Mental Health > Eating Disorders Forum > Does Bulimia Cause Acne?
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Q: Does Bulimia Cause Acne?
asked by: DoctorQuestion on March 19th, 2006
I have been bulimic for the past 5 years...and started developing sever acne for the past 2 years...i have been trying to get over my bulimia and it seems almost impossible to get out of this routine.
I want to get over it buy my self-image is making it hard to do so.
I have tried all types of medications that the dermat. recommend and it doesnt help.
so heres my question...can my bulimia be causing my acne??
i truly appreciate any advice you an offer me.
thanks!


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Dr. Nikola Gjuzelov , MD
replied on April 6th, 2006
Eating Disorders Answer A676
It doesn`t seem likely that Bulimia will cause acne. Acne is caused by 2 main conditions: seborrhea (increased sebaceous production) and follicular hyperkeratosis (increased cell production in the skin’s follicles). These 2 main factors are genetically conditioned. Other factors (male hormones, bacterium Propionibacterium acnes, psycho-emotional, nutritive etc.) contribute to the main factors in acne development. Acne treatment is not 100% successful and includes: Deep skin cleaning with liquid soaps that removes dirt and sufficient sebum from the skin; Decreasing sebum secretion with creams that contain bio-sulfur; Skin peeling with Vitamin-A-acid, benzoylperoxid and azelaic acid; Local and oral antibiotics (erythromycin, klindamycin, tetracycline) and local antiseptics for treating the bacterial infections; Birth control pills (for women) for neutralizing male hormones; 13-cys-retinic acid to induce atrophy of the sebaceous glands in the skin; Manually expelling the sebum from the acne, and Photo-therapy. Bulimia is a psychiatric disorder that can create a very bad impact on physical health if it is not treated. There are treatment centers that specialize in eating disorders that can help you understand why you exert this kind of control on your body. You can also consult a medical health professional for a referral or to begin talking about a solution for bulimia.


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