Acne.org Products
So, its been about 3 weeks since the procedure. It did get rid of some of the bumps, but not all of them (at least from what I see). The center of my chin still seems to have some bumps/textural weirdness, along with some residual redness. I called the derm's office yesterday and they said if I didn't have full results that I should come back in and have him take a look. I have an appt with him tomorrow. I don't know if I want to have a 2nd treatment or not. It took almost 2 wks to get to the point where it was healed enough that I could cover it with makeup. I don't know if I want to go through all the scabbing and peeling again and deal with additional redness.
We'll see what he says tomorrow...
Just got back from the derm.
He said that there were still some spots left and that he errs on the side of caution when zapping them so as to avoid scarring. He said that he would rather do less than more, so sometimes it requires more than one treatment. He didn't charge me for today's touch up though.
The bumps were all smaller and there were fewer of them, so much less to zap today. He said they were more distinct this time, so he could easily see them to zap them. I think when they were larger, the bumps were less well defined on the edges. They were small enough now that they basically looked like separately little closed comedones.
Hoping for less scabbing and peeling this time since he didn't have to zap as many spots. I learned my lesson from last time and slathered on polysporin and my zinc-based sunscreen as soon as I got home. I think keeping it from drying out helps alot with healing and scar prevention. I think it got too scabby and dry last time. It doesn't look too bad at the moment, considering I just had it done an hour and a half ago.
Let the healing begin!! Hopefully I'll continue to see progress.
Man, one side of my chin is looking really awful this time. Its the left side that already has some superficial scarring. It almost seems bumpier that before the treatment right now and is sore. I hope that's just the initial inflammation and it will go away. Worried now that the 2nd procedure might have damaged the skin.
Oh, and I think I am revising the amount of improvement from the first treatment. I would say it is more like 50-60% improvement. I don't know if that's worth the additional redness and now possible scarring though.
Hoping that things improve over the next few days.
Treatment 2, Day 2:
Swelling has gone down most of the way, but there is still a little bit. More redness and scabby flaking today, so it doesn't look better - but at least it feels a little less bumpy. One spot is really sore for some reason. Just slathered everything in polysporin again. I actually have to go out today, which I'd rather not!
Hi all, just adding to the conversation that I have these oily bumps on my chin too! I also took doxy for 2 months at the end of last year due to cystic acne on my face (it cleared my acne up but I had to stop because I started having severe esophageal problems). I'd had tiny, barely visible clogged pores on my chin for years before the Doxy, but I think after getting done with the Doxy the oily comedones seem to be what's the most visible now.
I've had mono and a couple other serious illnesses, and have gone through various periods of taking antiobiotics for the short-term, such as Zithromax (the Z-Pack). I haven't gotten in a flu shot in years. Seems like there would be some kind of root cause that would cause this, such as poor kidney function or something. Maybe it is poor diet. I was a big consumer of Diet Coke until recently and I don't eat enough veggies. Really tough to figure out the cause of these oily bumps.
Hi all, just adding to the conversation that I have these oily bumps on my chin too! I also took doxy for 2 months at the end of last year due to cystic acne on my face (it cleared my acne up but I had to stop because I started having severe esophageal problems). I'd had tiny, barely visible clogged pores on my chin for years before the Doxy, but I think after getting done with the Doxy the oily comedones seem to be what's the most visible now.
I've had mono and a couple other serious illnesses, and have gone through various periods of taking antiobiotics for the short-term, such as Zithromax (the Z-Pack). I haven't gotten in a flu shot in years. Seems like there would be some kind of root cause that would cause this, such as poor kidney function or something. Maybe it is poor diet. I was a big consumer of Diet Coke until recently and I don't eat enough veggies. Really tough to figure out the cause of these oily bumps.
If yours are connected to antibiotic use, it could be fungal folliculitis. It develops when the normal skin bacteria and fungus are no longer in balance, due to the bacteria being wiped out from antibiotic use. This can allow the fungus to grow out of control and lead to small bumps. Are they small and all pretty much the same size?
What you've got sounds different from what I am dealing with. I do not see any connection to antibiotic use or diet for me. I actually have had a very good diet for a long time - low sugar, low salt, mostly vegetarian, with minimal dairy.
Mine is mostly likely just genetic or hormone related.
