Dr. Sherry Ingraham on Treating Body Acne (Bacne)

News Reporter: Before Bikini season, there's gym season, New Year's resolutions send people to the gym and into exercise regimens by the numbers. Joining us is Dr. Sherry Ingraham with advanced dermatology to talk about an interesting thing that happens when all these people start going to the gym. We're talking about body acne and you actually see an influx of patients at this time of the year.

Dr. Sherry Ingraham: We do. More people are getting out, they're going to the gym, they have their new year's resolutions, so bacne is back with a vengeance.

News Reporter: Bacne. All right? That was the correct term I was looking for. So what causes it?

Dr. Sherry Ingraham: It's a combination of factors. Obviously you're sweating more, you're sweating toxins that are coming out of your body. There's a lot of sebum and oil, rich products on your skin, and then they get occluded under your sports bra. Under some of these shirts that we wear, these Under Armour type shirts, which are great.

News Reporter: These are the dry fit material.

Dr. Sherry Ingraham: Exactly and they can wick away moisture and some even have some antibacterial properties. However, if you leave the gym and keep them on and don't wash that sweat, dirt and debris off the skin, it can occlude the follicles and you get acne.

News Reporter: All right, so change into a cotton shirt shirt when you leave the gym.

Dr. Sherry Ingraham: Cotton shirt when you leave. When you leave.

News Reporter: Okay. So how can it be treated? You've brought in a lot of different products for us.

Dr. Sherry Ingraham: Right. So what you want to do is, immediately after working out, if you can do it at the gym, great. If not, run home and wash with a product that contains either salicylic acid, the SkinCeuticals and Neutrogena and CeraVe products have sal acid in them. 2% is great, over the counter. Benzoyl peroxide is an excellent, excellent antibacterial anti-acne wash. Also, if you want to, you can pack in your gym bag for a quick fix, these antibiotic wipes. Now, these are prescription. This is a product called Clindacin. It's a clindamycin wipe, but I love these. If you're particularly acne prone, get a prescription from a dermatologist or your doctor. Wipe your face, your shoulders and your back with it before you leave, even in your car. And then I like these little back brushes.

Dr. Sherry Ingraham: You can get these at different stores. You can put these in your gym bag or keep them at home and you can get those hard to reach areas of your bag.

News Reporter: Right. Yeah, that's a good... It's good little tool to have there. So, so how long until you see results when you start using some of these?

Dr. Sherry Ingraham: Fairly quickly, because if you're getting those clogged pores and you start just getting little red bumps before you get pustules and scarring, you can really intervene and make a difference. Another thing you can do on the preventative end is if you do wear makeup, which I don't advise when you work out, but some people feel more comfortable, wear makeup that has salicylic acid in it. Neutrogena makes a line of products that are skin clearing. They have base powders you can actually put on before you work out or even after if you want to put your makeup on.

Dr. Sherry Ingraham: That will help the added benefit.

News Reporter: Gotcha.

Dr. Sherry Ingraham: And then one of my favorite tricks is this Vichy thermal spray water in. What I do is I keep that in my gym bag and if I'm in a huge hurry on my way out, I will spray my face with this. It's gotten a lot of water, antioxidants in it, not gym water coming from the tap. Take a fresh towel from the gym and wipe your face with it before you get in the car.

News Reporter: Isn't that just... What is it called again?

Dr. Sherry Ingraham: It's called Vichy thermal water. It's about $10. You can buy it at any drug store or Target and just keep it in your gym bag. It's a great little trick.

News Reporter: And do most of the acne that you're seeing, does it end in scarring or is a lot of it can be cleared up?

Dr. Sherry Ingraham: It can. So if you intervene early when you have little inflammatory papules, you can do a good job of preventing it, but once that inflammation starts to really set in, you're getting more bumps, you're getting more inflammation. See a dermatologist, you probably need oral antibiotics. Oral antibiotics are very important to prevent more inflammation that can lead to scarring. Like so many things, early intervention is key.

Dr. Sherry Ingraham: Dr. Sherry Ingraham with advanced dermatology. Thanks for coming in and sharing this with our viewers. We appreciate it.