66 replies to this topic

[psych0sis]

Thanks for sharing! It's nice to see someone who had found great success with their PF.

[greentea1]

-----

Edited by greentea1, 26 July 2011 - 02:08 AM.

[cng3494]

Quick question...while applying the nizoral to your skin and letting it sit for 5 minutes afterwards do you only use a moisturizer and no other topical creams? I am on tazorac and i was wondering if it would be best if i dont put it on after i use nizoral

[Cullen]

Hi, new to the forum. After reading this thread I am reasonably certain after 50 years that what I thought was back and chest acne is PF. Are you all using Head and Shoulders or Selsun on back and chest in addition to hair/head to control PF?

Cullen

[ChestPF]

Hi,

I've just been diagnosed with PF a couple of days ago after years and years of suffering. I had chest PF for a while now, about 2x a year, but it would always clear out on it's own after a couple of weeks. I also have to add that otherwise i have flawless skin all over my body, i tan easily, i don't have acne. Even as a teen i didn't have any skin problems...but THIS!

3 months ago i visited my family in Europe and the weather was specially hot and humid. As soon as the plane touched down i started to develop tiny little red bumps on my chest. So i thought, i will have a little break out nothing else. Have to add at this point i didn't know i have PF, i just thought i have sensitive skin on my chest and i have occasional break outs that go away.

I had some salicylic acid wash with me so i used that, which usually helps. Not this time, it was just getting worse, itching like crazy. I had nothing to do until i got back to the States. Then i went to see a dermatologist right away.

He didn't do a culture, only took one look at my chest and diagnosed folliculitis and gave me DUAC topical cream to use once a day, thinking it was bacterial folliculitis. Now i know that there are many types of folliculitis. Bacterial, yeast (fungal), or even viral, in some cases it could also be parasite that causes the problem.

Needles to say the DUAC did not do shit, in fact made it even worse, and irritated the whole area. I stopped, and went back to my dermo to see what he has to say. At this point i have started to research online just to get some free info. And for some reason i instantly thought i have Pityrosporum Folliculitis.

So i asked him if it could be yeast or any other fungus, but he said no. Thinking it's bacterial, he gave me antibiotics (Doxycycl 100mg) for 2 weeks. And said to wash it with any antibacterial wash in case it gets sweaty or something. Otherwise leave it alone.

Again - it didn't do shit. Didn't actually make it worse, but didn't help at all. This has been over 2 months now, and i was really getting tired of it.

At the end of the antibacterial cycle i went to Africa for a month where the weather was super dry, and my problem would still continue.

Also i have tried Apple Cider Vinegar, as at that point i really thought it could be yeast. But it didn't help, which surprised me.

Anyways, i came back from Africa and saw my dermo right away, and demanded a culture at least to see who is the bad guy causing me all this suffering. The culture came back NEGATIVE, not showing any bacterial of fungus. I was in tears, but the doctor consulted with other dermatologists at his office and they all took a look at me. Now saying it could be a type of yeast or fungus that regular culture test wouldn't show. So now they think i have PF, which i thought all along right from the beginning. Funny ha!

He prescribed me Fluconazol 200 mg anti yeast medication. 1 pill a day for 4 days. They are pretty strong. And a foamy thing called Tersi Foam containing 2.25% Selenium Sulfide.

It's been only a day or so and i have taken 1 pill and used the foam once. It hasn't gotten better, but neither worse, and i don't feel any irritation which is a good sign. I will finish the short course treatment. He said to call him tomorrow, i think he really thinks we found the solution, and it should work pretty quickly.

I report back after the course had finished. Fingers crossed. Otherwise i'm gonna try these shampoos everyone is talking about, Nizoral or H&S. I can't wait to be free it's poisoning my life.

Ah, i almost forgot. Before the foam and anti fungal pill, he gave me a gel called Xolagel to try. I'ts anti fungal as well, but it made it worse so i stopped. So weird. I think even within the fungal folliculitis some treatment works for someone, but not for others. You just gotta find your balance with these product, and find the best for you.

A

[Timehealsall]

willow569, on 06 June 2009 - 10:34 AM, said:

QUOTE (bumpyguy @ Jun 5 2009, 03:23 PM)
I'm also wondering if there are other things that PF sufferers have in common. Here are some things about me:


I'm lactose intolerant
I get severe migraines (aura/blind with pain)about 4 times a year
I have a chronic sinus problem, but manageable
I'm hardly ever sick, literally go for years with no colds or flu.

