Hey, guys. I also have this problem. The cause is your gut and inflammation. Rather it be sibo, Crohn's, colitis, ibd, infection, candida, parasites, celiac ect..
Deal with the gut and taro-clindamycin/benzoyl peroxide gel 1%/5% topical.
I used a gut protocol, many are out there if you research.
I changed my diet but didn't stress to much either since stress is a big factor in inflammation.
I learned ways to deal with stress
I also removeed heavy metal, I believe there is important especially if candida is involved. Zeolite n horse Tail was my go to herbs for that.
Happy research.
I know this post was not directed to me, but the best hing is to not eat gluten, dairy, sugar, processed foods, preservatives or any foods that are high in histamines (check these foods on the web). Basically, avoid inflammatory foods check details on the web.
This diet will not fix either ordinary acne or fungal acne, but these foods make both conditions worse if one eats them.
Gut problems (and some types of acne) are usually caused by taking antibiotics.
I figured out a treatment option...
Hi everyone... hope everyones good... looks like a lot of older posts on here BUT, I will still post for any new and old questions.
If everybody else is having the same problem as I did with the healing part. You guys know as well as I do that the pore, hair follicle, ZIT or whatever the hell it is does not heal until the plug is out...
Right?..
What I do is scratch the scab off. Use a Q-tip with peroxide and soak the open sore, keep rubbing it with the peroxide soaked Q-tip for a few minutes.
It does sting. BUT, what it does is turns the plug bright white. Dry it off and then use tweezers to separate it and pull it out... then I use antibiotic ointment and a Band-Aid to heal the open bloody wound once you remove the plug...
On 3/30/2019 at 8:29 PM, Aussie Scientist said:How charming is the above post. Here we are - helping each other to deal with a skin condition caused largely by prescribed antibiotics, and we are accused (with no evidence and no basis in fact) of being (illicit) drug takers. I do not understand what causes someone to make unfounded accusations against people who he/she does not know.
To the decent people on this web site - pls use anti-fungal cream according to my advice in my posts above and in most cases the problem will go away. Some recalcitrant cases may not. I am happy to provide advice for people whose skin problem is not fixed by anti-fungal cream. Note that I am not a medical doctor and I can only provide advice based on my personal experience and my very extensive reading of the relevant literature.
On 3/27/2019 at 7:57 PM, Aussie Scientist said:Please see my post above. You most likely have candida, or possibly, malassezia, from taking antibiotics. Have you take antibiotics in the last 6-12 months?
Use an anti-fungal cream topically on your face. If you cannot get nystatin, use clotrimazole cream. I find mixing an anti-fungal azole cream (clotrimazole, micanazole,etc) with a cream containing lidocaine boosts the anti-fungal effect. Be careful with lidocane cream as it can cause side-effects - check the warnings. The topical azole anti-fungal creams are quite safe, when used topically. The fungus plays havoc with the follicles and process of keratin production in skin. The white things are infected hairs and related matter caused by the fungus. Healing won't occur until the fungus is killed.
I have tried multiple types/brands of antifungal creams/ointments/pills, etc:including prescription strength. Itdid me absolutely no good whatsoever.
The only thing that has helped me- and this is only been for already existing lesions, it hasnt really prevented them from continuing to make a bi-monthly appearance in the same spots and sometimes new ones-has been:
Hibiclens two-three times per day depending on how much Ive been sweating that day.
Mupirocin 2%, 3times per day- a very light layer. A small amount goes a long way with this product
and then covering the lesions with hydrocolloid bandages at night,which helpsto draw out the fluid causing the weeping and sloughing.
Ive also found that sometimes if I catch it just in time, dabbing on Mario Bedescu drying lotion when I very first start feeling the dreaded under the skin bumphas kept a possible eruption of a new lesion. I dont get acne or any other skin issues so I assume thats what it has managed to keep at bay. But not every time, not every single one.
I still have yet to find an actual cure, way to prevent it, or even what exactly it is. What I dobelieve because of what has/has not worked so far, and the fact that I have keratosis pilaris on my legs, that my issue does in fact have to do with keratin.
Dior
One needs to use the correct antifungal cream for the type of fungus that one has.
Do you have a white tongue or dandruff ?
The wrong antifungal cream for the particular fungus causing the problem will NOT fix fungal acne.
Keratosis pilaris is often caused by candida fungus, which does make one's body make keratin nodules. Thus, your problems are most likely caused by candida.
Topical nystatin cream should fix your problem. The other antifungal creams won't because they don't kill candida very well, if at all. Candida is resistant to most oral antifungals.
Murprocin is active against candid fungus (even though it is an antibiotic) -
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10487455
You could use both nystatin and muriprocin.
Standard statement - I have spent over 2,500 hours reading scientific papers about fungal acne and gram negative acne, and I have extensive experience with fungal acne, in particular. I am a scientist (not a medical doctor). I provide information based on my extensive experience with fungal acne, and some experience with gram negative acne.
Dior
May be the reason why you think that antifungals don't work on you is that you don't use them long enough? I just passed 5th week of topical ketokonazol and terbinafin (I rotate them once in 1-2 days) and only now I see that may be just may be I'm on the right track. In some places I can actually squeeze sebum out of my pores, just how it used to be before all of this started. I thinkbecause of biofilms antifungals work extremely slowly on us. For how long have you been taking antifungals internally and which one?
Aussie scientist
Nystatin definitely helps with hangover symptoms, I do feel better after taking it. And yes, it does nothing for skin unfortunately. What are your thought about terbinafin or intraconazole internally?
