53 replies to this topic

[micsin]

I also started using Head and Shoulders all over, and drinking apple cider vinegar diluted with water daily AND spritzing it on my back and shoulders after the shower. No clue if that's helping or if the ketaconazole is finally catching up?? Also showering twice a day.

Planning to try baking soda scrubs on my back and tea tree oil next.

[niehaoma]

@belerak,

I hope the H&S works out for. Like me, it worked at first (Nizoral worked best), but after a few months it stopped working. When I first used it, it was awesome. It cleared my forehead, which I hadnt been able to do in about 1 year. Unfortunately, it stopped working. I alternated between H&S, Nizoral, even tried 2% Ketoconazole, but no dice anymore. Good luck.

[2jz.SupraMexico]

I think i have Pityrosporum Folliculitis, because my skin looks like this, exactly, and i been thinkin h ave acne, but im embrass to see a doctor or a derm


http://www.aocd.org/...orum_folli.html

[ethio84]

Hi guys,

Thought I would share my story.

Junior year college after returning from vacation abroad, I suddenly got what appeared to be acne for the first time in my life. I also noticed a change in my skin generally, which was now very red and dry after showering. My doctor told me it was acne and recommended using the typical cleaners. Of, course this didn't work and probably made it worse.

After months of frustration, I tried washing my face with bottled water, and surprisingly, it seemed to help. Encouraged, I starting researching what was in my tap water, and found to my horror that the onset of my symptoms matched the exact date of when my cities (San Francisco) water authority switched disinfectants from chlorine to chloramine (a combination of chlorine + ammonia). By this time, the "acne" was pretty bad on my forehead and cheeks and the bottle water only helped a little and was very impractical to begin with.

After moving to NYC (which doesnt use chloramine, hooray!) I noticed that my skin was feeling like its old self again, but I still get bumps and irritation in the areas it was the worst (forehead and cheeks). After seven years of battling this but not completely winning, I was on the verge of breaking down due to the stress it caused on my relationships.

Surfing the web for answers, I stumbled upon this thread a month ago. The symptoms that people described sounded very similar to mine, so I decided to try some of their suggestions. I tried the ZNP bar and tea tree cleanser, and it seems to be working. I started about a month ago, and since them my face is about 70% clear. I have never been diagnosed with PF but I am almost positive this is what I had for all of these years and NOT ACNE (grrrrrrr). Has anyone herd of PF being caused by chloramine? From my research I have not found anything but am 100% positive this is what started the PF for me.

Right now I am happy with the ZNP and tea tree results so far. But I am afraid that the PF will become resistant. I am so sick of dealing with this and just what my life back. I am thinking about trying and oral anti-fungal but dread having to go to the doctors to get a prescription Is it really worth the side effects since from what I read the PF tends to come back after you stop?. However, since Ive had PF for so long (since 2004 ughhh), I am thinking that the yeast is so deep in the follicles that I may need to treat the blood borne causes to get to the root of the problem. Any stories about oral meds would be very much appreciated.

Stay strong guys, a solution is out there

Edited by ethio84, 21 October 2011 - 08:36 AM.

[Max-]

http://archpedi.ama-...nt/159/1/64.pdf

[Meadowlark]

How are you doing now, Niehaoma? This is a fantastic thread -- thanks very much for starting it. I have the bumps now, and am trying to use my own brains to cure them, as there seems to be a deficit of intellectual curiosity in the field of dermatology.

[Mike's Mom]

My pityrosporum started about ten days after a round of Z-Pack antibiotics for an ear infection. My skin has been smooth and clear for years so the tiny bumps that started appearing on my skin seemed strange at first then, they took over. I was covered, face, neck, chest, trunk with thousands of bumps. I went through 7 doctors, (if I remember correctly) with three of them being specialists. The treatments they tried just exacerbated the situation. Steriods make yeast worsen and antibiotics, in most cases, are the culprit. Finally, after months of suffering and embarrassment, (I was treated twice for scabies!!!), my friend, a Physicians Assistant, scraped my skin and put it under a microscope to find...budding yeast. My doc put me on a 7 day round of oral antifungal, Fluconasole, a total of 1,500 milligrams. I only made it 5 and got very sick. He also prescribed Extina (ketoconazole) foam. The rash began clearing. I used Extina for months, though. Brown pigment scars remained for almost 9 months before clearing. I use the sulfur wash, Sodium Sulfacetamide 10% and Sulfur 5% occasionally, even now and do not use antibacterial products on my body, only goat's milk soap. I let the sulfur wash sit for 3 minutes on dampened skin before showering. Works great! I also use a product called Aczone for chest and back breakouts now and then. My skin is smooth again!!!!! I avoid antibiotics like the plague!!!!! Our bodies have a natural balance and they mess everything up. When they diagnosed yeast, I began a Candida cleanse diet. No sugar, not even fruit. That probably helped. Now, I eat Greek yogurt sweetened with Stevia now and then to keep my tummy balanced as well. If it is yeast, steroids and antibiotics are just exacerbating the problem. Hope this helps somebody.

