Hi guys, I have been struggling with pf for 14 months now just found out earlier today this is what I have. of course, 3 different dermatologist and they all recomended antibiotics over and over. They all talked to me like I have a psychopath and obsessive compulsive, but after spending thousands of dollars I decided to really get into it and figure out whats going on since the dermatologists could not help me. I have spedn the last 5 days literally 30 hours or so reading the internet and figued after a few hours it was this. I had some keto creme and applied it to a area and significant improvement in 4 days. I will have alot of questions soon but only two right now for PF:

Is there a specific type of head and shoulders shampoo everyone is using with great results?

How has shaving parts of your body affected PF breakouts and does just trimming (with barber razors, shortening like really hairy arm and shoulder hair) affect PF breakouts?

thanks

ps. I have been struggling with this for 14 months and today when I found this forum I was so relieved to find people who understand what I am going through. I spend from 12:45pm today until just now 2:15am pacific standard time reading this forum. thanks so much....espeically

ratherbesurfing. you have helped so much

shogun23

I'm almost positive I have PF on my back, shoulders and chest after reading this thread for hours and looking at pictures. However I have mild to moderate acne on my face too and have had it for 5 years. I'm 18. From what I've experienced salicylic acid products break me out. There is nothing that works well on my face. Now that I read this thread, I'm wondering if what I have on my face might be from PF. I have all the symptoms of PF but spots on my face are just like acne. What do you suggest?

I'm almost positive I have PF on my back, shoulders and chest after reading this thread for hours and looking at pictures. However I have mild to moderate acne on my face too and have had it for 5 years. I'm 18. From what I've experienced salicylic acid products break me out. There is nothing that works well on my face. Now that I read this thread, I'm wondering if what I have on my face might be from PF. I have all the symptoms of PF but spots on my face are just like acne. What do you suggest?

:redface:Hi , I just joined this forum , even I have this shit over me on my back , it started with antibiotics , about 3 years ago , I thought it will never come back , but everytime I used to take antibiotics it used to come back , but now since 3 weeks it is there continously and there are no causative factors , i am really worried , it itches like mad ......pls help

I'm almost positive I have PF on my back, shoulders and chest after reading this thread for hours and looking at pictures. However I have mild to moderate acne on my face too and have had it for 5 years. I'm 18. From what I've experienced salicylic acid products break me out. There is nothing that works well on my face. Now that I read this thread, I'm wondering if what I have on my face might be from PF. I have all the symptoms of PF but spots on my face are just like acne. What do you suggest?

 

is there anyway to positively self-diagnos folliculitis? i am positive that is what i am fighting on my neck/bottom of hair, but i have always assumed my shoulders were acne. I am going back to the dermatoligist this month, but if i could figure it out before hand, that would be great.

Hey there,

I am new to this site but am already so impressed by the support everyone offers one another on here! Anyways, I have had what I thought were breakouts on my butt since puberty ( I am 22 now). It is so embarrassing! I went to two different dermatologists and both said it looked like Folliculitis and both gave me creams which dried out and irritated my sensitive skin. I don't have much itching now and have started to use the Acne.Org AHA+ cream which appears to be helping with the redness, but still the bumps remain. Is Head and Shoulders a good thing to try? Has anyone experienced worse symptoms with it? I am just concerned about irritating my already sensitive skin! Also what about this ZNP bar?

I completely got rid of my Pity Fol by taking oral Ketoconazole and Itraconazole tablets alternating each day. At the same time, I took doxycycline to keep my acne in check since Pityfol and acne compete for space on the skin. Also, drink plenty of water, but not enough to force your kidneys to "overwork."

