What causes severe acne in a patient with iga blood deficiency?

Posted on Tue, 26 May 2015

Question: I am 74 years old, have cvid treated subcutaneously (SCIG), and now have a severe outbreak of acne on my nose. I had used clindomycin without success and will see my doctor in a couple of days for a specific treatment.

Could there be any association with a lack of IgA and the acne? When I was a young woman I had no IgA and I did have acne, diarrhea, sinus infections, and yeast infections. The IgA levels are much better now and my IgG level is low. I am wondering if the IgA has gone back down again. THe levels will be retested in September.

Answered by Dr. S. Samanta (32 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Yes, IgA could be associated with acne!

Detailed Answer:
Hi! thanks for your health query!

Well, IgA is generally associated with secreted antibodies and therefore it prevents infections in the ducts, gut, and tubal systems like respiratory tracts, mouth, nose etc and of course, it is also associated with sebaceous secretions and thereby prevents skin infections. Lack of IgA therefore might reduce the power to prevent skin infection and thereby increase the incidence of acne /pustules formation.

You may see an immunologist to confirm the cause of this kind of deficiency as there are so many causes;

Feedback welcome!

Regards,

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Vinay Bhardwaj