Treatment 2, Day 3: looks a little better this morning. The swelling and pain is gone. Mild-moderate flaking and scabbing, and slightly less red. I don't think he zapped the couple of spots that are right in the middle of my chin (which are the ones I really want gone). After a month or so of the rest of this healing, I may go in and ask him to just zap those two spots and nothing else.
Hard to gauge bump reduction at this point, since there is still alot of dead skin clinging to the spots.
I honestly have no idea if this 2nd treatment helped at all - it acutally seemed to make one of the spots (that was almost flat after the 1st treatment) bigger. I still have a little bit of swelling in a couple spots, so its not totally gone like I thought this morning.
At the moment, I'm definitely less happy with how the 2nd treatment went, compared to the first. I'll still give it more time before I decide what the final verdict on this whole process is. I'm afraid to do it again because of the potential effects of cumulative injury to the skin.
I'm giving it one more day for the inflammation to totally subside before I call the derm and ask if this is normal or not.
Wow, major improvement over yesterday! Swelling is down and the scabbing is light. Still redness, but that's easy to cover. It looks like it worked on some of the bumps, but will probably need at least one more treatment session for the center of my chin. I'll wait about a month though, so everything else has time to heal more.
I CAN TELL YOU EXACTLY WHAT THIS IS. And yes, it's a type of scarring -You have calcification under the skin -Dystrophic calcification - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaDystrophic Calcification (D.C.) is the calcification occurring in degenerated or necrotic tissue, as in hyalinized scars, degenerated foci in leiomyomas.
I have had these for over 2 years and after treatment of nearly every kind, I decided to get a biopsy with one of the best Acne Derms there is in London - and this is the diagnosis.
It is caused by trauma to the skin - damage to the tissue where you had acne and can be caused by literally an acne spot, scar or squeezing etc. IT WILL NOT BE CLEARED WITH ACCUTANE
I have had acne all my life, well since I was 14 or so. I was fine then it came back around 26/27 and I went on roaccutane - my inflamed spots were cured but i was left with this hard pebble like surface in chin area, which is where my spots were bad ( i was also a picker) However, what caused mine is whilst back on roaccutane for a 2nd round, I actually plucked hair from the area - causing the formation of these calcium lumps. They are hard, They NEVER EVER come out, They do not respond to anything topical and DID NOT respond to hyfreaction / electic caultry. So, I had a biopsy and this is what my diagnosis is. Calcification. It's unusual and hard to treat. However, the thing likely to really help is CO2 fractional laser - something you cannot do if you have inflammed skin. I have booked appointment for 2 weeks time.
The most important thing I can suggest - GET A BIOPSY. My derm took a small bump under my chin so it didnt look too bad - without the biospy you are treating in the dark. And forget all the creams lotions etc - just get it diagnosed then treat it. GOODLUCK X
Joy, Can you tell me what the pathology report read on your exam? It would help me, because I had a biopsy done and want to see if it's the same report.
Willow,
Please keep reporting your results. It's very helpful. Did your bumps go away when you stretched the skin?
I AM NOT ALONE! For a while I have had this. Mine isn't as much, it is in one general spot on the left side of my chin. It was raised a little and a little redish but that was it. I went on vacation & one day when I was there it raised and was very noticeable but then went down. Yesterday it raised again. I don't know why. I kind of scratched at it today but took a picture. I do not use any acne creams as I do not get acne much but this one rash, I don't know what it is. Going to the doctor tomorrow. I want it gone. But the most it goes is to pretty much unnoticeable. Then will inflame, only twice it has it the past few months. But never fully goes away! Here's some pics.
Sorry to drag up this thread, but I've got some 'long-stay' bumps too! These are new thing for me - I'm on the very last leg of Accutane (just 2 more weeks to go!) and I first got one a few months ago on side of chin, I thought it was a blackhead at first, but it's more flesh coloured and just sits there (it's small)...then I got a cluster of 3 on my upper chin...also not doing anything (also very small and non-inflamed).
It's a bit frustrating as my skin is 100% clear on accutane, except for these things!
Could these be extracted by a beautician? I go back to the hospital 1 month post-accutane, but in UK NHS, I only get to see a nurse, not a derm, so I don't think he could diagnose them.
I have a feeling that as they aren't coming to a head or doing anything, they will just sit there for a long time.
IS there any way to get rid of them please??
no mater what other people think, I fill ugly. Lets admit I can teach myself to live with what I have, but this condition is progressive!!! there is no light at the end of the tunnel. Last week I came back from elctrocuttry, the first couple of days it looks horrible, but then, after it peels off, I was in heaven. it looks very smooth, like 70% improvement.
