See: Acne & Candida, also see small bumps thread
In the blackheads & non-inflamed acne thread.

I think I have discovered that MY acne is caused by yeast or fungus. This is apparently in the skin all the time and can grow out of control for a number of reasons. I have a balanced diet and take good supplements, including probiotics, etc. but I get lots of bumps on my jaw line and I get some deep breakouts that never come to a head.
I am using a natural topical for fungus (as described in the thread listed above) and I noticed a dramatic difference overnight - this may help others.
Check it out!

i might have the same thing. i don't have acne per se...i have small little bumps all alone my jawline...and nothing seems to help :/

VPM (and anyone else reading!),
I think I may have the same problem. I have small white/flesh colored bumps all over my jawline and lower cheek, and now have some on my middle cheek as well. They are on both sides of my face and seem to follow a similar pattern on both sides. I also occasionally get cystic pimples on my lower jaw (about 2 inches down from my earlobe, on my jawline).

I had recently come to the conclusion that I had an excess of androgens in my body due to insulin resistance or poor glucose metabolism or volatile blood sugar levels (or all of these things). But even though I've started on a healthy (I am very into organic foods, rarely eat anything processed or inorganic meats, etc) low-carb type diet, I haven't seen improvement. I wonder if I may have a fungus type thing on my skin. Do you know any more about this or know what may cause it?

As an important sidenote, I recently (about a month ago) diagnosed myself with candida overgrowth in my body due to other factors that recently became apparent. However, I have had these small numerous bumps on my jawline/cheeks for about a year and a half now. The cystic acne just comes and goes. Maybe that is what is more related to the androgen imbalance?

I am a 26 y/o female, just FYI.

If you have any more information on the "face fungus" (gross) - please let me know. I used some of my husband's antifungal cream for the first time last night and it seemed to help. I didn't use it today, wore mineral makeup as always, and came home to horrible skin with very pronounced white/fleshcolored bumps.

I am into natural solutions and cures, so I like to find out what might be causing this. If anyone has any ideas or thoughts , please let me know! I am desperate to figure this thing out - it is so embarrassing and I hate always having to wear makeup.

Thanks so much...

Our family was camping in NC a few weeks ago in observance of the Feast of Tabernacles. There we met a family that had some ideas about fungus causing many health problems including acne and toenail fungus. Two of my daughters have had severe acne, one of them began having it several years ago after she was hospitalized for dehydration and influenza and received IV antibiotics.

The father in this family pointed out that antibiotics are made of fungus. He said corn is a high fungus food perhaps because of the way it is stored. I had been puzzled to hear that organic peanuts cause as much or more health problems than non-organic; now I am wondering if this is because there is more fungus in the organic. Orange juice and peanuts seemed to be known to aggravate acne.

Our 18-year-old daughter has been doing all kinds of cleanses and fasts as well as following a diet designed to starve candida. Our oldest daughter -nearly 24 now, and until recently suffering TERRIBLY from unrelenting acne, began clearing up when she eliminated chicken (which she craved) and other meat from her diet. She said the days following eating chicken, her face would itch like crazy. I am thinking this may be because chickens receive large doses of many kinds of anti-biotics - also known as fungi.

My two oldest daughters have tried many things; they have avoided sugar for years, and they have restricted many things in their diets over these years trying to come to a conclusion. I want to share that eliminating the chicken did make a difference; and I wanted to know if anybody else has heard of any of this. I may be over-simplifying the problem, but I hope and pray this little bit of information will help others suffering from acne. And I am praying my daughters will soon recover from this plague.

Blessings to all. I look forward to any good news on this!

Antibiotics are not fungi- though some of them were originally derived from fungi. They are chemical compounds, not living things. Wikipedia, it's a wonderful thing.

The reason we get fungus overgrowth in or on the body after antibiotic use is because antibiotics will kill the bacteria that usually keeps the fungus in check. That's why probiotics should be taken to try and avoid that imbalance.

I went to the derm today. I told him that I don't really have pimples, but just redness/inflammation beneath the skin, flakiness/clogged pores. He said this is folliculitis or Seborrheic dermatitis, in other words, yeast growth on my face!! He said it's often mistaken for acne...So he prescribed an anti-fungal shampoo which he wants me to use as a cleanser too...Very strange right?

Thanks for the input, Akko. It would be nice to know a lot more about the connection. Sometimes Wikipedia is good.

Well Beachgirl, Just the bumps themselves, those are called comodones. or baby acne. They are never materialize into actual papsules or leisions but sometimes they do which is why you may get "cystic" acne which are basically just blown up inflamed versions of comodones. I have those on my jaw line too...But for you to have fungus, do you have any some sort of redness, inflammation beneath the skin along with flakiness...those are the usual suspects...

It sounds like your daughter may have had a food intolerance to chicken. Food intolerances can cause acne...For certain people who have asthma or allergies, foods containing: Flour. Wheat, Oranges, Tomatos, Peanuts, and DIARY, should be avoided as much as possible...Of course this is very difficult when most of our diets contain flour and wheat. But this is information I've been told by my doctor...

Thank you for your suggestion, ComplexIssues. Your "name" seems to encompasses what we are dealing with the complex issues contributing to acne and other health problems!

Re chicken allergy: That could be true. She went to a naturalpath type doctor for about $2000 worth with lots of tests; and at that time in addition to paying for lots of expensive supplements, she eliminated milk and wheat. I have the impression that food intolerance can be caused by damage to the intestinal wall, and according to Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon this weakness can be helped by taking gelatinous broths.

I was looking for some information on antibiotics and fungus, and I still want to know more about any possible/impossible connection with the fungus-sourced antibiotics. I am afraid the Wikipedia is not terribly reliable; sometimes people actually work there to preserve lies; it's in many ways just like George Orwell's 1984 in 2008! Truth and fiction mixed! But then, so is the whole Internet, and so we try to sort it all out.

In the matter of a person having acne due to fungus, it may not be that a fungus is growing on the skin, so much as a systemic reaction maybe hindering the immune system and/or maybe causing an allergic reaction.

Antibiotics are not fungi. Some antibiotics can contribute to the overgrowth of fungus. Some antibiotics can kill fungus. The earliest antibiotics are indeed derived from molds and other living substrates. Newer ones are generally synthetic but not always.

Acne due to fungus OR bacteria: folliculitis. It can occur spontaneously, due to environmental conditions, and/or due to recent antibiotic usage. It's a localized infection, not systemic. Systemic fungal infection is rare and associated only with immunocompromised persons.

im starting to wander if this is what i have...i get all my pimples under the skin then eventually they look inflamed but they never ever come to a head....could this be folliculitis?

Also would acctuane help this? and should I be taking a probiotic on accutane?

i must have this, but mine itches so much (redness, bumps and no head).

i used to use alcohol wipes to kill the ichyness.. perhaps this was making my yeast worst?

so the only treatment for this is anti-fungal shampoo - so nizoral or hea&shoulders?