I'm new here, and I think I have this. At the beginning of 2006, just after I had turned 20, I was holidaying in India when I had a sudden break out of what looked like pimples. It started one day when I had some spots on my neck, and the next it had literally covered me from my temples, all the way down my cheeks and onto my neck. One side was worse than the other, although both were bad. Prior to this I had a few spots, but was relatively clear. Since then, I've tried Clinique, Neutrogena and Lush products, Lush being the most effective, but all failing to kill off this thing. The spots are smallish and red with the occasional one coming up in a white head. And they itch like crazy. My hair also itches, and I do not have lice or nits. I'm fairly fit and healthy, and nothing besides going on holiday had really changed with me. Mid this year, my mum got fed up, and took me to a dermatologist (I think she thought I was on drugs or something, which I am not, and have never been). He asked me about my skincare regime, then examined my skin. He said I had acne and sensitive skin. He made me take Akamin, rub Zorac on my face once a week and use Cetaphil. It worked for a few months, but two months ago, it stopped working. I was convinced it is not acne, and thought I might be allergic to something, maybe a hair product because when my hair comes in contact with my skin, it irritates it, but it just didn't seem like acne at all. Anyway, I've started doing 'hot yoga', which means I sweat enormously almost everyday, and my skin feels GREAT after, but then the 'acne' gets more irritated, and I'm all itchy the next day. Also air con seems to irritate it too, just sitting in my office right now, I'm feeling more itchy than at home.

So I started googling my condition, and this seems to fit the bill. I live in Australia, so it's fairly humid all year round. I don't really want to rub harsh chemicals on my skin, or take antibiotics again, so I've decided to give this a go:

1 Lemon squeezed into warm water every morning

Wash face and body with either Hair and Shoulders or Selsun Blue (I'm going to alternate in order to prevent my skin getting too immune to either chemical)

Ditto for hair. If my scalp is itchy, evidently I need to fix that too.

Continue washing face with Cetaphil, which seems to calm it a little.

Finish with Vanishing Cream from Lush, which also seems to calm it a little.

Try the garlic cloves thing. I'm not sure if I can stomach three a day though!

Sunscreen during the day as usual, up my intake of apples, carrots and avocado, lots of water as usual, and use Cosmetic Warrior mask from Lush once a week (contains garlic and eggs) and spray tea tree water all over my face every now and then.

Any input into if you think this will work would be awesome. Sorry for the essay!

I think I posted on this before, but now I understand a bit more on what I am dealing with...

So, a few years ago I went off birth control pills and my PF went crazy. It was everywhere (not only the usual back and chest but on my neck, hairline, and the tops and sides of my shoulders) it was all mixed in with a few actual zits. I spent the winter with scarves around my neck. I went to a new derm though and he prescribed Rosula pads. Here are the actual pads: Rosula. I have no experience with the cleanser, but there is also a Rosula cleanser. It's also used to treat seborrheic dermatitis, which people who have PF in many cases may also have. It's all connected in some way, though it's not specifically for PF (kinda of like Nizoral).

It's basically a very non-drying form of sodium sulfacetamide-sulfur. Not sure if info on this medication have been posted yet?? I didn't read through the whole thread, but Rosula works great for PF. I stopped using it because it got expensive, but now there is a generic form and it's working great again (including the areas that even on birth control were still inflamed with PF).

PF can also be caused by a disruption in androgens (an increase), which in my case is why I think it got so bad after I went off birth control. Out of whack hormones. I'm not saying this is everyone's cause, but in my case I really think androgens have a role here. Here is the link to information on androgens and PF:

"An increase in sebum production, such as that in pregnancy and high levels of androgens may potentiate the development of PF." Overview on PF

Anyway, so I'm writing this because while Rosula works great I am going to try and go off birth control once more and I know its going to get worse. I'm going to try and stabilize my hormones before it gets too crazy (Vitex, red raspberry leaf tea and spearmint tea, and also omega 3s for anti-inflammatory). I'm sick of oral prescription drugs (was on an antibiotic before this). It's inevitable that I need Rosula though. So I will keep it updated! I wrote this because I'm hoping it can help someone going through the same thing.

I want to thank you guys for the info on folliculitis. I couldn't get rid of the red bumps that kept cropping up in the last couple of months. It turned out to be a bacterial infection. Antibiotics and cream have cleared them all up. If I hadn't found the info here, I'd still be trying to clear up zits that weren't.

Thanks!

