Not sure how I didn't see your post abonemine, but yes, it looks like you got it. Now the question: is pylori really responsible for this acne? Have you talked with your doctor about starting some kind of treatment for h.pylori ?

Hi everyone, I was a member of this thread way back maybe 2 years ago now I cant remember to be honest. Anyway I just got an email saying I had a message on here so I figure Id check the thread at the same time to see its still alive.. just wanted to say Ive been symptom free for well over a year now. It was in fact type 2 rosacea so I urge some of you to try the same treatment.

10% sulphur soap for cleansing Twice a day but dont leave on face for more than 10 seconds as its drying.. then apply Finacea Azeliac acid 15% on a completely dry face once a day at night. I personally didnt use moisturiser and my skin adjusted to the dryness quickly within 3 weeks I was 90% clear. It was like a miracle.. the remaining 10% for me was diet related. Avoid inflammation foods / nightshade foods google them. Also Turmeric is a good natural anti inflammatory which I believe helps also. I just wanted to post this as I remember how debilitating it was everyday for 10 years and I figured it out. I probably wont check back now so dont wait for further replies. Best of luck to you all.

9 hours ago, UnkemptGround said:

Not sure how I didn't see your post abonemine, but yes, it looks like you got it. Now the question: is pylori really responsible for this acne? Have you talked with your doctor about starting some kind of treatment for h.pylori ?

I talked to my Doctor he said some people it is effecting Zits in there face

Now he give me 3 capsules of Antibiotics 4 times per day

120 capsules per 10 days

I am going to try and share my experience

but till now It is looks that main reason of this issue

1 hour ago, elkhalde said:

I talked to my Doctor he said some people it is effecting Zits in there face

Now he give me 3 capsules of Antibiotics 4 times per day

120 capsules per 10 days

 

I am going to try and share my experience

 

but till now It is looks that main reason of this issue

I wish you luck.

On 10/19/2019 at 4:53 AM, gilang91 said:

i think everyone has hpylori since it is common bacteria. but studies found that hpylori might be responsible for skin rash,alergic reaction and rosacea.

not everyone

50% of people have it

but some time it is responsible of skin rashes

Hi guys. Have been following this thread. I suffer from the same after several rounds of antibiotics. See attached pics. Do you guys find your pustules to be extremely itchy?

Also, I've been reading up on fecal transplants. I've read of successes with this technique. Anyone tried it?

My journey with niacinamide went downhill all of sudden, it broke me out in the jaw area and the skin is very flaky, I'm not going to use it anymore.

I strongly believe this thing must be beaten in the gut, as the skin is just a reflection of the processes going out in the gut. Why do you think that oral antibiotics help most people to control acne ? Because they attack bacteria directly in the gut, but long term it's not going to work as bacteria become resistant. 

Starting today, I'm going back to my old rigorous diet which helped me once to stay completely clear: eating just meat and eggs. The plan is to try to heal digestive tract and and kill-off any possible infections with the following supplements:

1. Oil of oregano 

2. Olive Leaf Extract

3. Garlic (capsule form)

4. Activated charcoal

5. S. Boulardii

I'll try to stick to this diet for the next 120 days, and I'll use the supplements only the first 30-60 days. I'll keep you updated

On 10/21/2019 at 10:10 PM, FrancisG said:

Hi guys. Have been following this thread. I suffer from the same after several rounds of antibiotics. See attached pics. Do you guys find your pustules to be extremely itchy?

Also, I've been reading up on fecal transplants. I've read of successes with this technique. Anyone tried it?

I have the same problem.. i don't know what to do ughhhh.. 

On 10/21/2019 at 4:45 PM, UnkemptGround said:

My journey with niacinamide went downhill all of sudden, it broke me out in the jaw area and the skin is very flaky, I'm not going to use it anymore.

1. Oil of oregano 

2. Olive Leaf Extract

3. Garlic (capsule form)

4. Activated charcoal

5. S. Boulardii

 

The problem with niacinamide I think was it made the skin too dry.  But this is most likely the zinc content which is said to stop sebum production/   This led to cracking and I feel having a good protective barrier of the skin is important.  This is why exfoliating only offers temporary relief, but instead makes the condition worse in the long term.  And why using Benzoyl Peroxide, though effective, actually makes it very difficult to restore order without antibiotics.

I used oil of oregano but didn't notice any positive effects.

Garlic made things a lot worse for me.  I tried both supplements and fresh garlic.

I got plenty of S. Boulardii recently.  I was really hopeful about that one, as I really buyed into the whole fungal side of things and candida overgrowth.  I also felt a bit ill after taking it which suggesting yeast die off which everybody talks about... so I felt hopeful.  However, there wasn't a transformation.  Jury still out on it.