But now after all the skin peeled off completely, it back to the old appearance.
We have to find the answer.
someone on this forum was mentioning potassium iodide. have anyone heard anything about this?
no mater what other people think, I fill ugly. Lets admit I can teach myself to live with what I have, but this condition is progressive!!! there is no light at the end of the tunnel. Last week I came back from elctrocuttry, the first couple of days it looks horrible, but then, after it peels off, I was in heaven. it looks very smooth, like 70% improvement.
But now after all the skin peeled off completely, it back to the old appearance.
We have to find the answer.
someone on this forum was mentioning potassium iodide. have anyone heard anything about this?
I think I recall reading that if they come back then they're scars, but it was years ago so I could be wrong about this. It could also just be that they're some kind of clogged pore type thing and they refill up. IDK.
I wonder what happened with Willow?
Hi there, I am quite new still with this blogging so please be patient - hopefully this will get to all of you who need to read this.
This is especially relevant to those who have these under the skin bumps who have been on roaccutane - as this is apparently what caused mine - typical that a cure leads to a new problem but we are simply guinea pigs to be honest and who was to know... anyway, hopefully this is a helpful blog for you all....
I have had acne since I was 14, my chin and jawline being the main area - went on roaccutane when I was 16 or so and it cleared. It then came back when I was around 25 or so but not as bad. I then went on roaccutane once again. During the last 4 months of treatment i started getting small whitish, hard bumps under my skin. They were most noticable in sunlight and to touch, but they were not inflammed in anyway. The derm had no idea what is what and infact said it was commedonal acne - it looks like this, except you cannot squeeze them, they do not respond to any topical treatment and they are much harder to touch. I coped with this for over 2 years, they didn't seem to get worse. However, in sunlight it was horrific and I started getting v paranoid. So I went to a new Derm - Dr Edward Seaton at the St Johns Wood Hospital in London - he tried hyfrecation which did nothing but make me look horrifc for a week ( if it was comedonal acne it would have cleared - so all those who are suffing from this, hyfrecaton is what you need) and then topical retinoids. No response. So, he sent me for a biopsy. The pathology report was as follows;
I've reviewed your pathology slides with my colleagues. I think you have developed a rare complication of acne called 'post-acne osteoma cutis'. This causes the development of small blue-white calicfied lumps in the skin which actually represent tiny foci of ectopic bone formation. It has been reported following severe acne or after the use of tetracycline antibiotics, but not as far as I am aware after roaccutane or hair plucking. It in itself is a harmless condition that would not be expected to worsen, but is obviously distressing because of its cosmetic appearance. I think the only truely effective treatment here is likely to be surgical, by making a tiny incision over each lesion and removing each lump by scooping them through the nick. This would obviously leave some scarring, but it is likely to be minimal, would improve with time and would be easy to cover with make up. Laser therapy would I believe also not help significantly. Another option is the continued use of a topical retinoid treatment (such as differin) which helped in one report, but I would be surprised if it helped in your case and if it did so would take many months at least. We can talk further about this next week. If you decide to undertake treatment, I would stronly suggest we just treat one or two initially and then wait for 2-3 months to establish whether you are happy wioth the outcome before we treat all the lesions'
Dr Edward Seaton has been truly amazing - I had my first excision 4 weeks ago, where 30 or so were removed - the scarring is so minimal you simply cannot see any marks and the bumps have smoothed by at least 70%. I had another treatment on Monday and I do not expect to have to go back.
The message I would like to give to you all is that if your 'bumps' are not responding to 'normal treatment' and you cannot extract anything from them, then you really need to go for a biopsy - it sounds a lot worse than it is, you do not feel it and they will take a tiny bump ( one less there which is great right!) asap. Only with a pathology report will you know exactly what they are. When you know what they are, you can treat them. I must say it was truly amazing to have these bumps for the last 2 years suddenly disappear literally overnight, my skin surface is smooth and that is literally amazing for anyone who has suffered like I have...
The problem is that this is so rare it goes undetected and unrecognised - I am Dr Edward Seatons first patient who he has treated with this, he now thinks he has another. It is so rare that derms simply have not come across it before and therefore are not going to diagonose it, meaning not be able to treat it correctly. Push for a biopsy - this way you will know one way or another exactly what your bumps are and how to get rid of them. I have not had acne for the last 5 years so to have this new problem is so upsetting and i completely understand how you all feel.
