What are blackheads?
Blackheads are small white bumps on your face. They may appear anywhere on your face, but they’re most common around the nose and chin area. There’s no cure or treatment for them, so if you have blackheads, it means there’s something wrong with your skin. If you don’t treat them now, they’ll get worse over time and become painful.
How do blackheads form?
The exact cause isn’t known, but there are several theories. One theory is that the oils from your pores (pH) build up in certain areas of your face and make those areas swell. Another theory is that bacteria live on the surface of your skin and produce acids when they eat certain foods such as citrus fruits. These acids break down sebum (oil), which is another type of oil found in your body.
When does blackhead formation occur?
It depends on where the blackheads are located and how much sebum is present. Some blackheads appear in just one spot, while others spread out across your face. When they start appearing, they usually appear in clusters of two to four spots. Sometimes these clusters grow larger and look like little pimples. Other times, they disappear without any sign of growth within a few days.
The larger the sebaceous gland, the more likely it is to produce a blackhead. Blackheads can appear in people of any age, even babies and young children. However, they become more common as you get older.
What are the symptoms of an infected blackhead?
Blackheads themselves don’t cause any pain or other symptoms. If you attempt to pop them, then you may experience some minor pain or redness at the blackhead location. If it gets infected, then you may experience a fever, chills, redness, swelling, heat, and pain around the infected blackhead.
How does an infected blackhead happen?
If you squeeze or force open a blackhead that contains bacteria, then you may end up spreading the infection to the surrounding area. The most common cause is when you touch your face and then transfer the oils on your hands to your face.
What causes an infected blackhead?
If you have one or more blackheads, then your skin is probably oily or have large sebaceous glands. This means there are more opportunities for the pores to get clogged up with oil and dead skin cells. When this happens, bacteria can grow and multiply in these locations. Once the pore gets infected, it swells up and creates a “whitehead.” If it remains untreated, then it will turn into an “infected blackhead,” which is red and swollen.
What should I do if I have an infected blackhead?
If the skin is broken then cleanse it with an antibacterial soap and apply triple antibiotic ointment. If it doesn’t appear broken or red, you can try to leave it alone; it should heal itself. However, this isn’t always the case, so if it doesn’t get better within a week, then you may need to see a doctor.
Most blackhead removal kits at the drugstore can help unclog and remove the oil, dead skin cells, and bacteria from your pores. If you have an infected blackhead, don’t squeeze it. This will only spread the infection across your face.
Sources & references used in this article:
An investigation to determine whether immunity to infectious enterohepatitis (blackhead) of turkeys develops during enheptin treatment by HM DeVolt, FG Tromba, AP Holst – Poultry Science, 1954 – Elsevier
Home remedies for blackheads by A Goel – myupchar.com
Blackhead disease in turkeys: direct transmission of Histomonas meleagridis from bird to bird in a laboratory model by LR McDougald, L Fuller – Avian diseases, 2005 – aaapjournals.info
An outbreak of blackhead disease (Histomonas meleagridis) in farm-reared bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus) by LR McDougald, M Abraham, RB Beckstead – Avian Diseases, 2012 – aaapjournals.info
Turkey blackhead control composition by HTTAP Area
Identifying rosacea: What all dentists should know by W Emanuel, HW Marson – US Patent 2,531,756, 1950 – Google Patents
Studies on Histomoniasis, or” Blackhead” Infection, in the Chicken and the Turkey by SS Fuchs – The Journal of the American Dental Association, 2003 – Elsevier
Intestinal protozoa important to poultry by EE Tyzzer – Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and …, 1934 – JSTOR