I'm just taking grapefruit seed extract at the moment.  The jury is out on this too... I used it for a 10 year period when I controlled the condition before along with topical treatments.  I will buy some more until my condition stabilises, as I think it's very important we make single changes.

Very recently I have started a new natural topical treatment which seems to have calendula as the key ingredient.  I will write more soon as the results are very positive.  We must stay hopeful. 

On 10/21/2019 at 3:10 PM, FrancisG said:

Hi guys. Have been following this thread. I suffer from the same after several rounds of antibiotics. See attached pics. Do you guys find your pustules to be extremely itchy?

The itchyness you will sometimes sense before a pustule becomes visible. Large ones will continue to feel itchy, and painful as swelling comes in. I would say the itchyness is related to the swelling. When this sensation stops you know the pustule has run it's course and will stop growing. It's best to not try removing them whilst they are in the "growth" phase. Whenever I've done this, they are replaced by new ones.

LONG POST ALERT!

After 2 decades, I feel I have my "cure", and hopefully for others here too.  We are all different but I feel I must take time out to write this, if it may help even just a handful of you.

PHOTOS BEFORE

AFTER

EXPLANATION:

I'm sure the majority of people here have a male-specific version of perioral dermatitis.  It's mainly a womens problem (95%?), and most of the photos you will see online are of women, mainly of red areas but no white pustules.  Some have mentioned perioral dermatitis before but it's an easy one to dismiss just by looking at photos.  However, I recently joined a perioral dermatitis group and noticed that the handful of male members had mostly white pustules (though not all).  Perioral means "around the mouth" and that's pretty much what we have.  Almost everybody posting here in this topic are men.  And we all have white pustules!  Since perioral dermatitis is linked to hormone imbalances, it seems logical than the symptoms manifest slightly differntly in men and women.  Medically in profesional literature, pustules ARE cited in the description of perioral dermatitis, even though absent in most photos.  A reason that its more common in women, other than hormonal factors, could be down to use of cosmetics.  Apparently perioral dermatitis is increasing in men, but then so is cosmetics use.

I have noticed that some of the women will have bumps or inflammation, sort of like what we have but without the white headed pustules.  And for them this is the condition spreading.  But for us - the conditions advancement is heralded by the appearance of the dreaded white pustule.  And I've noticed after it receeds, in the red area of inflammation that remains, it will often be more likely that white pustules will arrive in that area too.  In a sense we have it easier than the girls as no white pustules = no condition spreading.  So we have better visual feedback, even if the white headed things are horribly unpleasant.

Certainly the distribuition of our skin problem is not just around the mouth, but also in the classic perioral dermatitis areas.  For me, under the nose.  Above the moustache area and then the chin.

TREATMENT OVERVIEW

Stop treating it as acne and start treating it as perioral dermatitis!  Now, in the womens group, I've noticed like us, there are different treatments that work for different people.  Why is this?  Well, it's tricky... it's one of those conditions that doctors are never really sure about (and perhaps why antibiotics are always prescribed!).  Sebhoerric dermatitis and rosacea are also lumped in the same bucket with similar treatments, and its not unreasonable to expect some patients have cross-over conditions.  For most people, it seems the antibiotic is treating the inflammation (as this is a well documented beneficial side effect)... the antibacterial element could almost be thought of as a red herring.

MY TREATMENT

There are multiple options for perioral dermatitis, but I will get straight onto what I'm using.  Many of the female perioral dermatitis suffers were using natural calendula, this seemed to be the most consistent product of all.  This also makes it easier to find a product with only natural ingredients.  Many of you have spoke about the additives in things (even toothpaste) and believe chemicals must be avoided.  If you look into calendula, you will see there is positive feedback for perioral dermatitis, rosacea, sebhoerric dermatitis and more.  This is particlary attractive for cross-over conditions.

So for me, I am using the orange-boxed version of lyonsleaf calendula from here:

[Edited link out]

It is VERY slow acting.  We are talking days here before it starts to get into action.  This is because its not treating the pustules directly but instead working on the skins immune system and inflammation.  You will also possibly have a damaged skin barrier from your other treatments that needs to repair.  However, even though it is slow in the first few days your skin will feel less swollen, pustules will have shorter lifespans, etc.  I am into my second week and I've gone from 25 pustules to just 1.  And I've also broken my strict diet rules too!  The red skin remains but is in retreat, improving every day!

