So starting in the middle of june I was fighting with a cluster of what seemed to be just non inflammed acne. small flesh color bumps. You hear alot of people complaining about them. Ive been getting them for quite a while now just here and there but it ONLY bothers me when they are in these clusters. For me the clusters only happened on the right side of my face where my bangs hung down. I mostly had them on my forehead as well. I was at the derm for another reason and I brought it up to him thinking he would tell me its just mild acne, clogged pores and to try SA or that he would try to give me differin or something. He said I think it isnt acne it is a skin yeast infection or Fungus. I know sounds gross! He said its a fungus that grows on all normal skin BUT when it over grows is when its an issue. It thrives on oily skin (which I have) and is very common in hot humid weather. It mimics small acne. It is specifically called Pityrosporum. SO, he said take these pills for 28 days and if it is Pityrosporum then it will disappear decently quickly. Ive been taking it for 2 weeks and pretty much all my tiny bumps are gone. The ones on my forehead are all gone. Just thought id share this since I know there are many complaining of these bumps on their face and forehead. Im going to try to find out more about it when Im done with these pills like,, does it come back.. do I need to do something to maintain it. Ive found a few articles on it.

here is part of an article.. "Pityrosporum folliculitis is a condition where the yeast, pityrosporum ovale/orbicularis spp. (also called Malassezia furfur), gets down into the hair follicles and multiplies, setting up an itchy, acne-like eruption."

Most article mention it itches sometimes. Ive read it does not have too, mine did not, but once I started taking the meds I felt like it did some, although I dunno if it was my imagination because I knew that is can itch LOL!

anyway, hope this can help someone.

Good information. That's one reason why a visit to a derm can provide the best diagnostic suggestions. Here, we can only guess. There, they can examine closely and generally determine the best course of action.

I'm glad your derm figured out your problem!

Can you please tell me a few things:

1. What medication are you taking for it now? You mentioned you're taking pills. What type, and what dosage?

2. How quick did the bumps disappear. Did you have them on your body as well?


Thanks...and please keep us tuned...

I want to see how permanently this gets rid of your issue even AFTER you stop taking the pills.

He gave me an oral medication called Local Ketoconazole (200mg) to take daily for 28 days. They started disappearing mmm.. prob by the second week.

I do not have them on my body BUT Ive read that that is a common place for them as well. back sholders chest..

Im going to ask my derm if I need to do something for maintenance. I read this in an article about it..

Treatment for pityrosporum

Local

* Selenium disulphide shampoo, initially applied for 30 minutes followed by a shower on 3 consecutive days, then once a week.
* 50% propylene glycol in water applied twice daily with a gauze pad for 3 weeks, then twice a week.
* Econazole foaming solution (in sachets), lathered up over the skin surface, left on for 5 minutes before washing off, nightly for 5 days then weekly.
* For just a few spots: apply ketoconazole cream twice a day.

Oral

* Ketoconazole
* Itraconazole In New Zealand, Drug Tariff subsidy on itraconazole requires specialist prescription or recommendation.


here is the link to that article. I have found others as well.

http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:5r1gA...;cd=6&gl=us
scroll down a bit to find the specific article on this.

28 Days later...

? ok. are you like anti drugs or something.

This sounds like me. Did a little internet research and found that it is the same thing that causes some dandruff. Which I have also. One of the medications that help is nizoral, which is the only thing that works for my dandruff. Maybe I should use it on my face.

This is really interesting.

I've always, until recently starting spiro, had oily skin and always had these bumps. I would also always exfoliate and i did some glycolic peels, but they never went away. They went away only once in my life, around May when i took a cortisone/clindamycin medication because i broke out into these itchy big red bumps (i think it was an allergic thing to the glycolic). Of course, they came back.

