Can Acne Be Passed by Contact?

Many people think that acne can be passed from one person to the other simply by making contact with the skin.  That by your skin making contact with skin containing an acne breakout, you are likely to contract an acne breakout.  While

there are many aspects of this discussion that can certainly be perceived as contagious, there are many other aspects that would contradict that thought process.  The author takes a closer look that this social perspective and offers a simplified, yet factual summary to help improve consumer awareness on the topic.

To begin with acne is caused by a number of conditions within the skin, each with their own role in breakout.  Many people commonly associate breakouts with high concentrations of dirt and oils within the skin, but there are other factors as well.  Dead skin cells often clog the skin’s ability to detoxify itself and furthering the problem.  But the largest cause of acne breakouts is bacteria.  Bacteria grows within the skin causing breakouts, this condition is worsened by excess oils and dirt and of course dead skin cells, but most acne is caused by the bacteria itself and not the other conditions.

When people think of acne spreading, we do not exactly think of it as contagious.  We think of it as our skin being in prolonged contact with someone else’s skin perhaps from kissing or other contact.  Others also have concerns about sharing wash clothes, etc with someone with acne as they believe that excess dirt, oils and toxins transfer in this manner and cause breakouts.  Both of these thought processes may seem logical, if not rational, but could this really be the cause of breakouts on others?

The reality is that your skin must have the bacteria growing at a certain level for this to actually cause an inflammation.  For example, if you are struggling with acne and have acne prone skin, having your skin come in long contact with another’s dirty, oily skin may cause a breakout.  The excess dirt and toxins may transfer to your skin and inflame an already existing problem, but it is unlikely to cause a breakout all on its own.

While part of acne treatment is certainly keeping your skin cleansed and free of toxins, there are many other aspects to the treatment.  Treating the acne effectively means treating it at its source and the source is the bacteria.  That means that acne cannot really be passed along from one person to the other unless that person’s skin was already prone to an acne breakout.  While avoiding contact with oils and dirt is probably a good practice, it is important to realize the difference between irritating and existing condition and causing the breakout itself.