[RoseAnatone]

Hey Nieheoma,
Thanks for sharing the information.
I would like to suggest a site which can be helpful to them who are suffering from Pityrosporum Folliculitis.
http://www.laser-acne-scarremoval.com/

Thanks again.

[briancl]

Hey everyone. I am pretty sure I have this same skin condition, I also have used low dose accutane and antibiotics for my acne before this persistent problem surfaced. I get the small bumps, but they usually become inflamed like a pimple with puss inside. Is this acne or malasezzia folliculitis? It just seems like all my hair folliciles are clogged with yeast and all the symptons that aggravate PF do the same for my skin. I also have it along my cheeks and neck and forehead where I have hair. I am on Day 14 of Oral ketoconazole and using 2% wash daily, but it is still there. Not really sure what to do at this point. Desperate for any answers. Anyone?

[raddish78]

I, too, am a PF sufferer - and it's taken a long time to get a dx. My skin has always been fair to good. About a year and a half ago, when working out more, I started getting neck "acne" which I attributed to my hormones. I'm in my early thirties and have some issues with my cycles. Those irritations aside, my skin was good. I went on a vacation to Eastern Europe, and a few days into my trip I "broke out" like a monster. I now believe it was a perfect storm happening all at once, with hormones and exposure to something maybe on a towel or linens. I had some larger cysts along my jaw, but a rash like breakout all over my face, neck, and chest - even on my lower back! It was itchy, painful, and so disturbing. I didn't want to even have my picture taken! This was May of 2012.

What follows is really detailed - so if you want to skip to the end feel free. But this the actual process and costs, for those looking for that information.

I don't have insurance, so as soon as I got home, I started doing OTC regimens with BP, gygolic acid gel, and more. I made an appointment ($200 out of pocket with an endocrinologist.) I thought my hormones were to blame. She agreed, and said that instead of doing $1000s in tests, to try birth control pills. But she couldn't prescribe them. So I had to go to a 2nd doctor. This was June of 2012.

I went to a gynecologist ($100 out of pocket) -July 2012 - and he gave me birth control pills, Beyaz, which he thought would help my skin. I will say, that within 6 weeks, my face had improved a lot. But I had DAILY migraines. Also, my chest didn't improve at ALL. It would seem to get better, then flare up again, sometimes up through my neck. I was getting frustrated. Every month the pills were $75, I was spending $50 on average in products - I was fed up.

For my face, I started using a Clarisonic Mia ($125), and loved the results. My skin looked pretty good except for the occasional hormonal breakout on my face. It was too harsh for my chest, and made that worse, though.

I read online about PF. I was pretty sure that was what was wrong. I saw some people used OTC yeast infection creams to treat it. Also, I saw the dandruff shampoo recommendations. I tried both, and had some clearing on my chest. I But, not completely. I also tried oil of oregano. That stuff stunk, stung my skin, but in a couple of more weeks I was relatively clear, except that it felt like the bumps and redness were still under my skin and that anything might bring it back out, particularly sweating. I couldn't work out at all. It wasn't perfect, but it was livable.

In October, the headaches from the pill increased to the point I had to switch. I started a new BCP in November, Lo LoEstrin - ($75 for the visit, $75 monthly for the pill) I was nervous that the decreased estrogen would hurt my skin again. So I finally just gave up and realized I would have to go to a dermatologist ($150 for the apt) I went 12/5. She did think I had some acne, and gave me clindamycin topically, and tretinoin- both creams ($100 total more). She didn't think anything yeast related was going on.

My face responded great - particularly to the tretinoin. It makes my skin look brighter, and I've had minimal peeling or effects But it hurt my (clear) chest. On December 16th, I woke up with my chest and neck covered in what seemed like tiny pimples, but on almost every part of my chest. Some were larger, but most were tiny. Some had tiny whiteheads. They were in lines or curving shaped clusters too. I knew this was really weird. It was up to my neck and under my jaw, too. It was a strange red color - but reminded me of the severity and suddenness of the initial breakout in Europe. My dermatologist got me in (another $75) on Tuesday. I wasn't sure if it was an allergic reaction, something new - what.

