Acne.org Products
25, female
Never really suffered from severe acne - with that I mean, my skin has been okay. Of course there has been ups and downs, but in general the skin has been okay. It is ME who is causing the problem, at least I thought, until recently. I have ALWAYS been the girl with a rash, and pimples that would never heal. The last years I can probably count on my fingers how many weeks I have been "wound-free". The rash; started on my arms about 10 years ago - my dad thought it was a hickey..... Reeeally itchy. Start by looking like a acne-like bump, then I scratch (impossible not to), it ooze clear liquid, turns into a wound, scabs over, and takes a looong time to heal. It is hard to say when it happens and what triggers it. It just comes and goes. In later years I have also noticed I am getting it on my back, or at least it looks like it. People might say it looks like acne, but these will swell and look bright red if I itch. I also get this in my face and in my scalp....... Therefore it has been pretty hard to say what is really acne, and what is the rash. Also I feel that it spreads pretty easily, if I first start to scratch. And yes, I am a horrible picker. HORRIBLE. But the thing is, I only pick because there is something to pick......................
I have always had several wounds in my face. ALWAYS. Especially on the nose and cheek. I always get told by my mom "please, let your cute little face have some rest" and "what on earth have you done?!". It is always the same story - starts with a bump, that never comes to a head. I can often see that there is "something inside", but it just never comes to the bright, yellow typical acne-head. I usually pick on it, often with a needle first, then squeezing..... sometimes I get something out. Like a typical tube of white paste, but then it is including lot of oozing, and the skin around it is completely broken, usually the skin comes off. Very often it happens that I see that the "tube" comes out from a "white sac", which still is stuck. Usually it scabs over, but the scab is not even attached to the wound, it comes very easily off, and the "white sac" is still there. Also it might be accompanied with more of the sacs, or should I say "white plugs". Then the same story happens every time...... I try to pull them out. Sometimes I can, sometimes there is NO CHANCE IN HELL. Oozing continues together with the fake scabbing over, etc. Usually it will not heal before all of the plugs are gone. Sometimes they are "having a party" under the scab, I might pull it off and there is a lot of white "gooey" stuff above the plugs. It is a nightmare...... because as I said, usually these comes around or on the nose. Impossible to put makeup on. I am also a pretty active person, or should I say, I am in theory, but not in practice. It has made me skip soo many social events and occations, I have skipped classes etc, and it is impossible to do any sports as there will be seawater, sweat or showering, which will make it worse. And can you imagine making out with wounds under tons of makeup.....? Not a chance.
These last year it has really ruined so many parts of my life. I am taking a year off school due to health problems (depressed, anxiety, etc...). Medications has helped a lot, but I still always feel "held back" by my skin. I have tried so many different skin-regiments..... money out the window. I have tried products for acne-prone, oily, dry, dehydrated and sensitive skin. Always top-notch salon-brands like decleor, md formulations, emergin c, etc. None of them seemed to help. Neither on the "acne", or on the redness.
The last monthSSS I have had some wounds on my cheek that would never heal, plus about one month ago I got one that just went haywire - I had to "pull the plugs", out with a tweezer, and I of course could not get them all.. and it just kept on going - oozing, forming a yellow gooeyish crust, the skin around it broke into eczema, and it would never, ever heal. In the end I started using the strips they use instead of stitching up the wound, and in the end it would somehow grow, but still pretty bad scarring..... Meanwhile I had this, I got a bit crazy with the needle one day, and thought "hey, maybe I should just push out some of those biig pores on my nose as well". What happened....... now it is a wound. With LOTS OF WHITE PLUGS IN IT. When it is allowed to scab over....... yellow gooey crust. It looks horrible, and it hurts.
