Chamjin Korean Medicine Clinic
ACNE & CHARMJIN
[Health Week] Why Acne Specialists Don't Wear Gloves When Exfoliating
We film actual patient excision videos at our hospital and upload them to our YouTube channel. We often receive comments expressing concern about performing excisions with bare hands, without gloves. Today, I'd like to discuss this. We use a needle to appropriately incise the inflamed area, then apply pressure with a cotton swab to remove the comedone. We touch the inflamed area with our bare hands to determine how the comedone is formed and locate the pore opening. Some people ask why we do this without gloves. Gloves dull our sense of touch and can interfere with our judgment. Therefore, since opening our practice 20 years ago, we've consistently used bare-handed excision, and we've never encountered any issues with this method.

We prepare our hands, the crucial excision tool, in a four-step process. We check our hands for any wounds according to bloodborne infection guidelines, then wash them with a special disinfectant. We then disinfect them with a bactericidal agent and expose them to the sterilizing light. Under the light, the morphology of the pimple is first assessed visually, and then the skin texture is assessed with the bare hand to determine which pimples will be extracted that day and which will not. After identifying the direction of the pimple, a dedicated 22-gauge needle is used to open the path for the pimple to drain, and a sterilized cotton swab is used to apply just the right amount of pressure to extract the pimple. After extraction, the irritated skin is thoroughly soothed using various methods. If the inflamed area requires extraction but is not in a good shape, it is dried with a special ointment to make it easier to extract. Then, the extraction is performed on a different day. While pimples that are not dry are pus-filled, they become granular once dried. These types of pimples are less irritating and painful to extract.

The use of an extractor is more problematic than not wearing gloves. Even dermatologists are minimizing this practice these days. Therefore, it is especially important to avoid using it at home. When performing self-extraction, it is easy to skip the steps of identifying the pimple, making the needle incision, and sterilizing the device. Even if extraction is performed properly, it is difficult to do so. This increases the risk of infection and damage to the surrounding skin tissue. Unfortunately, acne seeds are difficult to completely remove. Squeezing them without opening the opening and allowing the pus to burst will only leave behind inflammatory residue, increasing the risk of recurrence. Squeezing is a delicate process, with results varying depending on skill level. Improper extraction can even leave permanent scars. Therefore, stop self-squeezing and seek professional help. If you'd like to see a video of a professional extracting a pimple with their bare hands, search for "Squeezing King" on YouTube.

Source: Health Week - https://www.healthweek.co.kr
Original article: https://www.healthweek.co.kr/news/view.php?bIdx=7251
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