She took one look at my chest and neck while it was intensely flared up, after have seen me a few weeks before - and knew we had to see what was going on. She scraped the chest and tested it. Yeast was the culprit. I began ketocozanole cream ($45) and 200mg pills ($10) and have had fairly immediate lessening of the redness and rash.

I have spent WELL over $1000 out of pocket to get to this point, but I have some good advice I think to share:

1. You can have some acne AND PF - don't accept that "acne" is all that is going on, especially on the body. PF is less common on the face unless you are REALLY ill. You could have both going on however, so watch and see how it responds.
2. If you think you have PF, don't use anti-bacterial washes on your body, use an anti-dandruff shampoo. It won't hurt and could help.
3. If you aren't opposed to BCPs, they can help hormonal acne
4. A decent dermatologist, especially if you are an established patient, should be open to at least seeing if it is PF. My derm's office is large, and they did the results in five minutes. So if you don't have a doctor, finding one with those capabilites might save you some time and stress.

Moving forward, I am going to do a yeast-elimination diet after the new year. I'm cutting out sugars and starches, which has always helped my skin. I hope to be able to resume exercising, but I am worried about sweating still, even with the treatments I have. I will likely try to add a new exercise to my regimen, like swimming, instead of running - which is really sweaty. And being vigilant about clean towels, clean sheets, everything.

This was a long and painful process. I took some serious hits to my self-esteem. It even affected my relationship. I was embarrassed for my partner to see or touch me. I encourage you, if you can, to go to a doctor. It might take a while to find the right treatment, but once you do, you'll be glad you did.

[jlb27]

can someone PLEASE specifically describe pf, appeareance, texture, symptoms. Im a little confused about it and when you look up pics online they always show the most severe cases. Im thinkin this is what I might have.  Any pictures would be great. Please respond

[Tiebreak]

Hey people! I'm a 30 year old guy who would like to share my story with you and hopefully receive som feedback. 

 

It all started about a month ago. I've always had an oily t-zone but not problem with acne as an adult, although I did have LOTS of small non-scarring acne when I was 14-15. Anyway, I went to the pharmacy to buy a cleanser that might help with my oily face and found one that contains low concentrations of salicylic acid, lactic acid, and glycolic acid. The bottle instructions was to use this twice a day. The first 2-3 days my skin looked AMAZING, perfect smooth and not oily but hydrated. About the forth to fifth day I felt my skin beeing somewhat dry, I had been leaving the clenser on up to a minute in the shower the last 2 days. Around the fifth day I woke up and my forehead was covered with 50-100(!) red small bumps, like a sand paper. The somewhat faded away later in the day, but re-appeard when sweating while working out or showering. The first week I tried 5% BP on half my forehead and nothing on the other half, after two days the BP side was worse so I laid it off. I used nothing for about 5-7 days and it got somewhat better but then it stopped.  Now after two weeks have the same type of bumps on my neck chest and back, not as much as on the forehead though. The forehead is not dry anymore and seems oily. I've consulted a dermatologist online that thought it may be PF. So now I'm on my second day of ketokonazole. He also recommended Clotrimazole cram twice a day, which I haven't stared yet as i thought the skin needed to get used to the ketoconazole first. As my forehead is oily and it's easy to squeeze sebum out of non ifected pores in the forehead I'm tempted to quickly and gentle use the cleanser that used and probable set off this condition to help. What do you guys think? Is there a way to upload pictures in this forum?

[argentanya]

You may want to try Jason's Naturals Dandruff Shampoo - it has salicylic acid, sulphur, rosemary, olive and jojoba oils. I'm using it on my skin, and it's clearing me right up.

[mjacemail1]

I created this account to ask if anyone has tried what has always worked well for me. At first sign of breakouts and also some other ailments... respitory infections etc. I take 500-1000mg ascorbic acid, Vitamin C twice daily for several days with plenty of water. Overdose symptom is bitter saliva and/or painful (mild)/burning urination - stop C immediately and drink more water. Also, do not attempt using C supplement w/acerola as it has too low a toxicity w/ worse symptoms. This regimen effectively acidifies tissues, including skin, making them exceedingly inhospitable to any narrow ph thriving bacteria. I generally take 100-500mg daily. for maintenance

Edited by mjacemail1, 20 May 2013 - 08:05 PM.