Hey peeps,

Uh...so I tried that sea salt bath and it seemed to work really well for my body. After the first bath I could tell it made a difference. Then the next couple days I broke out on my back except the tiny "breakouts" were itchy. I checked out the site and looked at pictures of this issue. Now I figure it's this PF thing. I've bought Nizoral and am gonna try that out along with some herbal antifungals, but does anyone know of a cream/lotion/moisturizer I can use to stop (or at least minimize) the itch?

~Paulyn

Just wanted to say thanks to acne.org for alerting me to PT. The Head and Shoulders has cleared up my skin completely, and how I'm washing my face with it after exercise just to make sure it doesn't come back. I can't believe in a WEEK this was completely gone, I'm so freaking happy. The marks left over from the PT are fading rapidly. Now I'm cleaning my skin with Ocean Salt from Lush and using Monoi oil from the body shop as my moisturiser, and my skin hasn't looked this amazing in forever.

PS Just wanted to add that it appears that Nivea Sun Spray is a sunscreen that does not cause PT to appear. I think my last tinted moisturiser with SPF, Becca Luminous Skin Colour, was a major cause of my PT.

Hey, new to this forum, but sadly not to acne and PF. Some background info, I'm 21 and male and pretty sure that I have PF, I have small bumps, some pinkish, some skin colored, that itch and tend to leave white specs when scratched (I know it's bad to scratch them, but it happens sometimes). I didn't have any problem with the chest or upper back area until about two or three months ago and the only main thing I can think of that I changed is that I went off of minocycline. Since then, I've tried going back on (no effect) and the head and shoulders every morning before showering (this seemed to have helped a little bit, but there's still quite a bit left). Does anyone have any advice on how to fix this? If you think it may be something else, please let me know. As far as acne, it comes and goes but generally there's at least a handful of pimples on my face Anyways, thanks for reading.

Hey, new to this forum, but sadly not to acne and PF. Some background info, I'm 21 and male and pretty sure that I have PF, I have small bumps, some pinkish, some skin colored, that itch and tend to leave white specs when scratched (I know it's bad to scratch them, but it happens sometimes). I didn't have any problem with the chest or upper back area until about two or three months ago and the only main thing I can think of that I changed is that I went off of minocycline. Since then, I've tried going back on (no effect) and the head and shoulders every morning before showering (this seemed to have helped a little bit, but there's still quite a bit left). Does anyone have any advice on how to fix this? If you think it may be something else, please let me know. As far as acne, it comes and goes but generally there's at least a handful of pimples on my face Anyways, thanks for reading.

Hey... Have you read through the thread? Several people have had success with otc products like ZNP and Nizoral. I, myself, tried out Nizoral (non-prescription strength) and it seems to take care of the PF pretty well. Good Luck!

Hey, new to this forum, but sadly not to acne and PF. Some background info, I'm 21 and male and pretty sure that I have PF, I have small bumps, some pinkish, some skin colored, that itch and tend to leave white specs when scratched (I know it's bad to scratch them, but it happens sometimes). I didn't have any problem with the chest or upper back area until about two or three months ago and the only main thing I can think of that I changed is that I went off of minocycline. Since then, I've tried going back on (no effect) and the head and shoulders every morning before showering (this seemed to have helped a little bit, but there's still quite a bit left). Does anyone have any advice on how to fix this? If you think it may be something else, please let me know. As far as acne, it comes and goes but generally there's at least a handful of pimples on my face Anyways, thanks for reading.

 

Hey... Have you read through the thread? Several people have had success with otc products like ZNP and Nizoral. I, myself, tried out Nizoral (non-prescription strength) and it seems to take care of the PF pretty well. Good Luck!

 

Thanks for the reply I was thinking about trying Nizoral too, I'll probably finish off my H&S first though... it's got about a third left... hopefully nizoral will take care of it for good.

Heres my history/what I've learned with this stuff over the past few months:

At first I thought it was a reaction to laundry detergent/fabric softener. I started using hypo-allergenic detergent and cut out all fabric softeners/sheets. No change.

I've tried Salicylic Acid 2% bodywash, Nizoral, Tea Tree Oil Shampoo, Benzoyl Peroxide, and last but not least, Head and Shoulders Intensive Treatment shampoo.