I HAD ENOUGH. I have been googleing for months, but never found anything that fits. I have read about it a thousand times but...... never thought it fit me. But it just makes more and more sense. So I have decided to treat for............. demodex mites. Because a lot of my symptoms definitely fits. First of all.... my eyebrows have been itching and dandruffing a lot. I can often rip out alot of hairs... the same for the eyelashes. Or less dandruff, but I seem to wake up with pus in the corners of the eye every morning, also often I have to "pull out hair" because I have a "sty on my eye" and it will not go away until I have pulled the "infected hair" or whatever. Sometimes that does not help as well. I also have had a looot of problems with dry eyes or "something on my eye" or that I "feel the eyelens way too much". It has driven my crazy so many times, I try different drops, rinse the eye, put on new lenses...... nothing works. Even the optician did not know what to do, as I am already using the most expensive lenses that has the most moisture, including using the different eyedrops. That was just the eyebrows and the eyelashes, for the skin it is quite obvious....... pimples turning into a wound with plugs in it, never healing, spreading really easily. REDNESS! I do not have that "general redness", but just if I even scratch a little, it will turn bright red and takes some time to go away. If I squeeze a pimple....... well. Then I can count on having to use makeup the next week. It seems like I turn soo much more red than everyone else. Also in physical activity - sometimes after running intervals, I can be bright red for the next two hours. The same is for the shower..... I also have noticed that I am starting to see some veins on my cheeks, also on my shoulders (?). So it might indicate that I am actually suffering from a little bit of rosacea.
I will also add to this, that I have tried the most there is of steroid-cremes; Mildison, Apolar, Betnovat, Dermovat.... They did not do shit, or even made it worse. I have tried taking antihistamines, even taking Prednisolon! Not helping at all. Benzoyl Peroxide does not work, the same for different "spot treatments" from saloon brands. I have also been so luck that I have gotten NASAL HERPES. I never even had an outbreak on my lip. NEVER. But I know some guy that I dated had labial herpes.... So one day I went to the skin saloon to get dermabrasion, I told the esthetician about a swelling on my nose that itched like crazy, she immediately said it was Herpes. Also this has been bothering me a looooooot. I am now taking Valtrex daily.. In other words, I feel that I know what works and what does not, also what it cannot be, etc..
Ay, a lot of rambling. I have had a LOT on my mind about this issue, and it feels good to "write it down" and clear my mind. Anyways.. with a physian in the family, I do not have the biggest trouble getting a prescription for different creams. As I wrote, I had just had enough. Last week I went to the pharmacy and I got;
- Airol = 0,05% tretinoin cream
- Skinoren = 20% azelaic acid cream
- Rosazol = 1% metronidazole cream
- Soolantra = 1% ivermectin cream <--- this one is specifically for the demodex!
I also made an order for;
- 5% permethrin cream. Nix brand, anti-lice treatment, should also work for the demodex
- 100% oils of sea buckthorn, coconut, neem and tea tree
- 10% sulphur ointment
The war has begun! I am still in the process of learning, planning etc, so I am not sure how to do this yet. There are still some more products I want to get, the only stupid thing is that since I live in europe, and most of it has to be ordered from the US, it might take a bit time before it arrives. But I have been thinking of getting apple cider vinegar, ZZ-cream (or something like it), Nu-stock ointment, some kind of soap with for example sulphur in it, an oil-free moisturizer, and also maybe more permethrin, plus some kind of shampoo (or just make this one myself).
As for diet, I am kind of not doing too good. But it has never seemed to make any difference for my skin either. I am an "retired bulimic", so I am trying not to do too much radical changes within my diet. I usually eat wholegrain bread with jam and cheese, lactose-free milk (only one we have at home), some candy here and there (but now I am trying to quit), and some dinner. I know this is something I need to work on, but believe me, this is much improvement from before! As for supplements I am better. I take;
- 6 capsules high EPA/DHA omega capsules
- b-complex
- iron
- zinc & c-vitamin
- D3 vitamin
- probiotics
Here I will write down what my regimen is, hopefully how the improvements is going, etc etc. Also some rambling inbetween... I am just hoping that going all in will make and end to this!
As for now; happy thoughts! The only way to fight negativity, is with positivity 🙂
and if you have ANY TIP on how to get RID OF DEMODEX, PLEASE LET ME KNOW!! Sharing is caring 
So, I started my "treatment" just before the weekend with whatever I had at home - 100% tea tree oil, the creams from the pharmacy, jojoba and baby oil. I have still been doing "microsurgery" on the wound on my nose until this morning...... Yesterday I went to sleep with a thick layer of the Ivermectin cream on my wounds, and this morning I woke up with a bright yellow/green layer over the wounds on both my nose and my chin. I started taking penicillin yesterday also, JUST IN CASE there would be any kind of infection in the wounds..