You can also try the somewhat more challenging zinc-enriched version...

https://www.lyonsleaf.co.uk/zinc-and-calendula-cream

I didn't like this and it's a very different THICK cream with waterproof vaseline-like qualities, leaving a white sheen.  I recommend you buy both the yellow and orange versions and try them.  After all the zinc edition is suggested as the perioral dermatitis treatment, and many of you have mentioned zinc already.  The zinc version did blast the white pustules but I feel the calendula is less effective (more watered down) so I had more recurrent pustules the next day compared to the orange jar, and I feel ultimate recovery will take longer with the zinc version.  It's also very difficult to wash off, unlike the orange jar plain calendula version.  Would be a nightmare with a thick beard, leaving the orange jar as your preferred option.  Zinc stops sebum production, so is extra drying, I didn't like it - but you might.  Perioral dermatitis is worsened by "drying agents".  Again, can't underline how very different these two products are, which is why I suggest you try both.  Can only afford/justify one?  Get the orange jar.  The only reason I suggest the zinc version at all is because most of the girls are using it and the company specifically mentions the condition for that cream.

For the non-infected areas (the rest of the face) I will try the lyonsleaf "beauty balm" product when ready which is milder and more moisturising eventually.  Those I have been using the orange jar for the full face, it's probably overkill.  But I wanted to keep things simple to start with and always worry another product will make things worse.  In fact, since I stopped using the alleged "safe" Neutrogena Oil Free Moisturiser my recovery has accelerated.  Unsurprising, when you look at the ingredients on the back of the neutrogena product.

I suggest you buy direct from lyonsleaf if you can, to ensure you get a genuine batch.  This could be your cure.

If you can't get them sent to your country (lyonsleaf is UK based) consider buying calendula oil.  I've not tried this myself, it may be that the other lyonsleaf ingredients work in better harmony.  It may not even be the calendula in the lyonsleaf that is the magic ingredient, I can only report on my experience.

I urge you all to try calendula and be patient with it.  I originally was using it alongside metronidazole antibiotic from the doctor (I came to be put on antiobiotics after an especially horrific outbreak).  The antibiotic wasn't really working and I dreaded stopping it, as many you know this means a white pustule invasion!  But after using the calendula on top for about a week, when I stopped the antibiotic the condition actually got better - rather than worse.  I was amazed.

WASHING

The washing part is best kept simple and gentle.  Because you don't want to be exfoliating or scrubbing.  Treat your skin like the delicate protective layer it is.  Warm water will shift the orange-jar calendula.  The zinc version (yellow jar) is like vaseline and equally hard to remove which is why I don't like it, though it does come off with a warm, wet tissue or clean flannel.  I use a tiny amount of cidal soap when washing which is natural citrus, though I suspect it has all the usual "bad" ingredients in like other soaps.  Lyonsleaf also suggest the "oil cleanse method", using their "beauty balm" product.  I've yet to try this.  A warm shower is probably the best way to wash the face.  Many of the perioral dermatitis girls are using apple cider vinegar, but I need to investigate further.

Ultimately, I feel the less washing the face (and disturbing the skin) you do the better.  So I've moved from twice a day to just once.  My skin always looks better when it's due a wash, rather than after!

GENERAL HISTORY:

I have suffered with this from the age of 25.  I'm now 41.  I have spent literally THOUSANDS on products.  I don't want you guys suffering for that long, nor wasting all your money like I have.  I was originally put on antibiotics for TWO YEARS by the doctor, treating it as acne.  This probably ruined my insides and led to other health problems.  Once the antibiotics stopped I actually managed to control the condition with some other natural oils for a decade or so.  I never paid much attention to the ingredients, but there was manuka oil, tea tree oil and all sorts in there - quite possibly calendula too.  The company was Salcura and they marketed themselves as a natural solution to skin disorders (mainly eczema).  Then the company was bought out changed the ingredients away from all-natural ones and it stopped working, which is what brought me back to searching for a cure.  I only wish I kept the old packets to look at what was in there!!

I had tried tea tree oil alone but it didn't work that great.  I did persist with it for a long time but it would run up my nose when I slept, ruining my sleep for years.  It took me a long time to spot the link because when I stopped using tea tree oil the nose problem persisted for months.  It took a long time to recover.

Like others here I used manuka honey, often plastering my face in it for HOURS.  It was soothing but once removed things would kick off again.

I also tried the azealic acid, but found it ineffective.  The guy that it did work for cited rosacea as his particular problem.  There is a heavy overlap with the two conditions, and also sebhoerric dermatitis.

There was also a guy telling us to use various anti-fungal treatments here.  Tried that without success.  "Fungal acne" seems to be trendy at the moment, doesn't hurt trying I suppose... but then this topicals often contains all the bad things which make perioral dermatitis worse!

