pimples or spots.
Many factors are involved in the formation of acne but the most important is the bacterium Propionibacterium acnes which mingle with these factors and trigger inflammation of your oil glands.
Steroid acne briefly explained
If you are a bodybuilder or athlete it’s useful to know that steroid acne is almost identical with common acne except for one important difference.
In the case of steroid acne, our systemic steroid which pervades the entire body is what actually generates the oil in the sebaceous glands which secretes the produced oil in the place of our bacterium that triggers common acne.
It’s this secretion that makes the oil glands vulnerable to the effects of inflammation and subsequent infection that can lead to acne outbreaks.
Even so, the steroid source that creates acne outbreaks continuously finds its way into your body in the form of prescribed medications such as prednisone or body-building doses.
Another form of acne called malassezia folliculitis also known as fungal acne that results from an infection of yeast of the hair follicles, is also caused by steroid use.
It’s also known that both our common and steroid acne occur mainly in adolescence, but it’s not unusual for them to take place later on in life.
Another point you should also know is that steroid acne is also different from steroid rosacea which is caused by the use of topical corticosteroids over a long period of time.
Familiarize yourself with the symptoms of steroid acne
You’ll find that steroid acne will, in most cases, make an appearance on your chest. The good news is that there are a number of ingenious methods that can successfully get rid of this chest acne.
But the chest is not the only target as it may also appear on your arms, neck, back and face, so you need to get familiar with the symptoms which can include:
- Pseudocysts: which are swellings on the skin that are similar to cysts
- Pustules: that consist of white or yellow spots
- Comedones: that comprise both open and closed blackheads and whiteheads
- Nodules: which are large and painful red colored lumps
- Papules: which appear as small red bumps
Another aspect of acne infestation you should know is you can actually cause a secondary outbreak if you start scratching or picking your acne which can appear in the form of:
- Scars
- Darker patches from where the first acnes appeared
- A resurgence of red marks from spots that recently healed.
It’s also useful for you to know that if the steroid acne you have is similar to the fungal type of acne (malassezia folliculitis), a majority of the acne spots will be similar in size.
Another aspect that’s worth noting is that comedones or blackheads and whiteheads are usually absent when your steroid acne is of the fungal type.
Know the common causes of steroid acne
Even though we are qualified online pharmacists who can provide you with all the information you need, you should also be familiar with the common causes of steroid acne so that the exchange of information can be more meaningful and effective.
The main cause of steroid acne is the continued intake of steroid drugs that invade and circulate your entire body. The intake may be by inhalation, oral or by injection.
How anabolic steroids are used in bodybuilding
If you are a bodybuilder, you should have already become familiar with the use of steroids in your cyclical rounds together with the impacts that they have on your body.
The most pertinent is that around 50 percent of bodybuilders who use anabolic steroids in large doses are inevitable infected with steroid acne.
One steroid in particular known as sustanon which has sometimes been nicknamed “Sus” or “Deca” has made its mark as a useful carrier of steroid acne in bodybuilders.
While the above are the main causes of steroid acne outbreaks, high doses of testosterone may also add to the outbreaks of acne instigated by the use of steroids in the first instant.
Corticosteroids prescription of prednisone
Once again it’s worthwhile to know that prescriptions of corticosteroids have become very popular especially for use following transplant surgery and chemotherapy.
However, due to the use of these prescribed steroid treatments, it’s not uncommon to notice the appearance of steroid acne some weeks later.
Steroid acne are known to more commonly appear in people who are under 30 years of age, especially those with lighter skin.
As expected, the severity of the steroid acne outbreak depends entirely on the size of the steroid dose, the duration of the treatment, and of course your vulnerability to acne.
The most common part of your body that steroid acne can appear is on your chest, however, it may also be likely to appear on your face, if you are required to use a mask in an inhalation treatment procedure for corticosteroids.
Bottom line
It’s very true that if you are a bodybuilder looking to gain muscle mass or an athlete looking to boost performance, having an intimate knowledge and understanding of steroid use is of utmost importance. However, the way that your body reacts and responds to the use of steroids is also of paramount importance if you want to travel far in your bodybuilding or your athletic endeavors and we certainly hope this article has helped you in these aspirations.