The 10 types of pimples and their characteristics

These are the types of pimples that can appear on the skin, with the keys to recognize them.

The appearance of pimples on the face is completely normal, especially in times of stress, in some phases of adolescence, after imbalances in the female hormonal cycle or during a time when unhealthy food is eaten, for example. The state of the skin is a good indicator of the health of the rest of the body, since epidermal changes are the first to be noticed in an evident way in the face of some pathological processes.

Acne vulgaris, one of the most common forms of pimples (especially on the face and back), affects 40 million people worldwide, including girls from the age of 11 and boys from the age of 12. Although this epidermal condition is considered almost exclusive to adolescents, it has been shown that 10% of people who suffer from it are between 35 and 44 years of age.

In any case, beyond acne, there are many other reasons why pimples appear on the face, some pathological and others normal. If you want to know everything about the different types of pimples and their characteristicscontinue reading.

What is a pimple and what are its types?

According to the Royal Spanish Academy of the language (RAE), a pimple is each of the small protuberances in the structure or on the surface of some bodies, including the skin. Although we all understand each other when we talk about pimples, in reality this term is of no medical interest whatsoever, as it does not refer to the underlying cause of the bump in question..

In the following lines, we are going to extend the meaning of "pimple" to all the lumpy processes on the skin related to acne, to finally explore those entities that can be mistaken for pimples but are not really pimples. Do not miss it.

1. Pimple or whitehead

This is the most common type of pimple of all and the one we usually refer to when we use the word. However, the more appropriate term is "comedo", and this refers to a hair follicle that has been clogged by an excess of epidermal cells..

Whether due to an excess of dead epidermal cells and keratin on the surface of the skin (hyperkeratosis) or an excess production of sebum by the sebaceous gland, the pore of a hair follicle can become clogged, leading to the accumulation of oil and substances under the skin. This is how blackheads or whiteheads appear, "closed" by a film and isolated from the environment. This is the primary efflorescence of acne.

2. Blackhead

The premise is the same: a microcomedone is formed by the plugging of a hair follicle. The difference with the previous case is that, in this case, the sebum is in direct contact with the outside world, which gives the efflorescence a black color.. Contrary to popular belief, the brownish tone of the blackhead is not due to dirt in the follicle, but to the presence of melanin and oxidation of fats.

3. Papules

So far, we have been moving in non-inflammatory pictures. Pustules are the first sign of a more severe type of acne, because in this case there is an immune response that inflames the pimple, giving it a more reddened tone.giving it a more reddened and raised tone. This inflammation occurs in response to the bacterial invasion of Corynebacterium acnes of the follicle, a commensal microorganism that feeds on decaying organic matter, such as sebum.

4. Pustules

Pustules are the next step, characterized by an increased invasion of C. acnes and subsequent inflammatory response in the skin. These formations are characterized by the accumulation of pus at the subepidermal level, composed of lymph, white Blood cells or lymphocytes.composed of lymph, white blood cells or lymphocytes, dead cells, cholesterol, glucose and bacterial debris. They are larger than papules, soft to the touch and with a pus-filled center.

5. Nodules

Nodules are deep, hard, inflamed lumps without a pus center, reflecting an infiltration of inflammation. reflect an infiltration of inflammation and infection into deeper layers of the skin.. As C. acnes C. acnes expands, the greater the localized tissue damage. As a result, the nodules often leave scars after their disappearance.

6. Cysts

A cyst is a sac of membranous tissue containing fluid, air or other substances, in this case pus. It represents the most severe type of acne, occurring on the face and back with multiple reddened lesions that are very painful to the touch. At this point, medical intervention is essentialThe damage caused to the skin environment may be irreversible.

7. Milia

From here, we move away from the acne picture. We present those formations that can be mistaken for pimples or comedones but which, in reality, have not been triggered by an accumulation of sebum at the level of the hair follicle.

On the other hand, milia are small bumps that appear on different parts of the body, usually under the outer layer between the skin and the eyelid, around the nose and eyes.around the nose and eyes or in the cheek area. It corresponds to an accumulation of dead cells (corneocytes) and keratin trapped under the surface of the skin, resulting in small colorless and painless wart-like formations.

Milia is very different from acne, because in this case, the condition is not caused by the accumulation of sebum in the epidermal environment, there is no bacterial invasion and, therefore, no inflammatory events occur. They are not usually annoying formations, but if they cause aesthetic discomfort, they can be eliminated with cryotherapy or facial chemical peelings.

8. Warts

Warts are a very curious case, as very few people know why they appear, but almost all of us have them. Surprising as it may seem, these formations appear after infection by the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), which is actually a virus.which is actually a virus with more than 150 different variants that affect different species.

When we have a wound or we scratch our skin thoroughly, some of the HPV subtypes can enter the skin environment, and after a few weeks, the wart appears. HPVs 2, 7, 4 and 1 are some of those that cause warts on different parts of the body. Other variants (such as HPV 16 and 18) are much more dangerous, as they cause more than 70% of cases of cervical cancer (CCU) in women.

9. Lipoma

In reality, a lipoma has absolutely nothing to do with a pimple, but people less familiar with the medical field may confuse it with an overly prominent comedone, a cyst or even a neoplastic tumor. Nothing could be further from the truth: the vast majority of lipomas are harmless..

Lipomas are nodules of subcutaneous fatty tissue of a non-invasive nature. They differ from a normal tumor in that, if you touch them, you notice that they are soft and move under the skin. From a medical point of view, lipomas are not a problem.

10. Melanoma

Any path through the epidermal outgrowths must end, in one way or another, in melanoma. However, we are not in favor of placing special emphasis on cancers, as they generate more hysteria than anything else, when in fact they are hardly ever the causative agent of a skin growth.

Melanomas are formed in the skin cells responsible for producing melanin (melanocytes), which is why melanocytes are the most common cause of skin cancer. (melanocytes), which is why they are very similar to spontaneous moles, with irregular and reddened edges.

Summary

We have introduced you to many types of pimples in this opportunity, but we have left out many others, such as pimples that appear during an allergic reaction, wheals, hives, rashes due to dermatitis and many other things. Since the term "pimple" refers to any bump on the skin, we can include a huge number of epidermal eruptions..

However, most skin pimples are found in the form of blackheads, blackheads, milia and, at most, papules. With the exception of the last type, the others are harmless and cause no more than aesthetic discomfort.