When I found this site I started using benzoyl peroxide.  It worked!  Somebody here said it didn't.  But you have to use it harshly for about a week until your skin has it's outer layer stripped off.  Then it must be used each day to maintain the exfoliation, and for its ability to kill everything.  But... and it's a big but. DO NOT USE benzoyl peroxide.  It's way too harsh.  Do NOT exfoliate.  It's making the condition worse.  It's destroying the skin barrier and making you dependent on it.  I only got out of the benzoyl peroxide loop by having to use oral antibiotics... which as we know is worst case scenario and a disaster.

Don't ever use steroid creams.

THE SKIN BARRIER

You need to build/maintain your skin barrier, not strip it.  Dont exfoliate.  Dont use harsh cleaners.  Exfoliating is a mistake.  Benzoyl Peroxide - the product this site sells you, is the ultimate exoliator and bacteria killer.  But when you stop it the condition will be the worst ever, since you have removed the entire protective epidermis.  Dry skin is also bad.  Dry skin is cracked and more porous, and is a weakened skin barrier too.  Both water and cold winds especially will dry skin.

The white pustules are best left alone.  For years I used to hunt them with a needle, puncturing them and pushing out the puss.  But this often encouraged new ones to take their place.  With the calendula they will become smaller with less swollen/painful, their heads weaker and they will break naturally.  This is why I say they are best left alone.  Be patient with the calendula.

Dont touch your face.  I did the other day trying to get a hair stuck to my face and this is where my current solitary pustule is.  You have a compromised skin barrier.  Work on rebuilding it.  Ensure your bed sheets and pillow are clean.  If you lie on your back when sleeping it's easy to avoid the face coming into contact with things.  I sleep on my side but have trained to sleep in a way where I'm on the edge of the pillow to minimise contact.  I also sleep with the calendula on, I think this is better as its a protective layer.  Plus it's still working whilst you sleep.

DIET

I avoid gluten, wheat, sugar and especially dairy.  It so happens this is what perioral dermatitis sufferers try to avoid too.  I feel dairy will produce pustules within hours.  Sugar also unless you are doing heavy exercise (curiously I can eat lots of sugar before a massive run without consequence).  Wheat/gluen I'm more curious about as I don't get an instant reaction.  I feel this is one that builds up in the system, and also means cutting it from your diet may mean it takes weeks for the benefit to be experienced.

I'm feeling so positive about the calendula, that the past 2 days I've eaten all of the above bad foods, and have just 1 white pustule on my face.  I don't plan to eat bad food all the time.  When I had 10 years of the condition under control, I had a strict diet so I know this is important too.  And as many have you suggested, much of this can be traced back to the gut.

But I do feel the bad food triggers above are more of an "intolerance" than an "allergy".  Intolerance means you will have problems if you have too much of a bad thing... allergy is a swift reaction to even a small amount.  So we must not be prisoners to what we can/cannot eat, and I know for those that lift weights a restricted diet creates problems.  But it can be done.

Try to eat lots of greens.  Kale is good, doesn't upset IBS suffers, you can eat lots of it.  But variety is best.   Salad.  Just basic peas even.  Broccoli.  Although... onions, leeks and (not strictly a green) garlic seem to make matters worse on occasion.

Stay away from processed food.

SUPPLEMENTS

I've tried everything, some of which I mentioned in an earlier post.  

At the moment I'm just taking grapeseed extract.  The ones by Higher Nature I found to be the best.  This is said to be a "natural antibiotic".  They never resolved the pustules alone, but as a placebo I always felt for years they were effective.

Saccharomyces boulardii.  This is the "candida / yeast overgrowth killer" for the gut.  I had high hopes for this, as I often seem to have fungal infections, and there was a guy in the forum trying to convince us we all had a fungal problem.  It didn't stop the pustules.  But I've not had a fungal infection since either.  I did feel ill afterwards for a few days which apparently is a sign of the candida dying off, though did have a strange chalky growth around my belly button which I hadn't had before (maybe side effects?).  I washed it off and didn't return.  Saccharomyces boulardii is a type of yeast itself.  I've stopped taking it now but may buy again if I have a fungal infection.  Maybe you could argue preloading my body with Saccharomyces boulardii allowed the calendula topical cream to work?  I do like the idea of treating the problem from within, but ultimately it never worked on its own.

Don't overdo the supplements... after all these years I feel the less the better, and more greens and healthy unprocessed foods.  Cook your own dishes more.

THOUGHTS ON FUNGAL ELEMENT

I did think this might be a key factor but my antifungal treatments never yielded any positive results, despite being susceptible elsewhere on the body!

I know some people are saying dont use oils and creams as they "feed" the fungus.  And that makes sense in theory, but if you have tried the recommended antifungal treatments without success I think you can abandon that line of thinking... though fungal infections and candida have been cited as a trigger factor for perioral dermatitis (though so has bacterial ones, toothphase, sunscreen, etc.).

