862 replies to this topic

[xander15]

Hi - new to the board. I was diagnosed with mild rosacea and seb derm about 2 years ago. First derm prescribed ketaconozole ointment at night for the seb derm and Metrogel for the rosacea. He also precribed Desonide lotion to be applied at night only for 2 weeks. I was told it would help the appearance of my skin, but would also cause my skin to thin and take on a transparent appearance. I could also apply the Desonide occasionally if my skin flares for a few days. Was given Oracea (didn't work) and Doxicycline (made me naucious). Tired of this derm and getting no where.

Went to new derm back in December. Her specialty is acne and rosacea. She agreed I had mild rosacea and seb derm. She reviewed with me my current routine and every product I was on (past & present). Very thorough. First thing she did was to patch test me for the redness to see if that was a cause. Ended up being allergic to a few things, especially potassium dichloride (found in make up as chromium oxide green, chromium hydroxide green, etc). This helped eliminate some of my redness by switching make up and skin products. She prescribed Noritate 1% cream for the rosacea. Like it much better than Metrogel. For now, I use the Cetaphil lotion to remove my make up and Cetaphil bar soap to clean my face. Neither product alone would remove my make up. I want to try the Vanicream soap. I think the Cetaphil is a bit drying with my products.

For the seb derm, I was prescribed Zithromax 1/day for 30 days. Cleared it up. I have a script for when it gets really bad. My treatment is simple. Nothing harsh. It's a slow process. Clindamycin lotion/ AM and PM. During the day,I use the Noritate. At night, I apply Akne-mycin 2%. I still have the Ketoconzole cream. Sometimes I try it when skin begins to flare.

Main problem, is when my skin flares, I feel the need to treat the seb derm over the rosacea. Treating the rosacea over the seb derm flare only makes it worse. My derm said one med would aggravate the other during flares. Main rosacea trigger is humidity and big temperature changes. Do not use sunscreen since it makes my skin red. I've tried the natural and chemical suncreens and all are irritating. Make up contain chemical sunscreen causes everything to flare. Sulfur does awful things too.

[dsrfgsertwe]

thing she did was to patch test me for the redness to see if that was a cause. Ended up being allergic to a few things, especially potassium dichloride (found in make up as chromium oxide green, chromium hydroxide green, etc). This helped eliminate some of my redness by switching make up and skin products.

my derm advised me to go to an allergist for a patch test, i didn't know he could do it himself...idc, he cleared up my acne when the four derms i saw before him didn't and i know he's a very busy guy. he really is amazing, waiting in the waiting room consists of raving along with everyone else in there about how much we love him. haha.

now i just gotta stop being lazy and make an allergist appt.

[Deadbeat007]

I used to have seb derm mildly, and I think it's coming back. I have Rosacea already, but lately I've been noticing more redness/splotchiness in my face. My skin is also incredibly oily and it flakes/peels mildly, especially in the t-zone and eyebrows.

My skin's really sensitive, so I'm really hesitant to try ACV or shampoos, and because of my Rosacea, I can't use cortisone creams. I'm not sure how to treat it. :/

[Rydin]

Tazorac used to really help me out with my acne. Downside is it made my skin red and my sd worse. I was prescribed clenia for my rosacea which worked good. But i used to have good skin before using it. after 2 months of clenia i started breaking out which lead me to tazorac.

[halfpipe101]

Hi - new to the board. I was diagnosed with mild rosacea and seb derm about 2 years ago. First derm prescribed ketaconozole ointment at night for the seb derm and Metrogel for the rosacea. He also precribed Desonide lotion to be applied at night only for 2 weeks. I was told it would help the appearance of my skin, but would also cause my skin to thin and take on a transparent appearance. I could also apply the Desonide occasionally if my skin flares for a few days. Was given Oracea (didn't work) and Doxicycline (made me naucious). Tired of this derm and getting no where.

Went to new derm back in December. Her specialty is acne and rosacea. She agreed I had mild rosacea and seb derm. She reviewed with me my current routine and every product I was on (past & present). Very thorough. First thing she did was to patch test me for the redness to see if that was a cause. Ended up being allergic to a few things, especially potassium dichloride (found in make up as chromium oxide green, chromium hydroxide green, etc). This helped eliminate some of my redness by switching make up and skin products. She prescribed Noritate 1% cream for the rosacea. Like it much better than Metrogel. For now, I use the Cetaphil lotion to remove my make up and Cetaphil bar soap to clean my face. Neither product alone would remove my make up. I want to try the Vanicream soap. I think the Cetaphil is a bit drying with my products.

