8 replies to this topic

[disfaced]

Hey everyone - I've read through this forum over the past few weeks before posting. Man, it seems everyone is going through something. I am in a helpless disaster too... I'm at a loss trying to figure out what the heck to do - I have spent so much $$$$, ridiculous. This has been an ongoing chronic condition that seems to have picked up its course. I am not sure if this is some barrier function disruption or if this is some crazy delayed contact dermatitis. Please read this if you have time and can offer some thoughts.

Will describe in short points to hopefully make this easier.

I hope that somebody might have some experience on this because I have been to 2 dermatologists regarding this and they have left me with nothing but $500 of office visits, a prescription for Renova, Desonide and a Clindamycin lotion - all which failed. I ended up buying one of their Glytone Barrier products too... wasted $150 on that too. One wanted to do a punch-biopsy but that would have cost me $300 with my insurance not covering it fully - that was when I was like crap... I declined the offer and here I am.

- 33 years old male - asian, fair skin, sensitive, oily-combination skin, acne prone, (what more could I ask for!?) diet is good avoiding refined grained/sugars... limited dairy. exercise ~3xweek, ~3-4Lites water/day

- severe childhood acne, grew out of it for the most part...

- fast forward to now, probably ~10-15 random whiteheads monthly

- over past year : I get these randomly located red areas that seem to be patchy/rashy (perhaps slightly raised but not itchy***)\

- I can wake up in the morning, brush my teeth - heat breakfast, go back to bathroom and wham - a single red area (perhaps no larger than a quarter) would be on my forehead... sometimes it would be on my cheek, or chin, or temple, or by my sideburns - honestly any place on my freakin' face.

- Some mornings nothing happens, but then at some point during the day - the same thing happens.

- I can go by a few days and nothing will happen,

- Sometimes I am just sitting by the computer and then it happens.

- It doesn't seem rosacea-like (with a diffuse area on cheeks bilaterally or on the nose) but these areas have definitely happened. - again 1 quarter-like spot at a time.

- These don't itch. They don't multiply like a bad reaction but only thing that reduces the redness when I see it is applying a benadryl or diphenhydramine cream OTC over it and within the hour, this subsides.

- What happens next, is that this area of redness turns into a small whitehead - that unplugs the next day after washing my face. And then it is gone. No post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation or remnants of it happening.

- I thought for the longest time that this is some cholinergic reaction - but looking at cholinergic urticaria - the pictures are not like that for me.

- This happens pretty consistent and I have travellled to many cities thinking it was my living quarters which was causing it. Nope - east coast, south and west - Same damn thing would happen.

OTC stuff I have tried : This is over the course of the 2 years and so much cash wasted : I will try and recall my list :

I have tried oil-free, oil-rich - non aqueous products - brands like olay (spf 15 oil-free sensitive, regenerist line) neutrogena (men's line/ liquid spf/3in1 acne stress/2.5 BP), aveeno, cetaphil (gentle cleanser, macademia nut lotion, gentle bar,antibacterial bar) cerave (both cleansers, heavy cream, AM/PM lotion), glytone ($$$ from derm) dermalogica ( barrier repair line $$$), menscience ($$$),persa gel 10, Paula Begoun BHA ($$$), witch hazel dickinsons, coconut oil, jojoba oil and spf mineral sublocks (micronized), vaseline (pure), soaps : dove soap (regular and original). cetaphil (both gentle and antibacterial), irish spring, coast. I've tried the oil cleansing method and even used some OIL cleansers from sephora. nivea (blue tin original, men's protective SPF), cocao butter lotion, La Roche Posay (toleraine line $$$$, and their meroxyl SPF), Thayers alcohol free witch hazel -

I tried the aveeno intense relieve cream in the jar last night in hopelessness, and within minutes - my face wash red in patches all over. I immediately tried rinising with cetaphil gentle cleanser and applied a ton of vaseline and went to bed. The redness was gone in the AM when I woke up. Then tried rinsing again with cetaphil, showered, put vaseline over - blotted with a towel and then put some of the neutrogena sunscreen liquid over it - a few hours later, I get a similar thing on my lower mid-jawline to cheek.

Geez, when you look at this list, I know it's pretty embarrassing and pathetic!