However, i went away a few weeks ago on vacation and i was also starting BHA to attempt to clear the bumps (no luck, just irritation!) and i got these itchy spots too, and some newer big white bumps (but not whiteheads, hardly noticeable). I'm thinking i might have this yeast problem. My tiny bumps everywhere now (mostly just cheeks and forehead) don't itch, but i see yours didnt either. I'm seeing a specialist on Tuesday so i will definitely bring up this idea to him. I guess it would make sense too that exfoliation doesnt help for these bumps if its a yeast problem! (since that wouldnt fix the fungus).

Thanks for posting this. Im hoping this is what i have because there is a cure for it. It gives me hope!!

Not at all It just reminded me of the film.
He gave me an oral medication called Local Ketoconazole (200mg) to take daily for 28 days.

I just found out today that this is what I have on my chest and upper back. I've been fighting with these breakouts for months, thinking they were body acne. I've tried every topical on them - BP, glycolic, salicylic - nothing helped. Went to the derm for my yearly skin cancer screen and asked him how I could treat this stubborn body acne. He looked at it and said it wasn't acne, that it was a fungal infection that mimics acne. So, he has me using ketoconazole shampoo on my body. I wasn't entirely clear on how often or how long I am supposed to use it though. I thought the product instructions would clarify that, but they really don't. So, I am thinking I'll use it daily for a week or so and then just a couple times a week after that.

[can you buy that shampoo otc??? if so where?

I am using the 2% prescription strength - that one you can only get from a doctor. But, there is an OTC version that is 1%. I have seen it in the OTC section at my Kaiser pharmacy. I think you could probably order it online too. Not sure if all drugstores would carry it. It is called Nizoral Shampoo. I don't know if the 1% would be as effective, but its probably worth a try. Since it is not as strong, I'd leave it on for 10-15 min before washing it off, to let it penetrate the skin more completely.

hey willow, what did your chest/back look like? im thinking i might have this there but im not sure!

yeah i think ive got this too, i have small itchy flesh coloured bumps along one side of my jaw. only had them since i finished tane and they dont bother me in the slightest cos theyre not really visible unless i was to point them out. i thought they were just like litle spots that couldnt come to a head cos my skin isnt oily anymore... hmmm...

They were small bumps, looked kind of like non-inflamed acne. Some were flesh colored, a few would get red or irritated. I guess they were about the size of a pinhead, and pretty uniform in size and shape. I think one of the other differences between what this looks like compared to acne, is that there is no comedone formation in the pore, so there is nothing that can be extracted. The spots just sometimes contain a tiny amount of pus, but not very much (and not all the spots).

http://img65.imageshack.us/my.php?image=fucneig9.jpg

is this what i have above my chin?

i think i have a mild case of this on my body.
im gonna try to find that keoconazole shampoo for my body. it can't make it worse, right?

No, its pretty gentle stuff. Look for the OTC name - Nizoral Shampoo. Leave it on for 5-10 min before rinsing it off. Using the prescription version of this, I have seen about 85% improvement on my chest spots in less than a week, and about a 60% improvement on my back. I am thinking of leaving it on a little longer on my back, as the skin is harder to penetrate there.



Its hard to distinguish folliculitis from acne using pictures. Its possible, but folliculitis doesn't occur on the face that often. Has your chin been resistent to acne products?

Well, i picked up the Nizoral today! Gonna use it whenever i take a shower (ever 2nd night) so we'll see how it goes! I have a sneaking suspicion this is what i'm dealing with too since it sounds like yours Willow.

Next up: see this awesome derm (ugh if i can get an appt soon!) and see what he thinks about yeast being a problem on my face (since i dont really have "acne", very rarely i have a pimple or two, but i have tiny tiny bumps allover.)

I'm thinking what also might be usedful for us with this problem is a candida cleanse, since that gets rid of yeast from the inside.

http://www.acne.org/messageboard/forums.html...i

I used the Nizoral for about 3 weeks and my forehead has improved significantly.

I may try it again soon and see if I can get the rest of my face to clear up as well.