In any case, many of the natural oils are indeed antifungal (as well as antibacterial).  Tea tree, neem, and seemingly calendula and the other oils lyonsleaf are using.  And I would argue that you MUST keep your skin moist and from drying out, as cracked skin appears to make matters worse.

If you have problems with excess sebum, using alternative oils will also help regulate production.  This can be useful if you have regular acne alongside perioral dermatitis.

I think the reason people believed oils were bad for the skin is that a lot of cosmetics actually make perioral dermatitis worse, damaging the barrier and altering the skin flora.  This isn't necessarily the oils - but the other products in them.  This is why Lyonsleaf and the company I was using before (Salcura) dont have this problem.  When Salcura were bought by another company, they removed a lot of the natural stuff and started replacing them with chemicals, alcohol, sodium-based compositions and all the other things which weaken the barrier.

STAPH / NOSE BACTERIA?

A few pages back everybody was talking about this.  When I was last on oral antibiotics and stopped, when the pustules returned they initially appeared from around the nose area, then advanced down my face.  So I can certainly see why people think there is a link.

Even with the success of using calendula, I had a white pustule up my nose a few days ago!  So I'm not sure, perhaps lubricating with calendula oil might work - though we must be very careful with the sensitive lining of our noses.  As I say, I stripped mine with tea tree oil and even years later still have problems.  I'm not sure how much of an irritant calendula oil on it's own.

FOLLICULITIS

This was mentioned in some of the earlier pages, an infection of the folicules.  I can understand why people consider this as often we will see hairs at the centre of our white pustules.  Ultimately the distribuition of white pustules is more consistent with perioral dermatitis - around the mouth, under the nose, perhaps more above the moustache area than in it, and on the chin.  Deep within the beard tends to have fewer pustules.

Professionally, perioral dermatitis is considered a "disease of the hair follicule".  I can see how many peoples individual experiences and theories across the 27 pages of this topic come together toward this one condition.

For me, close shaving however does aggrivate it.  Perhaps logical as we are damaging our fragile skin barrier and tackling the hairs in folicules.  I prefer to use a powered shaver and have stubble.  A thick beard can make applying topical treatments difficult.  In fact the candeula+zinc combination would be a nightmare!

Incidentally folliculitis on it's own may well benefit from calendula.

IN CONCLUSION

This was a long post, but it has spanned two decades of my life.  If was to list everything I tried it would be much longer!

Stop thinking of this as acne and treat the condition as perioral dermatitis, then go from there.  Guys seem to have the white pustules, possibly as a result of different hormones to girls.  I've yet to see a girl with white pustules with perioral dermatitis, though I'm sure such a thing exists.

Ideally stop using all other topical creams and lotions.

You really need to buy/try some calendula (ideally lyonsleaf).  Try it for a few weeks.  Be patient with it.  It is treating the underlying skins ability to cope with the problem rather than white pustules directly.

Wash your skin gently, dont exfoliate.  Wash with a natural cleanser.  A hot shower and no cleansers is probably better.  Lyonsleaf do say there products are best used after a hot shower.  The pores are open which will allow deeper penetration and faster recovery.

Keep your diet clean, drink only water and stop touching your face.

Then report back!

PS:  Sorry for all the spelling mistakes.

@acnocalypse That was a lot of information  

The before/after pictures are amazing!  What you found could be a game changer for us. I never heard of calendula cream before, but this could be really a cure.  Did you have any initial breakouts ?  Did your skin changed ? Hopefully you'll update us in a few days again, I'm really curious what's going to happen.

You are definitely right about niacinamide, this was the stupidest thing I could have done. So if you have dry/dehydrated skin(like myself) the LAST thing you want to do is to stop sebum production. I have sebum overproduction in my T-zone and a very dry chin, and always thought that I just need to get rid of sebum. WRONG: sebum overproduction is just your body compensating for the lack of water in the skin, and that's the issue that needs to be addressed(I don't know how at the moment). So if you stop sebum production, your skin is going to flake, fall off, very nasty. Only after 4 days of using  niacinamide I started experiencing this, so I started moisturising the skin and it's now significantly better. Hopefully in a week I'll restore it to the previous state.

Just one thing that I find interesting: A few years ago my problem with this white zits was a bit more annoying than now: I used to get white zits on and around my nose all the time. Then, at the time, I was into liver cleanses which I believed could cure all acne and oily skin. Interesting thing happened - After 3 or 4 liver cleanses, all of sudden, I didn't have one zit on my nose since! Of course I continued doing them a few more times, but without any results unfortunately, and I gave up.

Regarding diet, I think that dairy and gluten are the key to manage this condition(until we find the cure). I wrote a few days ago that I'm starting again with meat only diet, and guess what ? No zits for the last 4 days. 