So today I have;
morning
- started with scrubbing gently with a cloth, warm water and soap. Some of the crust came off
- put on tea tree oil just on the wounds with a q-tip
- put Ivermectin-cream on my whole face, also eyebrows and eyelashes
lunch
the crust is drying out on the nose, and the skin is contracting. It is definitely smaller than this morning. I am trying to just remove a little bit of it, of course ends up with removing almost the whole thing. At least there are less plugs under it. Try to remove two of the big ones.
- wash again
- mix 50/50 tea tree and jojoba oil and put on
dinner
oil seems to have calmed skin. however, I still am dumb enough to do some "microsurgery"........
wash face with cloth, warm water and soap. then follows up with klorhexidin
put on tea tree oil plus ivermectin cream
the nose-wound seems a bit smaller and infected, however, still red and way too big. Afraid it is not going to heal in a looong time, and leave a biig svar. Now I HAVE TO LET MY SKIN HAVE SOME PEACE AND QUIET FROM THE HORRIBLE MICROSURGERY.
fun fact; my skin besides the wounds are actually behaving perfectly! Not flaring up by the smallest touch, not breaking out and seems actually stable. Even without any form for moisturizing.... At least that is something to be happy about 🙂
Now I will let my skin have some rest until tomorrow. Maybe a dot of tea tree oil and ivermectin cream before going to bed, but I think maybe I will skip that as well..... Once you pop you cannot stop? I have to avoid the bathroom to let my face avoid microsurgery haha..... Will try to order some more products tonight.
of course I could not leave my face alone last night, but no big harm done. Only an extra round of wash&moist. Soo this morning I woke up to two wounds completely closed! Of course a little scab in the middle, but I count that as big improvement. The monsterwound on the nose had unfortunately not closed, but at least it was the same scab as yesterday, a little dryer, and a lot less red around it. Of course I could not leave it.... It looked a bit yellow/greenish and gooey, and when I pushed a little, both pus and blood came out. It ended with me removing the whole thing.... BUT, below it was actually big improvement! The wound was bright red, with only some white plugs. You could see it was not as "messy" as yesterday. Microsurgery was done to hopefully get the last plugs out........ stupid, I know. But I just HAD TO. You could see them so clearly. I am trying to make this be the very last time. At least, before there was a very precise local pain, which came whenever I pushed the nose, as something specific had to come out...... now that is gone, and I know that is a very good sign, at least from previous experience. Also my skin is flaking a looot around the wounds! Plus I have noticed some hurting new bumps in my scalp... not good! Anyways, for the nosewound I used some clear bandage to "strip the wound together", and will try as much as I can to give my skin some rest and peace today. Also yesterday, I made an order for different oils and a soap on iherb, plus the Nu-stock ointment that people have used to get rid of demodex. Fingers crossed they will arrive asap!
morning
washing with cloth, warm water and cleansing gel
left some babyoil on for a while, then washed that off as well
exfoliated with md formulation daily peel pads
put on tea tree oil and ivermectin cream
pulled the nosewound together with the help of a bandage
afternoon
did not wash the skin again, just put on more tea tree oil, ivermectin and rosazol, also put on Airol and Basiron (5% benzoyl peroxide), as I read that BP is also effective in killing demodex, and when thinking about it, it has actually helped me in the past, and since I tolerate it well, I would like to give it a try!
I also have been changing the bandage several times...... stupid, I knooow. But only to clean, put on more tea tree oil and ivermectin, then put on a new bandage again. The wound fills up with fluid after a while, so it is needed. Not sure what do during the night.... Other than that, despite putting so many creams etc on my skin.. it feels fine! Not to oily, not to dry and "tight", just plain dry and soft. I would never in a lifetime expect that! Whatever I have put on before, it always felt like it would never sink into the skin, and that I was walking around with a thin layer of moisturizer on top of my skin..
After some more demodex-research (...) I decided to order Vicks vapor rub, which contains camphor, eukalyptus, menthol, nutmeg and cedarleaf oil. It seems like the camphor-oil is giving the mites a hard time, so I will give it a go!
