How to Diagnosis Acne
Acne is very simple to diagnose. No medical tests are required to diagnose it. A physical exam
and a medical history will suffice. Doctors decide the severity of the acne by using a graduated
scale. They compare a patient's acne with a standardized set of photographs to see if the acne is
mild (1 on the scale) or very severe (12 on the scale).
However, doctors do conduct various examinations and tests to rule out the possibility of the acne
being a symptom of an underlying medical condition. These tests include:
(1) Microbiological biopsy of an acne lesion to check if:
1 The bacteria, such as Proprionibacterium acnes, react to the antibiotics prescribed by the
doctor.
2 The culture obtained shows the presence of yeast or gram-negative bacteria, as this
implies that the lesions are a symptom of either folliculitis or dermatitis.
(2) For women suffering from acne, doctors routinely suggest blood tests to check for abnormal
levels of hormones (for example, testosterone). Hormone tests will help:
1 To determine whether there are abnormally high levels of prolactin in the body.
2 To check for excessive secretion of testosterone, the predominantly male hormone
3 To check for the possibility of pregnancy, in which case the treatment would have to be
cancelled.