All of the above + prescription stuff (Renova/Clindamyic lotion/Desonide steroid topical) - I didn't mix the prescription stuff during that time. I would just wash my face with water, apply a sunscreen in the AM and glytone and one of the prescriptions - tried that for 3 months with same reactions)


Worst reactions ever are : from neutrogena's men spf 30 and aveno's positively radiant spf 30 - minutes after applying and on 2 separate occasion - diffuse contact dermatitis.


Thought this might be a "clogged pore" thing issue -

So I tried BHA's/AHAs - I read through Paula Begouns beutypedia and tried one of their BHAs. Tried the witch hazel stuff - burned the crap out of some of my past breakouts). I've tried manually exfoliating, warm and hot showers and even cold. I know hot wasn't the best but I was going crazy... The BHA's did not help and neither did trying to put 10% BP persa gel on my face for a few days)

This has been seriously impacting my work and surroundings as you could imagine.

I am thinking I have done so much disruption that it will probably take weeks of repair.

Things I haven't done :

Wash face with shower water only (no washcloth or cleanser or soap) and putting nothing on my face for both AM and PM.

I am so paranoid with the sun that I don't think there was ever a day where I have not put some kind of SPF on my face.

I have tried for SPF AM : - I have had similar reactions as above to each of these
(the worst ones which I have never tried after 2x use was a neutrogena 30spf of some type, neutrogena mens spf 30 and aveeno positively radiant spf 30)

Neutrogena SPF 55 liquid (chemical, oil-free, fragranced)
Neutrogena SPF 50 liquid (mineral, oil-free fragrance free)
Neutrogena Sheer Touch SPF 30
Mychelle Sunshield 28 (has some oil, F-free, mineral micronized)
Blue Lizard Baby/Sensitive
Cerave AM SPF
Nivea Mens Protective Lotion SPF 15


Now I have also visited the dermtv (dr. shultz) youtube videos and read a book by another derm by the name of Dr. Ellen Marmur (simple skin beauty for women, I know I picked it up anyway) - both of them said - oily skin doesn't need a moisturizer. In her book, I don't think for the last 15 years that that has ever happened... I read the exact opposite on message boards and websites. Trying to go through paula's beautypedia gave me a headache...


Still haven't tried aquaphor on my face (yes, I might as well have picked up that too) - I happen to also have purchased a proactive 2.5% micronized which I have not yet tried and I am so lost on a sunscreen or sunblock.
Supplements to try and have considered : Vitamin A / C / E, fish-oil / Vitamin D3, Biotin - B5

Well, speaking of headaches - I have one now from writing all this down. Kudos and thanks to anyone who managed to get this far and has some input.

Edited by disfaced, 07 November 2011 - 06:39 PM.

[venusiscursed]

Oh my god, this is terrible! And I was feeling bad for not being able to afford a dermatologist. Sigh... what can we do with this horrible acne and when will it end? I just joined today, by the way, feeling just as desperate.

[disfaced]

Any suggestions? I know it was a super long and confusing post...

[disfaced]

Hey everyone - I am still going through this - I think it's the worst it has been for the last few weeks. I am bumping this anyways since it's been over 3 months... any ideas? Please read on below to get a shorter version of the above and to re-cap -

I can't believe that this could be some crazy contact dermatitis - usually defined as some product or irritant - but the damn problem is - everything seems to be doing this all of a sudden. This month has been the worst in my life ever.

I am still reacting with every product I have tried, natural/organic - oil and oil-free / fragrance and fragrance-free ... tried cleansing with just water, cetaphil gentle, dove sensitive - same situation. Products meant for face, ones labeled for body - tried looking for non-comedogenic / hypoallergenic / fragrance free stuff - but the same record is going on.

At the present moment and frustration - I ended up pulling out :

2% clearsil oil-free wash / dickinson's witch hazel toner / neutrogena stress free 2% salicylic acid / neutrogena oil-free combination skin moisturizer / neutrogena pure free spf 50 sublock (zinc / titanium dioxide)

These random hives turn into little whiteheads - but the area before the whitehead appears is red/patchy like 1/2 a quarter size (not always round - most of the time - it's just this odd shaped red area) with a tiny pinpoint bump - later by next day that tiny bump has a comedone - usually by the following day the comedone goes away - I don't get any scarring from it (I think this is from the sunscreen)

I could just be sitting by the tv or computer - and not feel a thing, go to bathroom to take a leak - and there's this red area (not itchy) above my eyebrow, or the side of my nose, or lower cheek or middle chin - totally random! Ugh. Thanks for letting me vent - it's been a while since I wrote about this.



