3 replies to this topic

[Loadsy]

Alrighty well I can't remember the last time I ever posted on this website but I have returned from the dead...well not really but if I am posting on here that means of course another problem has occurred. In early 2011 I was diagnosed with perioral dermatitis. I have been trying to deal with it for the better part of this year now and since I am posting on here it means I haven't quite found the right cure yet.

I'll take you back though to what I have been dealing with this past year. Basically the areas of concern are the corners of my mouth underneath my lips. I'm not sure exactly what caused it in the first place but I think I have a better idea now (more on that later). But it has never spread to any other areas of the face which I am thankful for after reading other horrific tales on various websites online.That being said, I want it gone for good because it has put a damper on my spirits at times especially dealing with it day after day.

When I was first diagnosed by my doctor in what I am guessing was probably March of this year, he prescribed me steroid creams to treat the corners and seemed optimistic it would work. Haha sorry doc, but that only made the situation worse after awhile and the flare up was very red/pinkish in those areas afterwards. Then I proceeded to go through a two month Minocycline battle. I felt like it made some progress but never really cleared it up. From there we went to Protopic and taking Biaxin (Clarithromycin) daily during the summer months and actually up until this Thursday. I felt like that was the best so far and from where it was in March in comparison to where it is now is like night and day (significantly less bumps). However, it still has not eliminated the corners completely in terms of the actual rash portion. Some weeks it can look amazing, then the next I'm almost in tears that it gets somewhat worse again.

Anyways flash forward to this Thursday. I had an appointment set up for me with a specialist/dermatologist by my doctor. The dermatologist took one look at it and immediately prescribed me Clindoxyl Gel (a combintion of Clindamycin and Benzoyl Peroxide) to use at night. He seemed to believe that it was significantly better than Protopic. But I have been using it for about 3 nights now in a row and when I wake up in the morning and wash it off, it is extremely red afterwards. I'm not sure if that is supposed to happen or maybe I'm just unlucky but I'm almost reluctant to continue using it. I felt like I was making progress with Protopic....even though it was extremely slow but it would at least take down some of the redness and not make it worse the next morning.

There is one aspect of my story I haven't shared and that is what I end up doing when I go out in public. I hate when others look at my rash and immediately give me weird looks/stares so I started using a concealer/foundation from Clinique to sort of "hide" what is there during the last few months and it works pretty damn good actually haha. I don't think my friends would even know the difference. However, after reading more about perioral dermatitis on websites, I've noticed that certain creams, foundations, and other cosmetics can actually make the condition worse. So I decided to shelve the foundation for the next month and see what happens. I realize as a male with this condition, I am in the minority, and it seems weird to be using a foundation in the first place but it was only that area I would "hide" because I had gotten frustrated.

At this point, I'll continue to keep going with this new "treatment" of Clindoxyl Gel but I thought I would ask about other's experiences with perioral dermatitis. When googling it, you can certainly find a tremendous amount of websites dedicated to it and people discussing their experiences. My heart goes out to them because it has certainly been a bitch this past year for me. I was hoping to go into 2012 with this thing beat haha. I apologize for the long read but I hope someone has some tips or suggestions at this point. I'd love to know that this is curable.

[Theac]

I had this for a few months a couple of years ago. My dermatologist said to use Daktarin cream (Miconazole Nitrate), as she said it could have a fungal basis. Anyway - it cleared up with 5 days of using it - could have been coincidence maybe. I just bought it over the counter (I'm in the UK).

Hope that helps and good luck!

[Loadsy]

Haha thank you for the help! I feel like it's something as easy as that too. I've even heard from my original doctor I went to see that it may be fungal based, but he decided that minocycline would be the more appropriate choice and then I began reading threads online about perioral dermatitis and it seemed to match most of my symptoms. In any case, I've set up another appointment for December here. I'm sure I'll get to the bottom of it yet haha.

[Petey352]

This seems like a perfect time for this thread for me as I have something similar. Except it is in the upper lip and corners of my nose. I went to one doctor who said i had rosacea. He may be right, but what is weird to me is that this only started to occur when I grew a moustache for 6 or so months and then spread to the sides of my nose. I started noticing some flaking, and then full blown irritation/redness occured. I shaved it off, which immediately helped the issue, but I still have this redness and it burns constantly a month later. So while I am open to the idea of it being rosacea, I am still a little skeptical. His prescription rosacea cream really did nothing at all. In fact the only thing so far I have found that sooths it is an aftershave lotion heh. I don't think it is a shaving rash as shaving actually helps it. The idea that it might be fungal is a good one, I might even try some otc product for it.

Anyway sorry to slightly derail, hope it clears up for you!

Edited by Petey352, 23 November 2011 - 03:34 PM.