Just wondering if others here have these things in common...


No, I don't have any of those problems, but I do get PF (mild, but persistant - mostly on my chest and upper back/shoulders). Just wondering a few things about your history:

Have you taken antibiotics frequently or for long periods of time? I know this can trigger a case of PF in people or cause an existing problem to flare up again.

What is you diet like overall? Do you eat a lot sugars, yeasts, etc? I found that a very low sugar/low yeast diet helped me a lot. I also did a few rounds of antifungal supplements at the same time, which I think helped me. I found Olive leaf to be really helpful - if you look at some of the research on it, its one of the most potent antifungals out there. Before the development of antifungal medications, doctors sometimes used it to treat fungal infections. I also like oil of oregano (a few drops in a glass of water, 2x a day)

Have you tried topical mandelic acid? For me, that has been the most effective topical treatment. It might get a little pricey to use though, if your PF is widespread, but I really love the results I get from it.

I also found that rotating treatment products regularly (topical treatments, and supplements) really helps. PF seems to adapt to most treatment products eventually, and once it does, that treatment may not work as well in the future. I rotate my treatments at least once a month or so.

I am attaching an article I wrote on PF. It may help give you some ideas you haven't tried yet. Let me know if you have any questions. In case you don't want to read the entire document, here are some general recommendations I outlined in the article:


I would also make several general recommendations for dealing with this problem:

1. Kill the fungus topically AND systemically by using:

• Antifungal cleansers
• Leave-on antifungal treatments
• Oral antifungal supplements
• Dietary changes
• Products that exfoliate the skin

2. Important: Use multiple antifungal treatments at the same time (either topical or oral supplements, or both), and rotate them on a regular basis (e.g., every few weeks). Do NOT use the antifungal to the point where it stops working. From what I have read and through my and others’ experiences, once a product stops working, then it doesn’t work well again in the future.

3. Keep the affected area as dry as possible. Minimize use of moisturizers, creams, etc. For folliculitis on the body, applying Gold Bond Powder may help keep area drier â€" this may be particularly good for those living in humid climates.

4. If possible, stop using certain acne medications such as oral and topical antibiotics or topical antibacterial treatments like benzoyl peroxide. Other acne products such as retinoids may not help very much, as there is no clogged pore involved with folliculitis breakouts. If there is a combination of acne and folliculitis, it is probably okay to keep using retinoids, and other products such as salicylic or glycolic acid to treat the acne.

5. Foods to avoid : sugar and yeast containing products (bread, alcohol, etc,), processed/frozen foods, sandwich meat and other processed meats, dairy. Reducing dietary sugar may be very important, as fungus and yeast feed on sugars. According to those who support dietary methods of controlling fungal infections, omitting sugars and yeast helps to starve and kill off the fungus.

6. Also consider adding a probiotic to the diet, especially for those who have taken long courses of antibiotics for acne or other bacterial infections.

7. For body folliculitis, avoid clothing that is rough or that irritates the skin. Cotton clothing and cotton sheets are the best bet.

8. Don’t use fabric softener or harsh detergents on clothing or bedding.

9. Avoid sitting in hottubs/spas or taking really hot baths or showers.

willow, what do you consider to be long term antibiotic treatment? could 5 months of doxycycline (with a week or two break) trigger this?

Also, which anti fungals do you prefer (i know of oregano, coconut oil, apple cider vinegar, grapefruit see exctract), waht else?

[micheniche]

Okay, guys. I also had P. Folliculitis without me even knowing it! All this while, I thought it was ACNE. I discovered it while I was taking pictures of my skin with my camera and at the same time, I was reading some stuff about folliculitis from acne.org. Gosh, those bumps looked awful! Not to mention, they do itch like hell, especially at night.

So, I went to the pharmacist and was prescribed this cream called Travacort, which is a broad spectrum antifungal, antiyeast and anti bacteria cream with 0.1 percent of a type of steroid, which can help with the itching. I used minute amounts of it twice a day on my face (not supposed to put it for more than one week!) and noticed that my folliculitis is diminishing.

However, I do realize that you can't keep using travacort cos it's not really good for patients with acne. Thus, I'm planning to switch to daktarin gold soon.

Hopefully, this helps. Travacort is actually not too bad for those with skin sensitivity.