Also, regarding the supplements: the one that I never used before is activated charcoal. It is supposed to filter out undigested toxins, and help with digestion. I don't know if it helps or not, it's only a few days as I'm using it, guess we will see in a month.

The photo is slightly flattering as it wasn't well lit and thus low-contrast. However, I can still see red where there was once pustules, particulary in the worst "strongholds". The girls say the red patches take a couple of months to finally disappear. It sort of makes sense... with antibiotics they would be gone in a little over a fortnight... but with a topical cream you are working from the outside in.

Initial breakouts... not really. I keep a spreadsheet of pustule counts AM/PM along with diet and treatments. I went from 9 active pustules to 12, about the same as "background noise". But then things started to decrease after 48 hours, with occasional flare ups (I suddenly went from 3 to 10 after careless diet).
Because the calendula works so slowly, I tried not to dwell too much on the fact I was still gaining new white pustules. I did feel that even with a high number of active pustules the skin just felt... calmer. Less painful. Less inflamed. And the pustules that came thereafter were smaller and shorter lived. Previously if I saw a tiny pustule in the morning, by the afternoon it could be massive. But now, in the evening - it had fallen off! I still feel tingling of a "new pustule" and it's swelling, but increasingly nothing seems to appear. I suspect the tingles will slowly go away.

This evening I have 2 pustules next to each other in the last remaining stronghold. I'm not surprised, as I've continued to eat badly and even had a butter curry this evening. I'm probably getting cocky! But the rest of the skin is now entirely dormant and the red areas are in full retreat. This is good, because I know each day I push back the redness, the chance of new pustules decreases.

A meat only diet is interesting. I was reading that carbs are a big problem for perioral dermatitis. I do eat a lot of carbs, but limited to brown rice and porridge nowadays (slow release carbs with low glycemic index). Curiously I find sweet potato causes breakouts, even though it's high in vitamin-A (anti-acne). It's very high in sugar for a vegetable, and in any case since we are not dealing with acne here I'm not surprised the vitamin-A didn't help.

10 hours ago, acnocalypse said:

A meat only diet is interesting.  I was reading that carbs are a big problem for perioral dermatitis.  I do eat a lot of carbs, but limited to brown rice and porridge nowadays (slow release carbs with low glycemic index).  Curiously I find sweet potato causes breakouts, even though it's high in vitamin-A (anti-acne).  It's very high in sugar for a vegetable, and in any case since we are not dealing with acne here I'm not surprised the vitamin-A didn't help.

It turns out that carbs can be really bad for some medical conditions. I remember a doctor on Joe Rogan podcast talking about having back pain and resolving it by just eating meat. Now he is one of the most famous advocates for the zero-carb diet. Check it out here: 

It looks like that zero carb diet is also very good for people with auto-immune diseases. Unfortunately I found that I also have one(hashimoto's thyroiditis). I mean, I don't have any pain or anything, just bad skin and mood swings  and I would never probably learn about it if I didn't go and check pretty much all important hormones. You might wanna check your TSH level just to write off thyroid dysfunction as a root source of this.

Also, it looks like that I have really low stomach acid, which is often associated with acne due to indigestion. It's easy to test this at home,  https://loveleafco.com/blog/baking-soda-stomach-acid-test

Anyway, it's a very hard diet, must be properly planned, but it's the only thing that I found that works for me.

Anybody have any updates on how theyre doing? Ive been advised to try accutane but seems like a lot of guys here got this condition after taking accutane?!

I've been thinking a lot lately about this thing being just a bacterial infection like @elkhaldesaid( h.pylori), but it looks like it's not, at least in my case. Just received the results from the blood test that I took in the morning, checking the levels of CRP, which is basically used to figure out if there's any infections in the body. I really hoped my valuewould be outside the normal range which could explain acne, butunfortunately it's very well within the normal range, it's just 4.86 mg/L.

On the other hand, I'm acne free on this meat only diet. It was just the first 4-5 days where I was getting new zits, but after that nothing new and the old one faded away. This is really hard and I'm not sure for how long I'll be able to continue with this, I really miss the food.

My new theory about this acne is that is connected to the low stomach acid in the body, which as a result causes indigestion of food and food sensitivity, resulting in acne. I would encourage EVERYONE suffering from this to read this article https://loveleafco.com/blog/baking-soda-stomach-acid-test and take the baking soda test. It's really easy, and if all of you guys havelow stomach acid like I do, we could perhaps figure out this thing.

8 hours ago, UnkemptGround said:

I've been thinking a lot lately about this thing being just a bacterial infection like @elkhaldesaid( h.pylori), but it looks like it's not, at least in my case. Just received the results from the blood test that I took in the morning, checking the levels of CRP, which is basically used to figure out if there's any infections in the body. I really hoped my valuewould be outside the normal range which could explain acne, butunfortunately it's very well within the normal range, it's just 4.86 mg/L.