For the seb derm, I was prescribed Zithromax 1/day for 30 days. Cleared it up. I have a script for when it gets really bad. My treatment is simple. Nothing harsh. It's a slow process. Clindamycin lotion/ AM and PM. During the day,I use the Noritate. At night, I apply Akne-mycin 2%. I still have the Ketoconzole cream. Sometimes I try it when skin begins to flare.

Main problem, is when my skin flares, I feel the need to treat the seb derm over the rosacea. Treating the rosacea over the seb derm flare only makes it worse. My derm said one med would aggravate the other during flares. Main rosacea trigger is humidity and big temperature changes. Do not use sunscreen since it makes my skin red. I've tried the natural and chemical suncreens and all are irritating. Make up contain chemical sunscreen causes everything to flare. Sulfur does awful things too.

how does sulfur do awful things? its a known treatment in fighting seb derm..

and how is sunscreen bad? even a sensitive moisturizer with a spf 15....

[xander15]

how does sulfur do awful things? its a known treatment in fighting seb derm..

and how is sunscreen bad? even a sensitive moisturizer with a spf 15....

Whenever I have used a sulfur based cleanser or topical, my face breaks out in an rash.

SPH is another story. I still haven't found something which will work with my skin. My derm said I could do be tested for all the natural and chemical sunscreen ingredients to find out what I'm allergic too, but it most likely wouldn't be covered by insurance. If I didn't have insurance, my patch test would have been $600!! Can't afford it. Lets see...I've tried the Neutrogena with Helioplex and it really aggravated my rosacea. Neutrogena Sensitive Skin 60 spf ...it's great for everywhere except my face. Made my face super oily plus my t-zone broke out. Purpose Dual Treatment moisture Lotion spf 15 felt like paint on my face, aggravate my rosacea and seb derm. Aveeno ultra-Calming Daily moisturizer spf 15 was just awful. It's ok when you put it on, but made my skin super greasy within 30 minutes plus the "visibly reduce redness" on the label lasted until the face became oily. The Laura Mercier counter gave me 2 samples of their products to try: Flawless Skin Oil-Free Day Lotion spf 15 made my rosacea super red plus had red bumps and Tinted Moisturizer spf 20 makes my rosacea a horrible bright red along with red bumps. Tried Paula's Choice spf products for both oily and dry skin. It was great she offers sample sizes to purchase. Ended up with a red, oily face and irritation.

So, all my make up doesn't contain spf. Always reading up on stuff, but very reluctant to try new things. It takes up to a month to clear things up so I would be able to try something new. Suggestions? I'm thinking about trying the Vanicream spf stuff. I like their moisturizer.

[Sting36e]

EDIT

Edited by Sting36e, 21 March 2011 - 12:45 PM.

[REB]

I have this, i was given desonide. Desonide is what caused me to break out again enough that im now on my 2nd round of acutane. (This is 1 year after the first time)

Be careful.

Acutane seems to be helping this though. Strange

[ceci2468]

I was diagnosed with sebopsoriasis on my scalp a year ago, which my derm said is a combo of psoriasis and seborraic dermatitis. It really sucks. Some days my scalp is clear, other days it's like an avalanche of dandruff or whatever the stuff is. I also get it around my nose and behind and inside my ears.

He gives me this foam, called Olux, which helps sometimes, and gives me laser treatments. Doesn't seem like they do anything.

I have seborrheic dermatitis also. It's on my scalp, face, in my nose and ears. I love sulfur for this. I use Dr. Joesoef's 10% sulfur soap and it works miracles. It's also great for acne (face and body). I've tried prescription medicines and OTC shampoos but nothing works better than this sulfur. You can google their website. It's not expensive and the bar of soap lasts a pretty long time.

Also, try to stay away from shampoos with sulfates because they can aggravate the condition. Try more natural products. Tea tree oil also helps calm down the itch.

[REB]

If i have this disease and its caused by oil buildup would it be bad if i used cetaphil because of my acutane?

[Jazzygirl205]

I was diagnosed with sebopsoriasis on my scalp a year ago, which my derm said is a combo of psoriasis and seborraic dermatitis. It really sucks. Some days my scalp is clear, other days it's like an avalanche of dandruff or whatever the stuff is. I also get it around my nose and behind and inside my ears.

He gives me this foam, called Olux, which helps sometimes, and gives me laser treatments. Doesn't seem like they do anything.

Same for me and it's making me paranoid, but I've had this since I was younger. And I tried anti-breakouts face washes and oil moisturizers and things but non of it works. I feel there's no use to seeing a dermo if people are saying some of the stuff really only works for a short time.