This is my normal shampoo, and I was curious to see what it would do on the PF. It reduced the redness, stopped the itching, and just felt like it was actually working. This stuff is available everywhere and its very inexpensive. The key, just like Dan's regimen, is using a lot. I use a 50 cent piece amont, leave on for a minute, rinse and repeat.

The main ingredient is Selenium Sulfide 1%, so that must do the trick. Im not totally cleared up, but the intense itching has stopped.

I never had this PRIOR to antibiotic use of tetracycline and doxycycline, it must be noted (I wish I never took those, ugh).

I never knew what my acne was until I got a massive infection in my skin on the back of my neck. I found out from the mayo clinic website what the hell was FINALLY wrong with me! Here's where I read up on it.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/folliculitis/DS00512

By the way - the long term use of antibiotics for acne may cause it or make folliculitis worse from what I have read! My skin was so much worse when I took antibiotics for years! I'm not surprised that idiot doctors missed this though.

I'm using Dan's regimen for the acne and I'm waiting on a cream to kill the folliculitis. I no longer go to doctors (except for the dentist) because I hate them and refuse to waste money on people who only want to push pills and treat symptoms.

I am slowly allowing myself to hope that my skin may be clear before I graduate from college.

I have finally found a medicated cleanser that really works for me: DermaDoctor's "Born to be Mild" (you can find it on amazon.com). Ariventa recommended it because all of the other medicated shampoos and cleansers I tried (Head & Shoulders, Nizoral prescription, Nizoral OTC, ZNP) were drying and irritating my skin so badly.

In less than a week, my bumps, red patches, and flaky skin are entirely gone. No excessive dryness, no irritation. I do need to moisturize, but that's it.

I am absolutely thrilled.

I'm just trying to connect the dots. I'm almost certain I got pf from taking the antibiotic clindamycin caps for an abscess tooth/root canal on 10/9/08. Three weeks later I had all these zits on my chest and some on my back.

What baffles me is I've seen my walk-in clinic doctor as well as two dermatologists. Both dermatolgists diagnosed it as pf but none mentioned the anti-fungals mentioned on this forum. I'm just glad I found this forum to listen to the true experts - the ones that actually have this condition.

Last week I used head & shoulders intensive treatment with 1% selenium sulfide for five days straight, ten minutes each time. I first washed my body the usual way with a bar of ivory soap, rinsed. Then I applied head & shoulders on chest/back, turned off the shower to save the hot water, then continued to scrub my chest with my hands for about ten minutes. I think I over did it. By the fifth day it was unbearable. I was very red and irritated. But after waiting around three days of not using it, it cleared up about half of pf on chest and all on back.

Last night I used nizoral 1% ketoconazole. But this time I only let it sit on chest/back for five minutes instead of ten, and I didn't do much scrubbing while it was sitting on my skin. It did a good job so far for only being used for one night. A big red blemish faded some and my chest already looks better. I'm reluctant to use it two nights in a row so I won't irritate my skin. So far my skin isn't irritated or red. As of now I think I'm going to stick with nizoral hopefully for two or three times a week and see what happens with skin irritation and results.

Has anyone ever tried nystatin oral tablets for pf? About twenty years ago I took repeated rounds of antibiotics for back to back to back strep throats from french kissing this one girl. Later on I was extremely fatigued, had these headaches that would just come and go, and craved sweets.

At the time I had this really good doctor who practiced preventative techniques promoting wellness using holistic and alternative methods of practice. I told him the symptoms I was having and the antibiotics that I took from different doctors. He took my blood and later told me I had an internal yeast infection.

He prescribed me oral nystatin tablets, I believe three times a day for at least two or three months straight. I gradually felt better long before I was finished with them, but he kept me on them to make sure the yeast infection was completely gone. I never had any recurrences of this type of yeast infection after this.

Nystatin is considered a safe drug for treating oral or gastrointestinal infections. I'm just wondering if nystatin taken orally for two or three months, three times a day would wipe out pityrosporum folliculitis for good. I think it also comes in topical ointment and powder.

