hey! if lotrimin worked for three weeks but your inflammation and pustules doesn't respond to bp or those treatments, its most likely fungal. Try Nizoral....Polysporin would only work for bacterial. lather and leave nizoral on your face for 5-10 minutes every day and then washing it off (as a face wash). Or go to a doctor and have a skin culture done...and then request oral antifungals. if its just a fungal infection those can come on really fast but clear up pretty fast as well once you find the right treatments! good luck and hang in there:)

13 minutes ago, GracieP said:

hey! if lotrimin worked for three weeks but your inflammation and pustules doesn't respond to bp or those treatments, its most likely fungal. Try Nizoral....Polysporin would only work for bacterial. lather and leave nizoral on your face for 5-10 minutes every day and then washing it off (as a face wash). Or go to a doctor and have a skin culture done...and then request oral antifungals. if its just a fungal infection those can come on really fast but clear up pretty fast as well once you find the right treatments! good luck and hang in there:)

Hi, thanks for responding and the kind words!

I tried Nizoral once, but it burned my face I think. The skin around my lips started peeling, so I stopped. Is that normal? I wouldn't mind trying it again, but the peeling scared me, haha. I was using lotrimin AF before. Do you think I should try the Lotrimin Ultra variant?

1 hour ago, fineshrine said:

Hi, thanks for responding and the kind words!

I tried Nizoral once, but it burned my face I think. The skin around my lips started peeling, so I stopped. Is that normal? I wouldn't mind trying it again, but the peeling scared me, haha. I was using lotrimin AF before. Do you think I should try the Lotrimin Ultra variant?

yes of course no problem  and hm. well i thought my acne was fungal a while ago (turns out it isn't) but my sister cleared all her acne from using Nizoral and oral antifungals (hers was fungal) so i figured hey, ill give it a shot. I also experienced something similar, i tried using Nizoral and i think i left it on too long and used it too often (i was a bitttt eager to try to clear up my skin haha) and i also got a "burn" like thing around my eyebrows and on my jaw line. I think maybe leaving it on for a shorter period of time maybe only 2 or so minutes at first and only doing it once every other day or once every two days might help prevent over irritation? if skin products irritate/burn your skin I would most definitely try to see someone who will prescribe an oral anti fungal. (usually the combo works great though if you can find something topically that works and derms will sometimes prescribe permethrin cream which helps also) The thing with fungus and bacteria overgrowth is they become immune. Its the same reason antibiotics stop working over time for people with acne and it comes back. also as far as hibiclens goes, that would only work if its bacterial and is pretty drying as well so be careful with that as it could potentially make it worse. I think if the lotrimin worked its a huge sign its fungal. You could try switching the formulas to ultra variant or maybe try a different brand and formula. Ive seen people do this with washing their face. They'll switch on and off weeks with head and shoulders, nizoral, and selsun blue to ensure that it doesn't come back or become immune and sure enough that usually works! so i think your next step would be to try something similar to lotrimin but a different formula and see if you get those same results! if so, then use that for a few weeks and alternate back to lotrimin or whatever you can find. I still think oral antifungals could help for sure as well, especially if you have irritated skin that might not be able to handle as many products! Hope this helps  

p.s. i love your glasses they're so cute!

On 4/24/2017 at 0:31 PM, fineshrine said:

Hi everyone,

I'm posting here because I've been trying to figure out what I'm dealing with, and my derms aren't helping.

I've been dealing with this weird outbreak on my face. I had pretty flawless skin last summer using basic nuetrogena products. But in November, I started noticing red, bumpy patches on both sides of my cheeks. I didn't think much of it, and just continued my routine of neutrogena acne wash + toner + occasional moisturizer. Everything was going alright until December near Christmas time. I started developing pimples near my mouth and chin. By New Year's Day, I had around 10, puss-filled heads on my chin. It was super out of nowhere. My parents were really concerned and started getting worried. I started getting acne on my forehead, as well.

My diet before (and after) the breakout was clean. No dairy, no gluten. I ate primarily salmon, shrimp, egg whites, and chicken as protein sources. Occasional brown rice or quinoa. Ate a plenty of green vegetables and a variety of fruit. I sometimes treated myself to sugar-free jello or a piece of dark chocolate. Coconut milk was my milk of choice. Took probiotics. I also went to the gym 3 days a week because of school. I would go at least 5-6 days during the summer.

So I felt diet was out of the question. I did some research and found out fungal acne was a thing. I went out and bought some Lotrimin at target and OH MAN. I thought my worries were over. My my chin and the rest of my face was the softest it ever had been. All that was left on my face were acne marks, but my face looked flawless with makeup, and I was super happy. Even one side of my cheek got cleared of bumps. Three tubes of lotrimin later, the cream stopped working. The whiteheads came back and I was livid. 

My mom set me up with a derm right after that. It was a terrible experience. One look, and they prescribed me antibiotic pills and 10% BP wash. I cried the rest of the day after leaving that derm office. I refused to take the pills and tried the BP wash. BP wash didn't do anything.

After waking up with 15+ puss-filled heads on my chin one morning, I realized this was ridiculous. I had acne before, but nothing like this. This couldn't be acne. So I did research on the internet and acne.org, and found the term folliculitis. This seemed like the best explanation for my face.

AND SO, for the last week I've been washing my face with Head And Shoulders and applying Polysporin (topical antibiotic) to my problem areas, nostrils, and ears. I haven't seen a huge difference like I did with the Lotrimin (antifungal), but it's better than the BP wash.

I'm planning to get Hibiclens face wash today to try out. I've attached pictures of what my face looks like today. I'm drinking 2tbs of ACV with a glass of water before breakfast everyday. I haven't waxed my face in 5+ months so I don't irritate my skin.

MY QUESTIONS:

What do you think I have? Does my acne look/sound like folliculitis? Staph? If so, could it be fungal or bacterial? What other fungal creams/ treatment besides Lotrimin are out there? Please help.

My face right now:
 

 

For reference, here's my face after a week of lotrimin. Not perfectly clear like I was in the summer, but way clearer than I am now...

 

Hi! I had that same exact thing happened to me when I started using neutrogena. But when I stopped neutrogena cleanser my acne stopped. You could have possibly developed an allergic reaction from neutrogena.Try using gel cleansers instead. hope that helps!