 

On the other hand, I'm acne free on this meat only diet. It was just the first 4-5 days where I was getting new zits, but after that nothing new and the old one faded away. This is really hard and I'm not sure for how long I'll be able to continue with this, I really miss the food.

My new theory about this acne is that is connected to the low stomach acid in the body, which as a result causes indigestion of food and food sensitivity, resulting in acne. I would encourage EVERYONE suffering from this to read this article https://loveleafco.com/blog/baking-soda-stomach-acid-test and take the baking soda test. It's really easy, and if all of you guys havelow stomach acid like I do, we could perhaps figure out this thing.

Same thing with me. Antibiotic cream like mupirocin works for me. My pustules might be bacterial. I'm also testing for stomach acid test. It could help me since i'm constipated all the time..... So eating meat only cured your folliculitis or pustules ?

Eating meat cured all acne, in a sense that nothing new comes out. I don't wash my face with anything except water. I don't know if this can be explained with anything except food sensitivity, which as I read could be caused by low stomach acid.

On 10/19/2019 at 7:23 AM, gilang91 said:

i think everyone has hpylori since it is common bacteria. but studies found that hpylori might be responsible for skin rash,alergic reaction and rosacea.

Bro, do update us with your progress. Who knows, may be this could be the answer.

On 10/21/2019 at 7:40 PM, FrancisG said:

Hi guys. Have been following this thread. I suffer from the same after several rounds of antibiotics. See attached pics. Do you guys find your pustules to be extremely itchy?

Also, I've been reading up on fecal transplants. I've read of successes with this technique. Anyone tried it?

Where have you read about FMTs being successful in curing our condition. I too am looking for some literature on this topic as I too believe that FMT can be a game changer for us.

On 11/5/2019 at 7:56 PM, rebelheart said:

Bro, do update us with your progress. Who knows, may be this could be the answer.

Where have you read about FMTs being successful in curing our condition. I too am looking for some literature on this topic as I too believe that FMT can be a game changer for us.

There is a thread on here with a couple of people who had amazing results from it. Search FMT or fecal transplant in the search bar.

Would like to hear from others who have done it.

On 11/5/2019 at 7:09 AM, UnkemptGround said:

Eating meat cured all acne, in a sense that nothing new comes out. I don't wash my face with anything except water. I don't know if this can be explained with anything except food sensitivity, which as I read could be caused by low stomach acid.

What were you eating before?

I feel these should be avoided without compromise, at least during the : Dairy... wheat/gluten... sugar. Anything processed tends to have lots of this even when it's not apparent.

You could slowly introduce foods and see what produces a reaction. Honestly, you are in an ideal situation now so you should take advantage. With the pustules gone, this is obviously excellent, and you have a baseline to work on.

My diet is so sparse right now it's making me miserable, as even the calendula doesn't let me eat liberally. However, a friend recently pointed out chocolate in it's purest form is actually anti inflammatory as well as a whole host of other benefits. It's always promoted a reaction in me, but I managed to source 97% cocoa powder, with the other 3% being potassium. I did not have any extra pustules from this, and in porridge it was heavenly.

An update on my calendula usage. My skin seems to have changed now, there is a definate sense of an improved skin barrier as my skin feels thicker and white pustules seem to have a differnet top skin to them. However, the overall benefits seem to have peaked about a week or so ago and there are now regular white heads. I did think it was from foolishly eating gluten but I need more time to assess. The white pustules also seem deeper and more painful, whereas before they were more benign on the surface. Which may be because the skin is now thicker. It may be that I need a different treatment now, or a combination of this and the calendula. I did try zinc for a few days but this seemed to make matters worse... this may have been due to the beeswax however.

I'm a little disappointed this is still hanging around as the initial response was very impressive. I do wonder if this is because of the heavy damage from benzoyl peroxide which strips/thins the skin. Calendula also appears to be a route to recovery from anti inflammatory steroid creams which are commonly mis-prescribed for PD.

I will try rolling over to a tea tree oil, manuka oil and neem oil which seems the closest to the old Salcura ranges before they changed the ingredients, whilst maintaining half of the face on the calendula. I may also try Gladskin as suggested by another member for staph infections.

3 hours ago, acnocalypse said:

What were you eating before?

Really crappy diet, mix of dairy/gluten/refined sugar pretty much every day. Looks like that only meat and eggs do not cause reaction in my body. I noticed that even nuts cause pustules for me, which is yet another food restriction unfortunately. I am somehow managing to stay on this diet just by having one big meal a day, where I eat at least 600 gramsof meat(usually burgers/stakes)and some eggs. This way I only haveonce a day to prepare the food, and for the rest of the day I don't even think about it. Anyway, still pustules free.