As far as not working out and quitting sweets, I'm not ready to do that and I hope I don't have to. I'm an ex-competitive powerlifter. But I still work out three times a week, lifting heavy weights twice a week (bench pressing 315lbs for 5 reps on one work out) and doing some cardio and swimming on the third day. I've taken some time off of working out, but after about a week off I literally start going nuts. I do notice though that my pf does get red after I work out, but doesn't itch that much. Still, not a reason to quit working out.

As far as diet, I eat a good balanced diet, medium to high protein, low to medium carbs. But no way in heck could I give up my chocolate ice cream for dessert after dinner every night. I tried giving up sweets and my chocolate before and I literally go nuts. But I am aware that yeast overgrowth and infections is allowing the yeast to feed off of carbs and sugar. Still, not a reason to stop enjoying chocolate. Life is too short.

guys, please help me. I'M FREAKING OUTTTTT... i'm ALREADY always a paranoid freak but being diagnosed wid PF makes me soooo much worse.

so about three weeks ago, i developed small red dots all over my chest n back. i went to the derm. she told me dat i have pf and prescribed Selsun shampoo for me, which is to be applied 15 minutes on affected areas before showering. at first i stuck to the regimen and saw some improvements. however, thinking that appyling more will clear it up faster, i started increasing the time, from 30 minutes to 2 hours (sometimes). i know i'm NOT supposed to do this. but i REALLY wanted it to go away!!

the problem now is that selsun doesn't seem to help anymore!! am i resistant to it already??? i've read on this thread about nizoral. so i'm thinking that if i switch to nizoral now, will i also be resistant to it, if i'm already resistant to selsun! GOSHHHH... i hate myself for not sticking to the instructions!

i've always had a clear chest and back and no acne problems with the exception of whiteheads on my face, so i'm REALLY not used to red small dots on my body!!

PLEASE tell me what to do! as i'm GOING CRAZY!!!

As far as shampoos, I hear a lot of people mention head & shoulders. But they rarely mention if it's the one with selenium sulfide 1% or zinc pyrithione 1%. 1. Which one is better to treat pf?

Selsun blue also comes in either selenium sulfide 1% or zinc pyrithione 1%. The problem with these shampoos that some people have is it can irritate the skin. 2. Would selsun blue with moisturizing aloe be less irritating to the skin?

guys, please help me. I'M FREAKING OUTTTTT... i'm ALREADY always a paranoid freak but being diagnosed wid PF makes me soooo much worse.

 

so about three weeks ago, i developed small red dots all over my chest n back. i went to the derm. she told me dat i have pf and prescribed Selsun shampoo for me, which is to be applied 15 minutes on affected areas before showering. at first i stuck to the regimen and saw some improvements. however, thinking that appyling more will clear it up faster, i started increasing the time, from 30 minutes to 2 hours (sometimes). i know i'm NOT supposed to do this. but i REALLY wanted it to go away!!

 

the problem now is that selsun doesn't seem to help anymore!! am i resistant to it already??? i've read on this thread about nizoral. so i'm thinking that if i switch to nizoral now, will i also be resistant to it, if i'm already resistant to selsun! GOSHHHH... i hate myself for not sticking to the instructions!

 

i've always had a clear chest and back and no acne problems with the exception of whiteheads on my face, so i'm REALLY not used to red small dots on my body!!

 

PLEASE tell me what to do! as i'm GOING CRAZY!!!

I'm also new to this. As of now I'm just going to stick with the over the counter dandruff shampoos like nizoral, selsun blue and head & shoulders - the ones with selenium sulfide 1%. I'm still in the experimental stage of seeing how my body reacts to these and what the results are. I'm hoping I can get away with using these shampoos every three days to at least arrest pf and control it for now.

I'm getting a check up with an MD internist doctor for blood work next week just to make sure everything is ok. I'm interested to see what he has to say about pf. I haven't had a check up in many years, and I just want to make sure everything is ok.

guys, please help me. I'M FREAKING OUTTTTT... i'm ALREADY always a paranoid freak but being diagnosed wid PF makes me soooo much worse.