Also a bit frustrated, as first of all - as I live in europe, it is harder to get my hands on the different products, and I have to order everything online. Besides being broke, the clock is ticking, and I am getting impatient. My tea tree oil is soon empty. I am expecting permethrin cream and some oils to arrive very soon - but how to go to the post office when your nose has a big gaping wound.....? Ai ai ai. Also my boss asked me to work extra, which I REALLY NEED, but I had to turn it down "because of my face" (obviously I told her I was sick, which is not far from the truth). Also I have a dog, which also suffers from my stupid skin condition, as I barely takes her for walks, and if I do it is short walks in the dark with a biiig scarf covering my face. I am just sick of it! I could handle the wounds on the cheeks..... but the nose, aii aii aii. Well, as I stated before; only way to fight negativity is with positivity! Hopefully a good night sleep will help a bit on the skin.. 🙂 fingers and toes crossed!
woke up to the ends of the nosewound aaalmost together (slept with bandaid), even when taking off the bandaid, the wound is still almost closed, joy to the world! Of course there is still a long way to go but.. babysteps. Also I found some of the stuff I have ordered in my mailbox! Finally got the permethrin 5%, which I have now rubbed into scalp, face, neck, arms and chest, which I will let stay on until I go to bed. For the oils...... it was neem, sea buckthorn and coconut oil, but some of them seemed not "100%" etc, so I have decided to return them. I actually got an sms as well this morning, telling me that my iherb-order will arrive tomorrow, and I ordered a couple of days ago.... they have supercheap DHL-shipping, and even due to paying taxes, it is worth the extra money, knowing that I get "the real shit". So I made a new order today, hopefully receiving it early next week!
also yesterday, I read that rubbing alcohol would help as well, so....... I put that on as well. It stings a bit for sure, but my skin is still not suffering from being too dry...! I have noticed that I have gotten some bumps in my scalp, forehead, arms and chest. Coincidence...?
I am still afraid to put mosturizer on my face, as this has ALWAYS WORSENED my skin before, believe it or not. But I really want to put something on the healing wounds so the scarring may be reduced, so today I put HealGel Intensive in the mix.. I cannot say I have gotten good results from it before, but also I've never used it in "this setting", so I am curious to see if it has any effect..!
morning
wash with cloth, warm water and cleansing gel
exfoliating with md formulations daily peel pads
put tea tree oil and rubbing alcohol ONLY on the wounds (tea tree oil soon empty, hopefully new one is coming tomorrow)
put on ivermectin, healgel and benzoyl peroxide on the whole face
lunch
put permethrin on scalp, face, neck, chest, arms and back
afternoon
took a shower
scrubbed a little with a cloth, then rinsed with rubbing alcohol
put on ivermectin, permethrin, benzoyl peroxide with some tea tree oil mixed with jojoba oil on top
I did not bother update yesterday, as the situation is still the same. Only thing I did differently was that I put on a skin mask, I use emerginC scientific organics phytocell detox mask. I love that brand, very good for sensitive skin! Hopefully it did some good, and not making anything worse.. Other than that.. the smaller wounds are starting to heal up, but I have still the nosewound and one other that cannot decide what they want. One day drying out and closing up, another day oozing and larger in size. Overall still improvement, but I am getting a little impatient with the nosewound of course :----( Yesterday night I decided to drop going to bed with the jojoba/tto-mix as my tea tree oil never came (apparently customs delayed it... typical), I put a new bandage at the nosewound, but it seemed a little loose, so I decided to put one bigger over that covered the whole wound. Woke up to goo under the whole bandage....... bummer. Usually I would leave a little room on both sides of the "gap", so that the ooze can go outside or whatever..... lesson learned. So not soo much closing together this morning.
BUT, overall my skin is behaving so much better. It does not get too red from scrubbing, either too oily or too dry. There is some flaky skin sometimes, but it seems more like it is "debris" than pulling off a layer of functional skin, so hopefully only dead keratocytes due to the tretinoin speeding up the skin-cells turnover-rate :--) one of the itchy bumps that appeared some days ago in my hairline is improving, also the same for the ones in my scalp...
morning
wash with warm water and cleansing gel
rubbing alcohol on the wounds
put on iverctin, permethrin and benzoyl peroxide
---- leaving the bandage WITHOUT bandage for a little while.. just to see what happens
