Whether diet plays a role in controlling or preventing acne has always been a topic of debate. Diet may not directly cause or control acne. Certain foods influence causes of acne through the chemicals released by them when the metabolism takes place in the body. This kind of foods can worsen the condition of already existing acne. The main cause of acne is excess production of sebum. The sebum production is aggravated by the male hormone known as testosterone. Certain foods like meat can affect the balance of hormones. This ultimately ends with formation of acne. If digestion is sluggish, it can also give rise to skin disorders such as acne. In brief, diet indirectly influences cause of acne.
It is a common belief that salt can increase the symptoms of skin diseases. However, it is found that a combination of sodium salt and an acne controlling compound is effective in augmenting sodium excretion in the sebaceous glands. This helps controlling eruption of acne vulgaris. Some side effects of the acne controlling medicines when they are used alone, are reduced by combining sodium salt with them. However, the sodium salt used for combining with these medicines should be in a pharmacologically acceptable form. Besides sodium chloride, the salts that can be combined include sodium bicarbonate, sodium citrate and sodium carbonate. Among the salts sodium chloride, and among the acne controlling compounds methylclothiazide, are preferred for combination in treating acne vulgaris. With this combination the side effects including nausea, dizziness and diuresis are counteracted.
The antibiotics for treating acne also can be combined with sodium salt. This combination is said to inhibit the bacteria P. acnes which cause acne. The antibiotics that can be combined with sodium salt include tetracycline and its derivates, minomycin, erythromycin and its derivatives, topocycline, clindamycin, orthomysin and cleosin. The minimum amount of sodium that a patient needs to be ingested is 0.2 gm which is contained in approximately 0.5 gm of sodium chloride. The upper limit of sodium depends on the tolerance of the patient. However, it could be 0.8 gm of sodium contained in about 2.0 gm of sodium chloride. Per dose of the acne controlling compound, the amount of sodium preferred is 0.25 to 0.4 gm that is available in 0.7 to 1.0 gm of sodium chloride. At the same time, the dosage of acne controlling compound should be sufficient enough to trigger sodium excretion in the sebaceous glands. As per the present invention this dosage ranges from 1.0 to 10.0 mg. The dosage is determined based on the patient’s weight. However, the preferred dosage of methylclothiazide per patient ranges from 2.0 to 8.0 mg. The acne patient should not eat chocolates and should reduce iodine intake. Therefore they should use non-iodized sodium chloride in their diet.
Epsom salt provides a very good anti-inflammatory treatment. Epsom salt added to a warm bath can reduce irritation and redness. Sea salt also can be used in the same way as Epsom salt for treating acne. Adding a few drops of lavender oil to the bath with Epsom or sea salt is more effective in treating body acne.