So I am preparing myself actually for the next quest: I'll stop with this diet for a few days.Although I will get a few pustules, I'll regain some energy that I really need because I want to start with this diet again but this time I will be taking a really promising soil-based probiotic. Recently, I have discovered that people who have the same autoimmunedisease as me, are also suffering from food sensitivity in great numbers, and some of them started using soil-based probiotics(regular probiotics that most people use don'treally help)and after 3 months taking them and only eating a strict diet, they managed to cure all skin problems and get rid of food sensitivities, like a miracle. I won't mentionthe brand because I don't really know if it works, but I'm starting on Wednesday and of course I'llupdate you guys with the progress.

Ive had this problem for 1-2 years now. It gets worse after antibiotics, but Im pretty sure its not fungal.

On a positive note, benzoyl peroxide is really good at preventing the zits. You dont need to keep it on all night, you cando short contact therapy! Just apply it on your face, let it dry for ~ 5 minutes, and wash it off.After this, you can use moisturizer, it might be hard to find a good one though. This way, youre not completely destroying your skin.Once a day was enough for me to keep it working, but you might wanna do it twice a day in the beginning.Also, you dont need to put it on your forehead, just spread it all over the mouth/nose/cheeksarea so you dont have to buy a new bottle every week. Im personally using abenzoyl peroxide 5% face wash, so its even more plentiful than a gel. You have to keep using it, it might get worse in the first few days, when its pushing all bacteria out, but in 1-2 weeks it should be better. I was happy with my skin after a month.

Even though its probably not a permanent solution, I have to use it, because I literally cant go outside my house with a breakout, its very embarrassing.

Ultimately,it probably is because of gut health, I stopped the treatment and was fine for a month,then unluckilyhad to take antibiotics for strep throat, and the zitscame back full force. It might be just from stopping the benzoyl peroxide, but who knows. Now Im back on a good diet, probiotics and using the benzoyl peroxide, Ill update how many days it takes to see effect again!

I used Benzoyl Peroxide successfully... at least at first. I wasn't using it as a wash, but leaving it on.I felt my condition was severe enough that it needed permanent contact.

I see somebody on here had tried it, but gave up within a few days. It took about a week of applying it heavily and burning the skin layers off, it was red raw, very painful - but no pustules. With the layer stripped, you could then ease it off a bit. Moisturiser was an absolute must.

However, I now regret using it. The skin layer was thinned so badly there was no way off it without antibiotics. I also felt it was aging my skin, due to the oxygen content. Even if it wasn't, the skin is so much thinner than UVA rays were more damaging. Solutions such as calendula help restore the layer, though I'm unsure if they would work going straight from BP. Most people say withdrawing BP results in massive breakouts.

18 hours ago, UnkemptGround said:

Really crappy diet, mix of dairy/gluten/refined sugar pretty much every day. Looks like that only meat and eggs do not cause reaction in my body. I noticed that even nuts cause pustules for me, which is yet another food restriction unfortunately. I am somehow managing to stay on this diet just by having one big meal a day, where I eat at least 600 gramsof meat(usually burgers/stakes)and some eggs. This way I only haveonce a day to prepare the food, and for the rest of the day I don't even think about it. Anyway, still pustules free.

So I am preparing myself actually for the next quest: I'll stop with this diet for a few days.Although I will get a few pustules, I'll regain some energy that I really need because I want to start with this diet again but this time I will be taking a really promising soil-based probiotic. Recently, I have discovered that people who have the same autoimmunedisease as me, are also suffering from food sensitivity in great numbers, and some of them started using soil-based probiotics(regular probiotics that most people use don'treally help)and after 3 months taking them and only eating a strict diet, they managed to cure all skin problems and get rid of food sensitivities, like a miracle. I won't mentionthe brand because I don't really know if it works, but I'm starting on Wednesday and of course I'llupdate you guys with the progress.

Interestingly I feel nuts lead to breakouts for me too. Almonds seem the least offensive. I'm not sure what the link with nuts is. I did have a mild response with hazelnuts on an intolerance (not allergy) test year ago, but I was eating tonnes of them so I don't think it was indicative of anything.

Saccharomyces boulardiiis the probiotic I used, though I'm uncertain if it did anything. Most probiotics cause me to breakout but that one did not.

I'm surprised you can eat eggs... apparently they have a high sulfur content which makes problems with pustules worse. I also had egg as a good to avoid on my intolerance test, and I know a girl with pustularPD that identified eggs as the trigger. Sometimes combinations of foods can be a trigger too.