I do not come on here a lot, but I really hope I have helped at least one person who may be in the same situation I was
And if any of you live in London - Dr Edward Seaton is the man to see. He is a genius.
Goodluck xxx
I had a biopsy and it said it was lichen something which was caused by scratching and I don't scratch. I forget off the top of my head what it said, but I recently pulled it out and looked it up and it *could* be caused by yeast - i saw one article in a dermatology journal that said that. I'll have to whip out my report and reread it, but it wasn't what yours was.
I got mine BEFORE accutane. Mine are clear. There's nothing in them. I do have some clogged white head things too, but they are few and not the 'bumps."
Can you describe what yours looked like? Did they look like clogged pores and white or were they different than that?
If you have had a biopsy, and you have been told it's lichen then they should now be treating this accordingly?I do not understand why they would do a biopsy and then not treat it?
Mine look like comedonal acne, it's more visable when the skin is stretched - lots of bumps deep under skin with no head and certainly not what you could squeeze. They feel hard, because they are pieces of bone fragment.
Mine are now literally 97% gone - from having at least 100 bumps i now have probably 2 /3 small ones - all have been extracted by Dr Seaton, i am soo soooooo happy
If you have had a biopsy, and you have been told it's lichen then they should now be treating this accordingly?I do not understand why they would do a biopsy and then not treat it?
Mine look like comedonal acne, it's more visable when the skin is stretched - lots of bumps deep under skin with no head and certainly not what you could squeeze. They feel hard, because they are pieces of bone fragment.
Mine are now literally 97% gone - from having at least 100 bumps i now have probably 2 /3 small ones - all have been extracted by Dr Seaton, i am soo soooooo happy
I don't know why they didn't treat it. I don't recall bc it was almost 10 yrs. ago. I do know it never itched or anything but the derm didn't believe me when I said that -- Like I would lie about that. I was using retin-a at the time and having microdermabrasion and I wonder if that made it look like it was lichen. The scratching of the Mderm wand and the peeling and irritation of the retin-a may have done that, because my skin was very irritated all over from those products. I had the bumps before retin-a and MDerm, so it may have skewed the results of the labs.
RE: Your highlighted part, we have something totally different. Mine go away when stretched and there's nothing inside. Thanks for clearing that up, because some of us on here don't have stuff in them and they go away when stretched while others don't. I think that's important.
I'm glad you were able to get rid of yours!
i know this thread is old and all but thanks for the biopsy recommendations! will definitely have to get that mine is bad. my skin is quite smooth and these are only seen close up or in a lot of light. I'm willing to do any procedure to get them erased hopefully they can be treated like Joy's
I CAN TELL YOU EXACTLY WHAT THIS IS. And yes, it's a type of scarring -
You have calcification under the skin -Dystrophic calcification - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaDystrophic Calcification (D.C.) is the calcification occurring in degenerated or necrotic tissue, as in hyalinized scars, degenerated foci in leiomyomas.
I have had these for over 2 years and after treatment of nearly every kind, I decided to get a biopsy with one of the best Acne Derms there is in London - and this is the diagnosis.
It is caused by trauma to the skin - damage to the tissue where you had acne and can be caused by literally an acne spot, scar or squeezing etc. IT WILL NOT BE CLEARED WITH ACCUTANE
I have had acne all my life, well since I was 14 or so. I was fine then it came back around 26/27 and I went on roaccutane - my inflamed spots were cured but i was left with this hard pebble like surface in chin area, which is where my spots were bad ( i was also a picker) However, what caused mine is whilst back on roaccutane for a 2nd round, I actually plucked hair from the area - causing the formation of these calcium lumps. They are hard, They NEVER EVER come out, They do not respond to anything topical and DID NOT respond to hyfreaction / electic caultry. So, I had a biopsy and this is what my diagnosis is. Calcification. It's unusual and hard to treat. However, the thing likely to really help is CO2 fractional laser - something you cannot do if you have inflammed skin. I have booked appointment for 2 weeks time.
The most important thing I can suggest - GET A BIOPSY. My derm took a small bump under my chin so it didnt look too bad - without the biospy you are treating in the dark. And forget all the creams lotions etc - just get it diagnosed then treat it. GOODLUCK X
That sounds far too familiar to me. All the bumps are in places around the beard area where I plucked in grown hairs.
How has your treatment been?