Thank you!

Edited by disfaced, 11 February 2012 - 10:28 AM.

[Luisa]

I sometimes get this too, but they rarely turn into whiteheads, they disappear in a matter of a couple hours by themselves without me doing anything about it. This basically happens to me only during winter, I don't know what it is but may be try a couple of days not using any sunscreen and just leaving alone, may be they won't turn into whiteheads that way.

I think they are stress related or may be not stress but driven by some emotional state, I don't really get very stressed so I supposed may be triggered by a different emotional state like nervousness. I think the more you worry about it the more that they would increase. I don't think is triggered by food because as you they are very random, I have tried to track down if there was a link between the food I eat and these spots but couldn't find any.

[Luisa]

Oh I forgot to mention this but after reading some more during the past weekend I have decided to try the honey oatmeal mask mentioned here, it's home made, I happened to have the pyridoxine pills so I just crushed them.

http://www.drlera.co...s.htm#Oily Skin

I just put it on like an hour ago, so far no bad reaction, time will tell, I will give it a month to see if I get any results. What is making me try this is that it has vitamin b6 in it. May be I'm getting an obsession with this lol, but topical pyridoxine has been mentioned to be good on some types of dermatitis and improving moisture on the skin, it's not very common to find it but I will give it a shot any ways because it might improve the barrier of my skin hence perhaps decreasing these random patches.

[HapaMommy]

Hi, it sounds like you might be going through a few things. I have several skin conditions: eczema (contact dermatitis sometimes accompanied with hives), mild acne, sebhorrhic dermatitis, and pityrosporum follicultis (only in the last year). It seems all of my conditions wax and wane depending on the time of year, hormonal changes, humidity etc. But it is a delicate balance. The red patches sound like it could be eczema and/or even folliculitis. My folliculitis is fungal but they sometimes turn into weird whiteheads than are sometimes huge and wen they do come out the pore takes weeks to heal. Even in areas without folliculitis I get eczema patches. It sounds like if you do have folliculitis it is bacterial and not fungal because it doesn't itch but most likely you might just have eczema. Treating eczema is an ongoing process.

I live in the dry Colorado climate and unlike when I was living in California I have to use Cetaphil moisturizing cream all over immediately after I get out of the shower. In California, I only applied the cream to the areas of concern. I also wash with a mild unmedicated cleanser (Cetaphil daily cleanser - not for the face). For patches I use triamcimolone mixed with Cetaphil moisturizing cream but only for a few days twice a day and then switch to a non-steroidial cream called Epiceram. This seems to keep the dryness at bay and the patches heal after a few days. Your doing an excellent job using zinc based sunscreen. It definitely helps. But I would avoid all medicated cleansers or anything with salicylic acids because the skin is irritated and it doesn't help get rid of the patches any quicker if it is eczema. Once I see improvements I use the Epiceram as a spot treatment Unfortunately, both these creams are by prescription only but I'm just mentioning them because I've been fighting eczema for 14 years and have managed to keep it under control. Let me know if you have any questions. And good luck!

[cvd]

Wow --- this is interesting...a puzzle! I'm wondering if your skin has become ultra-sensitized to sunscreens and/or one of the common ingredients used in mainstream cosmetics. Getting a whitehead after having a red patch is not unusual for allergic reactions. It's like you are getting a kind of hives. It suddenly comes on and then goes away after a day.

Here's an idea. Stop everything. Keep a daily journal of what you eat and put on your skin --- can be very enlightening!

You won't die if you avoid sunscreen...man lived for eons without it. Just avoid it for a month or so and let your skin rest.

Only wash with an ultra gentle cleanser. I'm currently trying MyChelle Honeydew Unscented Cleanser. Cetaphil is good. But natural would be better. Talk to someone at your health food store for ideas.

Try MyChelle Sun Shield. It is totally natural and very soothing. I usually can't use any kind of sunscreen because I flare up like you do. But this one seems soothing.

