kasyani

I've had cystic acne since age 13, and wanted to share some of the methods I've used to get rid of it. I will admit that some of the methods I've used are not safe to perform on one's self, but others are non invasive, inexpensive, and quite useful. I am a big fan of DIY because the nearest medical center that accepts my insurance is a hospital, and I do not always have time to jump through the hoops necessary to make a non emergency appointment, or wait for three hours every time I have a cyst, nor do I have the money for frequent trips to the clinic.

My acne did become more mild, though more frequent, when I went on Yasmin for Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder, as it is hormnally triggered. However, if I mess up and miss a day, or have to miss a month because there's been an error in my pharmacy's paperwork, or I'm late to see a doctor to renew my prescription, it does not hesitate to drop by for a visit. When it does, this is the routine I do. It can, occasionally lead to scarring (which slowly goes away in my case, though I admit I am lucky it does, and it takes a long time), so I must stress the importance of not being aggressive with this method.


Step 1; Lance it: Please note: if the acne is not protruding from the skin, SKIP THIS STEP. You'll only do more harm than good. However, if despite your efforts, the spot looks like it should be "pop-able", and simply grows larger, not coming to a head, this is step one to a quick fix. Basically, taking a sterilized, sharp object, and puncturing the cyst. this allows it to drain some, whilst applying mild pressure, the curved part of a bobby pin works quite well, so that you don't touch the wounded lesion with your hands. Once no more clear fluid will come out with mild pressure, don't fuss with the spot anymore, you could just make it worse. If you've lanced your cyst/nodule, I cannot stress how important it is to continue with the next two steps. if you don't you run the risk of infection, and actually making matters worse.

Step 2; Dry it: Once the cyst has begun draining, I try to further dry it with hydrogen peroxide solution to burn off any excess fluid near the surface, followed by swabbing with witch hazel (rubbing alcohol). It's also a precautionary measure to keep the area clean, as an incision was just made. Remember, swab, don't scrub. This is delicate work, and being overly aggressive will only make things worse, and cause the affected area to scab terribly.

***Step 3; Neosporin***: It is possible to skip the first two, and just use neosporin. I'm impatient, and a little obsessive in messing with the cysts myself. Neosporin allows the area to heal, and reverses the excessive drying from the previous step. It's also an antibacterial topical, so sometimes if the spot is simply red, and painful, and is not "lance-able", or you're smart enough to not puncture your own skin, putting neosporin on top of the cyst/nodule, and covering it with a band aid before going to sleep will actually help to reduce it in size, or draw it to the surface so that it can be treated like mild to medium acne. Of the three steps, I swear by this one.

Post-traumatic skin treatment: Finally, if my skin has been breaking out more frequently, I replace face lotion with olive oil. Simply apply with a cotton ball, and use the other side to wipe off the excess. It effectively stops excessive drying, and has non comedogenic, and antibacterial properties which actually help the skin to clear up. Some chemical exfoliants can also help to make break outs less frequent, I try to do them once a month, right before I know I'm about to break out (being female, it coincides with my menstrual cycle, so that makes preventative measures a little more predictable), and that seems to keep the mild to moderate at bay, if the breakout is not a result of not taking the pill properly.


This method is not fool proof, however, I've been getting rid of my cystic acne this way for 9 years. It is not completely dissimilar from the methods used by professionals, as it is simply drawing out the fluid, keeping the area clean and administering an anti inflamatory. That said, when mine occurs, it has always simply been one, sizeable blemish, not several, at a time. It may not work for everyone, but for those who happen to be as delusional as I am in thinking a doctor shouldn't be necessary for their acne, I hope this is useful. I also reccommend drinking lots of water, as it flushes out toxins in the body, and turmeric makes a great anti-inflamatory, which can be purchased at most health food stores, and possibly in the aisle that keeps all other seasonings in your local grocery store. My old roommate had much worse cystic acne than I, and has even used honey as a topical mask for its antibacterial properties, though that can be quite messy.

The most important thing is don't mess with your skin too much. Trust me, from experience, it makes matters much worse, and you'll wish you left it alone in the first place.

I also became an expert on ejecting the pus from my cysts from the age of 15 to 25,fortunately I discovered what was causing them some 30 years ago,but still get caught out every couple of years,
when I thought the cyst was ripe,I would insert a pin about 0.5cm inside,the trick was findind the right pore opening,then it would be a case of squeezing,actually I would press my fingers into the spot rather than squeezing,every 4 hours for 4 to 5 days until it was clear,
if  there wasn't any pus,I would slice it open with a razor blade and put 2 thin steri strips either side of the cut so it looked liked I had an accident.

