Bellevue Acne Clinic
The field of acne has its own language. You may not already be familiar with the terms that go along with acne and acne treatment. Here is a mini-glossary for you.
Topical – This refers to a product that goes on the skin. You may hear your dermatology provider refer to topical medication and oral medication. Topical medication is applied directly to the skin, oral medication is taken by mouth.
Lesion – This word sounds more serious than it is. It refers to any type of skin abnormality. An acne lesion is any type of pimple (more on the different types of pimples later).
Pustule – A type of acne lesion commonly described as a 'whitehead.' A pustule is filled with white or yellow pus.
Papule – A type of acne lesion that is red and inflamed. Papules are sometimes painful.
Nodules – Large acne lesions greater than 5mm in size that are painful, red, raised and often filled with pus.
Open comedone – A blackhead. These often appear like little circles of dirt in the skin. They are actually not filled with dirt, but rather with an oil secreted by the skin called sebum. The sebum oxidizes and turns black.
Closed comedones – A small, raised bump on the skin sometimes described as a congested pore. These are often flesh-colored and/or slightly red, but are smaller than papules.
Inflammatory acne – A type of acne that consists of papules, pustules and nodules.
Non-inflammatory acne – Also known as comedonal acne. Includes open and comedones, but no inflammatory lesions.