When washing only use your fingertips and only wash gently for a count of "3" and rinse with lukewarm water. The idea is to avoid irritation!

[disfaced]

Hey everyone - thanks so much for replying back with your thoughts, opinions and suggestions I really appreciate it.

I'm still undergoing this situation and am beyond baffled. I've tried scanning through images of the different types of folliculitis - and it's definitely not in that pattern or "whitehead" severity - those look painful!

I realize that this is so hard to describe - the only things I can reiterate are that they appear randomly in a single irregular pattern/episode... not your "wheal and flare" type, although the central area kind of raises up like a pimple - it seems like the pore gets bigger (in the sense of it being blocked)... hours later or by the next day... that pore is filled by a small whitehead... which in turn, goes away by the next day (presumably) by just washing with water or whatever cleanser/soap (be it gentle or medicated) in the past.

I've looked at these barrier repair creams - e.g. the OTC equivalent to "EpiCeram"... and purchased the Cerave Gentle Hydrating Cleanser and their "Tub version" of the Cerave Moisturizing Cream... (similar to the cetaphil cream in the tub) - for like $15 (not cheap).

Unfortunately - as this story goes... I was hoping that this might alleviate these reactions... After washing my face in tepid/lukewarm water (I didn't shower the past day to try just the face) with the Hydrating Cleanser Cerave... patted my face, leaving it lightly damp and then immediately applying a nice "dollop" of Cerave Cream - it absorbed instantly... but then within minutes... I had the same skin reaction/patch right above my eyebrows

It's the same vicious cycle over and over... and I can't imagine how even the gentlest products are not allowing my skin to flex with it.

I've haven't tried the topical "Pyridoxine"/B6 - However, I do see these sold in supplement form.

I tried in the past to just use even 100% Vaseline (petroleum jelly) and still got these issues - ugh.

Interesting to point out - that the only two chemical free sunscreens I have includes the "Mychelle Sunshield Spf 28 Unscented" and the Neutrogena Pure & Free SPF 50. I've even tried using these two alone without anything else - but I'd still get some reaction like above at some random point in the day/evening.

The only "soap" I have is either Dove Unscented and Cetaphil Bar - both which I have tried on the face before, but dropped and now just use it exclusively for the "private parts" when showering.

I mean if the Cerave Cream is causing the same thing - this is crazy. I was considering on trying some H1/H2 (antihistamine and proton pump blockers) - the ones that are non-sedating and have no effect on the p450/liver (as is the case for diphenhydramine-benadryl or cimetidine, respectively).

One of my derms said the combining a H1 & H2 blocker "may help" with reducing histamine and improving barrier function of the skin - I did come around some articles regarding this... but if this is the case, for the H1's - there's loratadine/claritin or certrazine/zyrtec (slightly sedating) and for the H2's - famotidine (pepcid) or ranotidine(zantac) - need to watch B12 levels with zantac though.

I don't think I have ever "not" used something to wash/cleanse - meaning just running face and washing body/hair in only water. I think the longest I tried that was maybe 1 or 2 days, but I can't recall the outcome. I am sure I still had some reaction which is why I didn't continue with it.

Yes, this is some seriously messed up vicious cycle - and I feel just the stress of thinking about it, warrants an added affect on exacerbating this. Things were fine like a over a year ago... but it's definitely taken a toll on my psyche.
I can't pinpoint this to any foods - I usually eat fairly clean... and generally stay away from grains/dairy - Kind of follow a "paleo" and "vegan" diet, depending on my mood and food choices and picks from the week. Otherwise, lifestyle-wise in terms of supplements : I take a multivitamin, fish oil (liquid), vitamin C, Zinc, Magnesium, Vitamin D3 and a B-Complex. Will need to consider the "B6" supplement - rather will need to read up on this first. I was also considering adding Vitamin A (low dose, but I'm a bit skeptical with the liver toxicity - even at 25,000 IU) I generally drink close to 1 gallon water/h2o - and don't drink any sugary drinks really... occasional diet coke and I do like my coffee (black) a few times a day.
Lastly, the only other thing I do - is change my pillowcases nightly - a hassle, but I do this anyways.

So what do y'all think? Just stop everything for a week (washes/creams)... even the sunscreen eh? Just water? Haha!!

Edited by disfaced, 15 February 2012 - 01:11 AM.