Sebaceous Gland Disorders

Sebaceous glands are often referred to as oil glands. They are the glands in the skin that produce oil, also known as sebum. The most commonly known sebaceous gland disorder is acne. Most of us had it when we were teenagers! Many women end up with acne again in their 30's and 40's due to hormonal issues!

While acne is a well known sebaceous gland disorder, there are others we're going to take a look at Furuncles, Milia. Seborrhea, and Wens.

Acne may be referred to as acne vulgaris or acne simplex, due to the severity of it. This is both a sebaceous gland disorder, and can be an inflammatory skin disorder too! It is characterized by blemishes, more commonly called pimples or zits.

Milia is the fancy name for a whitehead. This is a tiny white blemish. They look like itty-bitty tiny hardened white pimples. You often see Milia on newborn babies.

Isn't Furuncle is a funny name? It's actually just the technical name for a boil! It's an abscess filled with pus. This is formed by bacteria around a hair follicle.

A Wen is also called a Steatoma. This is a cyst or tumor that is filled with sebum. A Steatoma can be very large or very small. This is not characterized by size, since it can vary dramatically.

The last sebaceous gland disorder we're going to look at is Seborrhea. This can come in different forms. Seborrhea is the term for very oily skin. When you see the term seborheic and seborrhea- it's quite similar to the word sebum, which means oil. If your doctor says you have a skin disorder and the word sounds quite similar, there's a good chance it's an oil gland disorder!

The two glands in the skin are sebaceous glands and sudoriferous glands. They can get easily confused. Sebaceous glands are oil glands, while your sudoriferous glands are sweat glands.