640 replies to this topic

[briancl]

For everyone suffering from the condition, can you describe how your skin feels? It feels like there is some kind of film on my skin even after I wash. Sulfur seems to be keeping it under control, but I can still tell it is pretty bad. I mainly have it on my scalp, forehead, and temples. I have a suspicion this was caused by use of low dose accutane/tetracylin/doxycycline for acne.

I purchased nizoral 1% and would like to give it a try, but everyone is reporting that it loses its affectiveness. Can anyone recommend how to use nizoral, so that the results can be long term? I also started taking probiotics a week ago and hoping to see some improvement from that.

[HapaMommy]

^{So I only took Accutane once and had to immediately because of severe side effects. So my derm put me back on Ketoconazole 2% twice a day and then Clarifoam once a day. She is also having me shower with Noble Soap daily. They also prescribed me Difflucan once a week and I have to take it an hour before a workout and let it sit for 12 hours before showering. I'll let you know how it goes. It's so frustrating because I get so close to being completely clear and then an outbreak happens.}

[NothingToFear]

I purchased nizoral 1% and would like to give it a try, but everyone is reporting that it loses its affectiveness.

I have not heard this. The information that came with my Ketoconazole 2% cream stated that there are no reports of the fungi it was confirmed effective on developing any resistance.

[briancl]

Ok, that makes me feel better. How often do you use it? I used it the other day and it seems to be doing well on my face. I alternative with the noble pyrithione zinc soap. I think I am still getting acne though, so not sure how to fit my acne cleaners with it.

[momof4*]

OK I am a new mom. REcently dx with foliculitis. yay. ( BUT I am already concerned my Doctor may be not treating me correctly. Here's my history: even while pregnant and the 6 months before pregnancy taking lots of antibiotics for a resistant sinus infection that was in a ver dangerous place near my brain tissue. I have been trying to keep it at bay until after the baby was born and now that I am breast feeding by taking a combination zpack and ceftin together. During the pregnancy I noticed these itchy places behind my ears on mysclap and went to the dermatologist. She initally mis dx me. Now we know it is Foliculitis. . . six months later. I am currently broken out head to toe. Pretty miserable and I'm still breast feeding. SO this is not fun. I have only been prescribed again the zpack and the ceftin to take as antibioitcs (which I did notice when I took this while pregnant the itchy places went away on my head behind my ears etc) so she thought she should prescribe them again. BUT here is why I am worried we are also now dealing with fungus. I think i have thrush which is yeast while breast feeding. I think I need ot add the difulcan tablet? Can I do htis while taking the antibiotics? ALso does anyone know i this can be contagious to my kids? my three yar old looks like she is getting this also on her chin, and cheek. and my 14 year old used my razor by accident and now she has some bmps on her? IS this possible? DO I need to take them to the doctor? Or wait and see what their bumps do? ANy thougths for my treatment and if this can be spread?

Oh btw this is what the dr has put me on: zpack, ceftin, triamcinolone cream .1% (the cream -I think made me worse...? )

[direstr8s]

last time i replied to this thread was a couple months ago, i was trying head&shoulders or nizoral scrubbed into the affected areas (my back, chest, back of thighs) and leaving on for 2mins or more. i was having moderate success with this but it in no way made anything go away. i also got prescribed an anti-fungal which didn't work either.

cutting down on sugar and refined carbs has made a huge difference.


I started taking a magnesium/calcium supplement 3 times a day, plus a liquid magnesium capsule before bed. i also added a iodine kelp supplement once a day, a vitamin d3 liquid capsule of 5000iud, an omega3 fish oil gel and a vitamin B liquid complex once a day. i started with the magnesium first, and within 3-4 days noticed a HUGE, absolutely HUGE reduction in my skin problems. all the redness and itchiness was gone, and what was left were receding bumps and scars of course. this is now 4 weeks later and i am completely, totally clear, for the first time in 15 years. i am absolutely sure it is the magnesium.

i have made no other changes to diet, lifestyle, exercise, or stress levels. i do continue to limit sugar and refined carbs.

please try this out before going with prescribed medicines, i feel amazing and have the best skin i've ever had in my adult life now. i have tried everything else before (acne oral/topical, bc pill, scrubs, washes, etc). make sure to take magnesium together with calcium, try to take the liquid form. magnesium is best absorbed by the body together with real sunlight, or vitamin D3 if you can't get any sun, this vitamin is also so important. running my hand along my back + face and not feeling a single bump but only smooth skin is something i haven't felt in a long, long time.

i'll update if anything changes.

and definitely avoid taking antibiotics - this weakens your immune system making you all the more susceptible to PF and other yeast-based fungus.

[XenoMiang513]

I've come to the conclusion that what I have on my upper thighs (on the sides up near my butt), my shoulders, and a small amount on my chest is a folliculitis of sorts since all acne related treatments have made it enormously worse. Everyday I wash those areas in the morning and at night with an anti-bacterial bar soap and let dry for 15 minutes, apply a layer of Lotrimin, and about a half hour later put on a thin layer of Polysporin. I have to say, I've been doing this for two weeks now and the spots on my chest are almost completely gone and the rash that I had on my legs and shoulders has diminished by half. I'm hoping it will go away completely, but I am over the moon with the progress I've seen thus far.

