Acne cheloidalis is a disease characterized by pink skin, acne and some fine red lines or rash at the nose, cheekbones, chin, and forehead. Popularly you can call it “adult acne” because it causes lesions that look like acne. Pink acne can cause scorches and sensibility at the eyes and eyelids.
Pink acne can be avoided trough medication and avoiding the factors that make it appears. If not treated on time different nodules on the nose and on the face can appear, and can cause serious problems of the eyes.
Those who have light skin, between 30 and 60 years old are most likely to do pink acne. Concerning sex, women are most likely to have pink acne than men, but these have severe forms of pink acne. The cause of this disease is unknown. One of the theories sustains the great reactivity of blood vessels, of inflammation and of the infection when it appears. Because acne cheloidalis causes local heat, bacteria find a favorable place to grow and to multiply, causing nodules and acne. Small parasites (Demodex folliculorum) which usually live on the skin multiply excessively, playing an important role in causing pink acne.
Acne cheloidalis appears due to these triggers, which dilate the blood vessels from the face, causing red skin. The most frequent triggers (trigger factors) are the sun, physical effort, heat, emotional stress, spicy food, alcohol, and hot baths.
Most of the people that have pink acne have a history in the family with this kind of disease. There is some kind of connection between this and the Helicobacter Pylori bacteria, which causes the infection of the digestive tract. However, it is still unclear if the treatment of the infection with Helicobacter Pylori can also be benefic for the pink acne.
Acne cheloidalis does not relate to alcohol or a bad hygiene, as people believed in the past. However, alcohol is one of the factors that causes this disease and can make it worse.
Before the symptoms appear, it can be felt a great sensitivity of the skin. Cosmetic products can also cause allergic reactions like scorches. Once that pink acne appears, it can be felt a persistent red skin like sunburns at the cheekbones. The main symptoms are:
- Red skin on the face: factors like the sun or drinking alcohol dilate the vessels from the face causing red skin. At women this appear on the cheekbones, nose, chin and forehead or like a butterfly on the cheekbones and nose; at men red skin appears on the nose, but it can be affected other parts of the face; in some cases red skin appears on the neck or décolletage.
- Acne on the face: small pimples (red nodules on the skin) can appear where red skin is or near this red skin; these are not like the pimples of the acne.
- Fine red lines on the face
- These small fine lines, which are in fact blood vessels, appear frequently on the cheekbones.
- Nodules on the nose: in bad cases, especially at men, the nose is grown.
- Irritation of the eyes: the known symptoms are red skin, a sensation of burned skin, crusts, a sensation of sand in the eyes, red eyes, and red skin one the eyelids, and this eyes will not tolerate contact lentils, and wearing them can cause tumors.Sometimes eyesight blurs, but only at severe cases.
Some studies suggest a connection between pink acne and migraine, caused by blood vessels.