I don't know what to do because now I think I have eczema on my arms ugh, and I'e got paranoid for some reasons and started using gensing oil on my arms that was stupid because I found out gensing oil naturally lightens the skin and that's not what I want being a dark skinned person, I'm just so sad...

[liverpoolred]

Hey,
Im 22, i've had Seb Derm for about 4 years now, its on my forehead, nose, cheeks, side of face, back, scalp. I've always been image consicious and when this started to appear after I had finally got rid of my acne I was not best pleased - who can blame me from wanting to look my best! I am from the UK, and from the sounds of things a lot of the people writing on this board are from the USA - which I think makes a big difference as I will explain later. I didn't really know what I had wrong with me at first and the doctors were pretty useless, they would give me all sorts of different creams, steroids, antifungals etc etc (nizoral, hydrocortizone, Canisten + a whole load of other stuff I can't remember the name of). I think they thought I was dumb and hence they didn't actually give me a proper name, they would always give me some kind of explanation but never actually pin point a name for me. I went to America to stay with my girlfriend, and I had a really bad flair up - the worst ive had, I dont know if it was the sun or a different type of water or something, but it became a lot worse. My face was bright red and my head was intensly itchy that I shaved all of my hair off and used a straight razor on my scalp (it was THAT bad). I was pretty horrified to see little red blobs all over the top of my head. My girlfriend was kind enougth to pay for me to go and see an American Doctor. Now this woman KNEW what she was talking about, she said "you have 'Seb Derm' and I am going to refer you to a dermatologist"(the first time I had heard a name for what I have all over my scalp and face). Unfortunately I had to return to jolly old England. Well the doctors here welcomed me with their usual defeatist attitude - "theres no point seeing a dermatologist like the American GP stated because there really isnt anything they can do". So I was stuck with another steroid. Anyway, now im going solo and I really rely on these type of message boards. SO THANKYOU to everyone who writes on them. It really is a united struggle that us Seb Derm sufferers have got to overcome.

Sorry if I have ranted on, here is what I have discovered:
Nizorol shampoo can work at first, but after a few years of use tends to do nothing.
Nizorol cream is pretty much the same as the shampoo.
Creams containing a steroid such as Hydrochortizone should be used sparingly and in my opinion if you havn't used them before don't start!
Betnovate Scalp application may appear to be doing wonders, but once the itchy and redness has
died down, the condition comes back ten times worse- AVOID!
A course of 5 antifungal tablets make my skin look like a babies - its perfect, not a spot, but a week later - BAM Seb Derm is back. I think a constant course of these would disrupt the 'good' fungus in my body so thats out of the question.
Mild moistorisers with a waterbase are the only real relief I find - Cetraben Emolient

Unfortunately I don't think there is a 'cure' for this but I believe it has to be controlled. We all have immunodeficiancy diorders and it looks to be a hereditary complaint. I think different people find different techniques work for them that other would find may make their complaint worse, although I do think everything is worth a try. I don't know about all of you, but I can never truely enjoy ANYTHING in life knowing that I have a bright red itchy dry face.... or maybe im being dramatic...

oh and on another note has anyone tried this: Clarisonic skin cleaning system.

Im thinking about buying one, but I dunno if im just being desparate.

[dsrfgsertwe]

Acutane seems to be helping this though. Strange

i read somewhere that, similar to how it's used for acne, accutane is also kind of a last-ditch attempt to get rid of SD...it slows your oil production and then the fungus doesn't have anything to feed on

[Gearhead]

Hi all, just wanted to share what has worked for me.

I've been cleansing with DERMAdoctor Born to be Mild. It has 2% Zinc pyrithone in it, which is supposed to kill seb derm fungus. I use it once a day, at night. It has reduced flaking quite a bit and as long as my dead skin levels are down, my skin ends up being very smooth and healthy looking. I also moisturize with Cetaphil Lotion, just because it's really the only thing I've found to reduce flakes substantially without drying me out in the long run. I just use a very small amount. I then follow up with straight up Extra Virgin Olive Oil to control flakes even more, help heal old marks and even skin tone.

So far it's been great. Flaking, tightness, redness and dryness are basically gone. Only a few flakes here and there but I've only strictly been using the cleanser for about a week.

Cleanser can be gotten here.

http://www.dermadoct...anser_1527.html


There's a chance I'll flare up again since this is a chronic condition but this definitely controls it. Other factors for me are stress and diet. If I can maintain these 2 things, I also see improvement but mainly I need to get the dead skin layer off so my products can actually absorb properly. I think many people continue to use products on top of the dead skin layer and that just makes things worse. The product doesn't absorb, sits on the surface and leaves film, making skin tone look awful. I did that for a while. Getting that layer off in any way possible(even manual exfoliation with cloth, fingers/fingernails) helps a ton, just try to be gentle.