Edited by XenoMiang513, 13 September 2012 - 02:40 PM.

[briancl]

Any suggestions on treating combination pityrosporum and acne? I don't really know what I can do to help the condition. My face still always has these little breakouts and it clearly isnt' acne. Will a dermatologist really be able to find a solution? Seems like eliminating the problem is unrealistic and the best is to keep it under control?

[Tbone2000]

Anyone try the magnesium supplements? I haven't tried those before, thinking about trying them out.

[NothingToFear]

Any suggestions on treating combination pityrosporum and acne? I don't really know what I can do to help the condition. My face still always has these little breakouts and it clearly isnt' acne. Will a dermatologist really be able to find a solution? Seems like eliminating the problem is unrealistic and the best is to keep it under control?

Are you doing everything you can to prevent transfer from your hair and pillows to you face?

-Keep your scalp clean with anti-dandruff shampoos. Get some Nizoral and Head & Shoulders.
-Wash your sheets and pillow cases often.

[viperjet]

Am i suffering from Pityrosporum Folliculitis or grover's disease ?







Please advice. Thanks!

Edited by viperjet, 14 November 2012 - 09:44 AM.

[NothingToFear]

Mine don't look like that.

[Freddy1234]

Hi folks,

I'm fairly sure that I have PF on my back. There are a lot of red spots but they don't really look like acne either. Every acne treatment like salicylic acid and tea tree oil has only made them much worse until I've discontinued use.

However, I'm not having much luck treating the PF either. So far I've tried Head & Shoulders and two different dandruff shampoos from the chemist (ketoconazole and selenium sulfide) and they also seem to just aggravate the condition.

I have pretty sensitive skin, so are there any lighter treatments for PF?

[wll37]

I had PF on both thighs a month ago. I still have my prescription drug, but I didn't want to use it. I'm worried the fungus will be resistant to my prescription drug. So, I washed with tea tree shower gel (I used the body shop tea tree shower gel; any brand will do, as long as it contains tea tree oil) and for spot treatment I diluted Kiehl's Herbal Blue Astringent with Desert Essence 100% Tea tree oil. I just applied wet cotton pad (Kiehls herbal blue + tto) on my thighs for 1-2 mins twice daily. I used Kiehl's Herbal Blue astringent because it works great for my face and also for spot treatment.

My thighs are now PF free. I just realized when I looked at my thighs. There used to be several small PF spots on my thighs and now only several scars from PF remain

In my opinion, try tea tree oil for PF. you just need to dilute tea tree oil before using it, can be with water or with astringent like mine.

[MissSac17]

Hey I wanted to post in here as I think I have this. Is it worth getting referred to a dermatologist by my doctor to ask about it? The reason I ask is because I don't want to be mis-diagnosed by a derm that doesn't have a clue what this type of condition is?

[laurdoggie2]

Hey everyone - wanted to post for you all what cleared my Folliculitis! Literally not a million steps, 1 small thing.

I have looked at this site for years but never posted - so I figured if I could help somebody else out I should post! for those who don't want to read my short story - NYSTATIN cream is the answer. seriously. For those who do want to read my story - see below:

(you should read the story bc its an amazement!)

I have always suffered from mild acne ever since I could remember. But it didn't really affect me too much. Until recently.. Probably toward the end of August I started getting AWFUL breakouts on my CHEST which I seriously never had before.

The breakout on my chest looked as follows: SMALL white heads, literally everywhere.. and there typically was a little hair in the middle of the white head. I of course would squeeze them.. but it seriously made the situation a mILLION times worse. I literally could not understand it.
Of course thought it was acne and it would go away. Well it didn't. So I went to a dermatologist.. which was embarrassing but I needed to get this shit to go away! She prescribed me Epiduo Cream, Clyndamicin lotion, a Sodium Phosphate wash and DOXYCYCLINE. I was so glad to finally have prescription strength stuff in my hand.. I noticed a difference in my face IMMEDIATELY.. but my chest was not clearing up.. I seriously didn't get it. and it was seriously starting to depress me.

Suddenly I began researching.. why the hell do I keep getting this tiny white bumps all over my chest.. when I found out about Folliculitis. I read that there was all these different types of Folliculitis.. caused from a million different things and reasons and I was so confused but I felt like since the bumps on my chest werent responding to the acne treatment it couldn't be acne.

I got so frustrated so I remember taking the DOXYCYCLINE i was prescribed. (I wasn't taking them because I was afraid they would interfere with my birth control) so one night i took it and I remember waking up the next day and wanting to die! The bumps started spreading up to my NECK and I kept imagining if they went to my face. I knew I had to figure it out.. and immeditely stopped the doxy.

ANYWAY - I read about washing with head and shoulders.. I started to wash my chest with head and shoulders and I noticed a slight improvement.. more so that the bumps would dry out a lot faster but I would still get them. Thats sort of when I definitely figured out it wasn't acne.