But I know 100% what foods to avoid but I don't know the chemical name or number,as I live in the UK these food products will have a different brand name but I know for sure that it is the same worldwide,
basically it is anything that has a long shelf life and you add boiling water to activate,I think you have something called ramen in the USA,over here it's pot noodles,instant rice /noodles,gravy/tea/coffee granules,coloured rice, instant or cup a soups,packet granular mix in sauces etc etc,mostly granular form and interestingly,last year my doctor prescribed me some blood pressure tablets and they contained the same chemical,
if I had'nt found this out by accident 30 years ago, no doubt I would still be getting regular cystic spots and I hope yours is the same problem or similar,if so then you will be cured or should I say prevented which is better than cure.

I do believe your diet plays a specific role in your acne, but it doesn't play the main role.
Most people haven't had the best diet growing up, and my diet was worse when I was younger, before I started puberty, and it was also a poor diet after.
I've never had the best diet, but if your diet was the main reason why you break out, then you would have been breaking out before puberty as well.
Hormones and genes are the top culprits for why you even have acne in the first place, not food.
Now, the "specific" role that food has with your skin..is that it can improve your skin in many ways if you're eating good foods,
but it is not going to cure your acne. If you're eating bad food though, or if you're allergic to something in the food, or just the food itself, then yes
it could make your acne conditions worse, but it will never be the sole cause of it.
It doesn't take a scientist to figure it out. I've had a poor diet for as long as I could remember, but what I've noticed that no matter how good or bad I eat,
it doesn't seem to truly reflect on my skin, maybe my overall health, but not solely my skin.
For example, this past year I had amazing skin, I never thought so because being myself, I never would truly like the way I look and I've always been
pessimistic about my looks, but now looking back at the pictures of my skin from the previous year/months, my skin was basically flawless.
I'd have an occasional breakout, rarely ever had cysts, and if I did, it'd only be one rarely, and it'd go away quickly.
My diet consisted of basically dairy. I'd rarely have breakfast, ate a lot of pizza every day, and a lot of junk food too.
I've always loved dairy, and being that dairy is said to make you break out,
you'd think that my skin would be bad like it is now, but on the contrary, it was not looking bad considering I was still a teenager then.
And after several months of having fabulous skin, I started breaking out in August SEVERELY, which happened a few months after I moved in with my boyfriend at the end of May.
My skin went from completely clear to the most severe, out of control, painful, acne that I have ever had in my entire 18 years of life.
My boyfriend thinks it might have happened all of the sudden because of either 1.) the water in our apartment 2.) I stopped growing (which makes hormones do crazy stuff also)
I have used the water this month to cleanse my skin, and my skin kind of got better, but it's getting worse again, and I'm also taking Doxycycline..so yeah.
Sorry that I made this reply a lot about me, but I was mainly trying to show you all that although a person may eat healthy or eat terribly,
acne is not a result of the food you eat, and I'm living proof of that.

" a person may eat healthy or eat terribly,
acne is not a result of the food you eat",
you're  on the right track,eating say fried food everyday,won't neccesarily guarantee a spot,likewise  consuming ONLY cabbage and drinking water everyday,won't guarantee a healthy complexion or cure acne,acne as I define it is lots of small red spots,horrible rash and an unhealthy complexion.but what about us who have a healthy complexion but suffer from big isolated spots,which plauge us fthroughout adulthood,while acne can disappear in adulthood.
So in my case as well as yours,except the opposite way around,you say that the problem reoccured when you moved home,while mine disappeared when I moved home,in my case my diet changed from healthy food to fried food,but when I ate adain at my mother's home on visits,result a biig spot,so I finally discovered after a couple of years,eating certain products that have enhanced flavouring which is an added chemical made in a labortory to which I have an intolerance and so my daughter,we both avoid these chemicals at all cost,problem solved.
So I would guess (if you have the same condition/allergy/intolarance as me) that you are eating or drinking a different  packaged product now you live with your boyfriend that causes your breakouts like me and I'm living proof of that.
Why don't you put my findings to the test by eating exactly the same food as you did before you moved into your boyfriends home and  drinking the same coffee/tea etc as before (considering that medicines contain these chemicals as well) and not even tasting a spoonful of your boyfriends cooking,