Having acne can be physically and emotionally painful. The pimples and cysts that form can throb and burn, not to mention hinder self-esteem. Yet, acne may tell you something about your health. Though there are several topical treatments, the underlying cause of some cases of acne is an inflammatory response by the body. This is known as inflammatory acne (via Verywell Health). These types of pimples occur when bacteria infects blocked pores.
“Inflammation is the body’s natural mechanism for dealing with basically anything it doesn’t like, including bacterial overgrowth and accumulation of dead skin cells in a pore,” dermatologist S. Tyler Hollmig, MD tells Everyday Health. “That’s what causes certain types of acne to become red, raised, tender, and juicy.”
A 2017 study published in “Prostaglandins & Other Lipid Mediators” found that people who develop cystic acne may have high levels of inflammation while people who have less acne or no acne, may have low inflammation levels. Since omega-3s work to lower inflammation, some researchers think that reducing inflammation by increasing omega-3s can actually help reduce acne.