This is what has worked for me, so far.

[ceci2468]

Hi all, just wanted to share what has worked for me.

I've been cleansing with DERMAdoctor Born to be Mild. It has 2% Zinc pyrithone in it, which is supposed to kill seb derm fungus. I use it once a day, at night. It has reduced flaking quite a bit and as long as my dead skin levels are down, my skin ends up being very smooth and healthy looking. I also moisturize with Cetaphil Lotion, just because it's really the only thing I've found to reduce flakes substantially without drying me out in the long run. I just use a very small amount. I then follow up with straight up Extra Virgin Olive Oil to control flakes even more, help heal old marks and even skin tone.

So far it's been great. Flaking, tightness, redness and dryness are basically gone. Only a few flakes here and there but I've only strictly been using the cleanser for about a week.

Cleanser can be gotten here.

http://www.dermadoct...anser_1527.html


There's a chance I'll flare up again since this is a chronic condition but this definitely controls it. Other factors for me are stress and diet. If I can maintain these 2 things, I also see improvement but mainly I need to get the dead skin layer off so my products can actually absorb properly. I think many people continue to use products on top of the dead skin layer and that just makes things worse. The product doesn't absorb, sits on the surface and leaves film, making skin tone look awful. I did that for a while. Getting that layer off in any way possible(even manual exfoliation with cloth, fingers/fingernails) helps a ton, just try to be gentle.

This is what has worked for me, so far.

This contains sulfates which could aggravate the problem further.

[arturX]

I see a lot of people are putting oil on their skin. That won't help at all but will only hinder the recovery. Dandruff and SD sufferers have a certain condition. Their skin reacts badly to oleic acid which is a byproduct of yeast living naturally on the skin. Bad reaction to oleic acid is a genetic trait of your skin.

All natural oils contain oleic acid, sometimes in higher concentrations than what the yeast could possibly produce. This will worsen the condition. Not only that, but the oil could feed the yeast as well since they're lipid dependant. I would just resort to water on affected places to allow the skin to return to a state of balance. It will eventually fight the condition off on its own.

And stay away from steroid creams or stuff that irritates sebaceous glands.

[REB]

Does this ever go away?

[dsrfgsertwe]

Does this ever go away?

not really. it can go into remission for years though. sometimes after suffering for years it just finally goes away on its own

[Gearhead]

Hi all, just wanted to share what has worked for me.

I've been cleansing with DERMAdoctor Born to be Mild. It has 2% Zinc pyrithone in it, which is supposed to kill seb derm fungus. I use it once a day, at night. It has reduced flaking quite a bit and as long as my dead skin levels are down, my skin ends up being very smooth and healthy looking. I also moisturize with Cetaphil Lotion, just because it's really the only thing I've found to reduce flakes substantially without drying me out in the long run. I just use a very small amount. I then follow up with straight up Extra Virgin Olive Oil to control flakes even more, help heal old marks and even skin tone.

So far it's been great. Flaking, tightness, redness and dryness are basically gone. Only a few flakes here and there but I've only strictly been using the cleanser for about a week.

Cleanser can be gotten here.

http://www.dermadoct...anser_1527.html


There's a chance I'll flare up again since this is a chronic condition but this definitely controls it. Other factors for me are stress and diet. If I can maintain these 2 things, I also see improvement but mainly I need to get the dead skin layer off so my products can actually absorb properly. I think many people continue to use products on top of the dead skin layer and that just makes things worse. The product doesn't absorb, sits on the surface and leaves film, making skin tone look awful. I did that for a while. Getting that layer off in any way possible(even manual exfoliation with cloth, fingers/fingernails) helps a ton, just try to be gentle.

This is what has worked for me, so far.

This contains sulfates which could aggravate the problem further.

It's actually very gentle and pH balanced which is important. The main thing is that you don't continue using it month after month. Using it for a week at a time then taking a break and only using it if a flare up comes will not aggravate the problem. It hasn't had ANY irritation on me at all. Another thing with SD is that you need a fairly thorough cleanser to get the job done. Read up on it, you need a strong cleanser to be able to really fend off the bacteria properly. Sodium Laureth can certainly irritate skin in the long run but short term, it's actually a very effective cleansing agent and "delivery system" which allows the active Zinc ingredient to penetrate better.

The fact that this is the only thing that has ever given me relief from my SD/Eczema means something. I've tried more than most people, with little to no results and now my flaking is almost fully gone.

[366490]

Since it cant be cured. Are there any great ways to cover up the redness?