SO I did some more research.. I was thinking wtf did I possibly do or what type of folliculitis I had or what caused this. ALSO I kept reading that folliculitis was itchy.. I didn't notice itching THAT much except one night in bed I kept itching my chest and it all sort of clicked for me.

I found out one of the causes for folliculitis was because of a YEAST OVERGROWTH and this can happen for many reasons, but has a lot to do with antibiotics and not taking medicine properly. Well I had definitely been an idiot and done that throughout my life. Made sense why the ACNE ANTIBIOTICS I WAS PRESCRIBED.. MADE MY CHEST SO MUCH WORSE.

SO Voila, I finally realized that I 100% had folliculitis and it had to have been from a yeast overgrowth. I remember I made a derm appointment and told them I HAVE FOLLICULITIS AND I NEED IT TAKEN CARE OF. Well I never even ended up having to go to the derm... I was sitting on my couch and I randomly decided to look in my medicine cabinet.. I was willing to try ANYTHING at this point and I saw this cream. it said NYSTATIN CREAM. it didn't have a definition.. so I googled it... I swear I finally found religion that day because when I googled it it said it was a cream to stop FUNGAL GROWTH ON THE SKIN. PROMINENTLY THE YEST FUNGUS. i was amazed. I could not believe that simply appeared in my house!

I put it on my chest.. afraid that lord knows what would happen but I swear I woke up the next morning and it was a miracle. I am not even kidding. The breakouts stopped and everything was SO less red.. i was seriously amazed. So I continued the treatment. it hasn't even been a month.. it seriously cleared up in a week. It even faded the hyperpigmentation I was left from all the old blisters!

SO SERIOUSLY.. I dont know how u get prescribed Nystatin cream or what it is typically used for.. but IT WORKS I AM TELLING YOU. YOU HAVE TO LOOK INTO IT IF YOU EVEN THINK YOU HAVE FOLLICULITIS CAUSED BY FUNGUS! (YEAST SPECIFICALLY)

Hope I was able to help somebody!

[Tom Busby]

I just found this forum -- I didn't know that the skin reaction caused by malassezia was commonly misdiagnosed as acne, so I'm posting my research and experiences to help others.  I'm 59 and have been to doctors and dermatologists since I was 5 years old with the same complaint, and never had an accurate diagnosis or any useful treatment.  About 8 months ago I started to research this and wrote the attached .pdf. 

Yes, it's a really long .pdf but the condition is complicated and lasts your entire life, so I believe it's entirely useful information.  Good luck!  

Attached Files

•  Fungus-Wash your entire body with an over the counter antifungal shampoo-final-2.pdf   64.31K   196 downloads

[Tom Busby]

The attached .pdf is a very complete and recent survey, and is far more accurate than any other medical research article I've ever read.

Attached Files

•  Fungus-Malassezia-Microbiology Journal-Greece 2012-106.full.pdf   3.38MB   73 downloads

[Freddy1234]

Here's a tip that I don't think anyone has mentioned in this thread before: coconut oil. It's naturally antifungal and antibacterial. I just bought a jar and smeared it all over my back after taking showers, and it really did seem to work. You could combine this with other treatments like using that shampoo in the shower. As a bonus the oil is also a good moisturizer.

 

Unfortunately this wasn't good for me in the long run as my skin seems to be allergic to it: although the folliculitis got better, I got terrible itches throughout the day when using it. But that's just me. Right now I'm experimenting with essential oils like lemongrass and oregano: thanks to Tom for his research. I'll post an update after a couple of weeks if it works out.

[boomx]

I am using extra virgin coconut oil. so far no big difference. I had some guacomole & onions the other day and that was wrong. I got a flare up. I got rid of it for a month in mid December to January after seeing a chinese herbalist and taking some concocted drink for 10 days morning and night, (plus no fried foods or sugars), & maybe the b/c the weather was cold. I thoughtt I was cured until It came back with a vengeance when I had walnuts in a cake bread 1 month later. The banana bread was not the issue, it had to be the walnuts.

Anyway, I am going back to a full detox. No sugar, no breads, no carbs, no fruits, no gluten, no antibiotics. Certain fruits do become sugar inside of you so I am just doing raw veggies (broccoli, chinese peas, carrots, no potatoes or starches), lentil and vegetable soups, almond milk, extra virgin cocounut oil, teas, garlic, shelled fish b/c it has lots of zinc (shrimp, oysters, crab), oat bran (it is gluten free), green tea capsules, magnesium zinc suppements, and "no meat or protein unless I know it is not fed hormones or antibiotics". Otherwise, you are still taking antibiotics orally. So, no more feeding this p.o.s disease.

 

This is what I did to get rid of it 98% on my body, (chest, back, a couple on the arm and upper legs) along with some special herbs a chinese herbalist made that I took for 10 days. Now it has crept up on my neck and looks hideous and wants to get on my face but I apply bacitracin on it and it quickly disappears there but the neck is persistent and very noticeable.

 

Additionally, I am using selsun blue 1%, where can I get the 2.5% yellow?

I will get some more tea tree oil soap. Is this effective if I wash it off whiel showering, or should I leave it on after showering & let it dry?

Edited by boomx, 03 April 2013 - 09:58 PM.