Hey folks, used to browse these forums a lot to get some help in the past with my inflamed cystic acne but eventually gave up on treating all of my acne completely because I was satisfied at one point. However lately I've been doing a lot of self improving, and my leftover acne is something I'll always be self -conscious about so I need to get rid of it.
So I started to get acne when I was 14 (turning 20 in Sept), I remember one day going to a shoppers drug mart and getting a Neutrogena Oil-Free acne wash, it was this that gave me the bumps that I still have to this day. These bumps which never seem to fade, are a little lighter than my skin and really can't be noticed unless I stretch my skin, however they become irritated and later turn into bigger pimples.
I was on accutane at one point when I was in my mid teens for my inflamed acne and that really helped but I was paying attention to the small bumps as well and none of them faded. So I went to a dermatologist a few months ago and she prescribed be Retin-A micro (0.4% I believe) I used it and I got a really bad breakout on my chin (where those bumps are most frequent) so I stopped, then I read that breakouts are natural and tried again.
Now I'm getting the same thing in that same chin area, those bumps get extremely irritated and red, they do go away but then they come right back.
Can anyone tell me what these bumps are? I've researched milia, and follicitus but this doesn't seem to be it, the outbreak almost looks like a cold sore but I know this only happened because I put the Retin A on it, as that is exactly what happened the last time
Heres a picture, warning it aint pretty
That looks like heat rash to me. Question: When you pop them (if they are poppable) does clear liquid come out?
It's not a heat rash, this is the third time this has happened, it's those small bumps getting irritated from whatever cream I put on them, they are pop-able, some very easy compared to the others - what comes out is very similar to a whitehead, white/beige gunk. The ones that are easy to pop will come right out, and leave no mark, and the bump will be gone. However it comes back within three days, and any cream I seem to put on it other than something like polysporin just irrates it and makes it look like it does in the picture.
I get something similar if I spill something on my chin...try putting some aloe vera or lemon juice on it for a few days. Ice might also help with inflammation
Are you referring to the red mark or the small bumps? I know the redness isn't from anything being spilled on me. A few months back my derm gave me some high concentration BP and this exact same thing happened, in that exact same spot, and just like last time it goes away quickly but the small bumps return...
i would nt say lemon juice on that.
they look red and inflamed.
aloe would be good.
is it just on ur chin?
Yes it's just my chin. The redness is already gone, and I don't think I'm going to be putting any more of the same cream on it because the bumps come right back, so I probably won't need the aloe vera. What I need to know is what these bumps are, and how I get rid of them. The way they grow right back makes me think that they're not just clogged pores.
they are clogged pores or/and whiteheads.that chin area is prone to such break outs.
i wouldnt say its solemnly caused by the retin-a.
could be initial breakout .that's brought the stuff out to surface,
inflamed angry redness is probably due to side effect of accutane or initial use of (more than needed or otherwise) retin-a.
intolerance is an option but it will have to be tested.
Well I guess I'm screwed, 80 views and not one reply. My derm just keeps throwing creams at me and doesn't seem to know what she is doing.
FML
Maybe the (constant switching of) creams make it worse? Have you tried doing nothing and just be patient, sometimes it helps better.
The bumps are the same they aren't getting any worse or any better. When I was done accutane I was satisfied for about 2 years with just not having inflamed acne that hurt my face, so during that entire time I just used a light cleanser, and moisturizer (cetaphil). I've tried exfoliating, SA, but nothing gets rid of them. If I pop them, or the cream I use gets them out, they come back right away in the same spot.
I was reading on another forum that someone had something similar to this, and it turned out to be some kind of fungal thing, does anyone know if that'd be a possibility? When I look at fungal skin disorders on google they're always red, and inflamed, but that person on that forum described them to be non-inflamed and very similar to mine.
I made a dermatologist appointment for next week, I'm going to ask her what she thinks of the fungal possibility.
