Patient concepts and misconceptions about acne

Abstract

A questionnaire was completed by 178 patients and relatives with dermatologic conditions as the first phase of a two-part study of the interrelationships between understanding and treatment compliance. Substantial numbers of those surveyed had ideas about cause, treatment, and prognosis that might adversely affect therapy. Diet, dirt, soap and water, topically applied acne gels, and realistic expectations for cures seem to be the most important subjects to emphasize in the written or oral "teaching" of patients with acne.

Myths, misconceptions and attitudinal trends among patients with acne

“…In the index study, 55.2% participants thought that pollution aggravates acne, which was reported by 10.7-62.5% subjects in various studies. 2,6,8,11,17 Sleep deprivation as an aggravating factor of acne was reported by few subjects in two studies (0.93% 7 and 16.7% 19 ),was similar to our study (15%). However, a higher number of participants (39.3% 19 and 40.8% 16 ) of another two studies had this belief.…”

Oily skin: specific features in Chinese women

“…Oily skin does therefore seem to be partly related to the intake of spicy or sweet foods. This observation rather agrees with certain cosmetic, or even medical recommendations advocating a limitation of dietary sugar intake in case of acne (4–7, 16). Given the involvement of sebum in acne (17), our findings concerning oily skins and sweet diets are not surprising, even if they have never been described in this way.…”

Beliefs, perceptions and sociological impact of patients with acne vulgaris in the Turkish population

“…The other common factors thought to affect acne were dirty skin, diet and hormones, in descending order. These findings are similar to previous studies in the published work 1,2,6–8 . The other most common beliefs regarding causality in acne was dirty skin.…”

“…Expectations regarding treatment duration were reasonable, because 38% of our patients expected that treatment duration was more than 6 months. This ratio higher than that of other studies 6,7 . However, we do not suggest that this realistic expectation reflected accuracy of information about acne received because, when compared with other answers given, it was evident that our patients were pessimistic and hopeless about the treatment.…”