Nomenclature: Acne Vulgaris, Pimples, Spots, Zits.

The term acne comes from a corruption of the Greek word - acne in the sense of a skin eruption.

Acne popularly known as 'Pimples', is a common skin problem that at some stage affects most boys and girls when they are in their teens.

Acne is due to the blockage and the inflammation of skin pores. This results in superficial skin eruptions.

The appearance of pimples sometimes occurs during the surge of hormones (Testosterone) during the puberty. In some youngsters they continue to bother them into their young adulthood or even till their late forties and in others they disappear after a few years. There are no parameters that are available that will indicate when these lesions are likely to disappear.

Usually the youngsters suddenly finds that on the smooth skin of their face appear bumpy swelling.There is a tendency to squeeze these pimples to make them disappear but often this makes it worse and more bumps appear.

Usually acne appears on the face but can extend to neck, chest and back.