 

so about three weeks ago, i developed small red dots all over my chest n back. i went to the derm. she told me dat i have pf and prescribed Selsun shampoo for me, which is to be applied 15 minutes on affected areas before showering. at first i stuck to the regimen and saw some improvements. however, thinking that appyling more will clear it up faster, i started increasing the time, from 30 minutes to 2 hours (sometimes). i know i'm NOT supposed to do this. but i REALLY wanted it to go away!!

 

the problem now is that selsun doesn't seem to help anymore!! am i resistant to it already??? i've read on this thread about nizoral. so i'm thinking that if i switch to nizoral now, will i also be resistant to it, if i'm already resistant to selsun! GOSHHHH... i hate myself for not sticking to the instructions!

 

i've always had a clear chest and back and no acne problems with the exception of whiteheads on my face, so i'm REALLY not used to red small dots on my body!!

 

PLEASE tell me what to do! as i'm GOING CRAZY!!!

Don't go crazy! You can't die from this stuff. It's not like you got terminal cancer. Everything's going to be fine. Now take a deep breath through your mouth very slowly. Now exhale through your nose. Visualize yourself releasing your tensions as you breath out. Repeat this several times until you feel relaxed.

I've been updating my research on shampoos for pf. There's plenty of opinions. But I think it's best you take the conservative approach and not overdue it. Take the least amount of stuff to treat this as possible. In other words if you've got a headache, take one or two aspirin or ibprofen every 4-6 hours instead of taking three or four pills to see if it takes away the pain. If two pills does the trick every 6 hours, why take two every four hours? I think the same approach needs to be taken with pf.

Some experts say to use the shampoos every day for the first 5-7 days, then once or twice a week with at least three days in between. Others say to start off twice a week with at least three days in between. Most seem to say apply it in the shower after you get wet, not leave it on your skin before you take a shower. After you get your skin a little wet, apply a small amount enough to work up a soapy like lather. After this you may as well turn off the shower to save the hot water. Let it sit on your skin for five minutes, then rinse.

If one type of shampoo works for a time and then seems to lose its effectiveness, try alternating between two types of dandruff shampoos. Be sure to leave shampoo on for 5 minutes after working up a lather. NOT FOR TWO HOURS OR OVERNIGHT! The experts seem to mention the dandruff shampoos with either ketoconazole in it (nizoral), or with selenium sulfide in it (some selsun blues or head & shoulders). Not all selsun blues or head & shoulders have selenium sulfide in it. Check to make sure.

I hope this helps. Remember to try to be patient with this stuff and give it time to see what works and what doesn't.

guys, please help me. I'M FREAKING OUTTTTT... i'm ALREADY always a paranoid freak but being diagnosed wid PF makes me soooo much worse.

 

so about three weeks ago, i developed small red dots all over my chest n back. i went to the derm. she told me dat i have pf and prescribed Selsun shampoo for me, which is to be applied 15 minutes on affected areas before showering. at first i stuck to the regimen and saw some improvements. however, thinking that appyling more will clear it up faster, i started increasing the time, from 30 minutes to 2 hours (sometimes). i know i'm NOT supposed to do this. but i REALLY wanted it to go away!!

 

the problem now is that selsun doesn't seem to help anymore!! am i resistant to it already??? i've read on this thread about nizoral. so i'm thinking that if i switch to nizoral now, will i also be resistant to it, if i'm already resistant to selsun! GOSHHHH... i hate myself for not sticking to the instructions!

 

i've always had a clear chest and back and no acne problems with the exception of whiteheads on my face, so i'm REALLY not used to red small dots on my body!!

 

PLEASE tell me what to do! as i'm GOING CRAZY!!!

After doing more research, I plan on telling my doctor or derm that I'm almost certain that 2% ketoconazole cream is the next step to take for pityrosporum folliculitis. It's also been mentioned several times on this forum. I've already been to two derms for pf. What baffles me is neither even mentioned any of the dandruff shampoos or the ketoconazole cream 2%.

I think maybe this is what you need to tell your derm, especially if you think the shampoo isn't working.