Oh boy. I have been suffering for years from this very problem. While it is good to know that I am not alone, I am now somewhat disheartened. I am leaning towards the fungal acne answer. I had perfect skin prior to having children. Dermatologist diagnosis was hormonally driven cystic acne. Antibiotics. Chronic bronchitis issues. Antibiotics. Condition continually worsens. When having a flare up I even experience an earache in my right ear. Always in the same places on my face, neck and shoulders and are connected under the skin to each other. Starting oral fluconazole tomorrow. Props tothe respondent in recovery. I too am in recovery and have had to defend my clean date to numerous supposed support network attendees including my minister! I am sure your abstinence from meth , improved hygiene habits and diet have helped your skin. How could it not. That's your story. You are free to tell it. Do not transfer it to anyone else.
Fzika
Thanks for your feedback re the oral Nilstat.
Oral antifungals other than oral nystatin are dangerous, so I would always use topical antifungals. I would add topical nystatin cream to the mix of topical antifungals that you apply to your skin. Ketoconazole is not effective against candida, so I would use terbenafine cream (effective against malasezzia) plus nystatin cream (effective against candida).
Can you remind me whether you have a white tongue or dandruff, and what did I suggest you apply to your skin. This thread is now very complex, so pls excuse my asking you the same questions as I have probably asked you before.
Mtroy
If you have a white tongue and "acne", then you most likely have candida fungal acne. This can be fixed with topical nystatin cream. If you have dandruff and "acne", then you have malasezia fungal acne. This can be fixed with topical terbenafine cream. You might have both candida and malasezzia fungal acne.
Fungal acne is caused by taking antibiotics and some other meds. Fungal acne is often cystic
Oral fluconazole is unlikely to fix fungal acne, because the fungi that cause fungal acne are resistant to fluconazole (and to most of the azole antifungals). It is important to establish whether you have candida fungal acne or malasezzia fungal acne (or both) before treating the fungal acne.
You can try clotrimazole cream first if you wish. Clotrimazole cream is a broad spectrum antifungal cream, whereas nystatin cream and terbenafine cream target the specific fungi.
Also wash you hair in an antidandruff shampoo (which is antifungal), and keep your skin dry. Do not apply organic oils or moisturisr to your skin. Fungus loves moisture. Also, do NOT exfoliate your skin, or just do so very lightly to remove dead skin (only) if necessary.
Standard statement - I have spent over 2,500 hours reading scientific papers about fungal acne and gram negative acne, and I have extensive experience with fungal acne, in particular. I am a scientist (not a medical doctor). I provide information based on my extensive experience with fungal acne, and some experience with gram negative acne.
On 7/18/2019 at 7:39 PM, Aussie Scientist said:Dior
One needs to use the correct antifungal cream for the type of fungus that one has.
Do you have a white tongue or dandruff ?
The wrong antifungal cream for the particular fungus causing the problem will NOT fix fungal acne.
Keratosis pilaris is often caused by candida fungus, which does make one's body make keratin nodules. Thus, your problems are most likely caused by candida.
Topical nystatin cream should fix your problem. The other antifungal creams won't because they don't kill candida very well, if at all. Candida is resistant to most oral antifungals.
Murprocin is active against candid fungus (even though it is an antibiotic) -
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10487455
You could use both nystatin and muriprocin.
Standard statement - I have spent over 2,500 hours reading scientific papers about fungal acne and gram negative acne, and I have extensive experience with fungal acne, in particular. I am a scientist (not a medical doctor). I provide information based on my extensive experience with fungal acne, and some experience with gram negative acne.
I do not have a white tongue or dandruff.
I have had KP bumps on my legs my entire life. I live in a very dry place- dry desert heart in the summer and snow in the winter- and my doctor told me that is one of the major reasons for it.
What I have on my face and shoulders/chest is far more than those bumps. Some of them start out as a tiny flesh colored or light pinkpimple, some look like an ingrown Hair, some of them start out as what looks like a cigarette burn- the edges are raised and filled with fluid and the center is kind of flakey. Some of them start as a flat discolored round spot slightly indented.All of them have a sort of pocket underneath the skin that is filled with blood.
Something as simple as scratching the spot will rub off the top layer of skin leaving a crater like hole that is pretty deep. The spot will then bleed very heavily for a good amount of time. Once its stopped with that, the edges of the crater harden a bit making them sort of sharp. The center becomes very indented and is filled with what looks like dozens of little blood blisters. Sometimes there is s hard seed in there and other times its simply raw and stings.
Bo matter how they come about, whether I try to treat them or leave them alone or whatever, once they begin to look like they may be healing- a very thin scab layer on top- they randomly start filling upunderneath the scab usually blood and a small amount of yellowish white, STICKYfluid. They then burst on their own or weep put from under one of the edges which causes the scabbed layer to become soft and slough off.
Its a vicious cycle that I cant seem to pit a stop to!! I will take photos and post them- I have tons and tons of these in different levels so you can see how hey start through to how they look when they seem to be getting better.
On 7/19/2019 at 3:24 AM, Fizika said:Dior
May be the reason why you think that antifungals don't work on you is that you don't use them long enough? I just passed 5th week of topical ketokonazol and terbinafin (I rotate them once in 1-2 days) and only now I see that may be just may be I'm on the right track. In some places I can actually squeeze sebum out of my pores, just how it used to be before all of this started. I thinkbecause of biofilms antifungals work extremely slowly on us. For how long have you been taking antifungals internally and which one?
Aussie scientist
Nystatin definitely helps with hangover symptoms, I do feel better after taking it. And yes, it does nothing for skin unfortunately. What are your thought about terbinafin or intraconazole internally?
I have used them for as long as prescribed as well as longner than reccommended when I dint see any difference.
Hi.
This thread has been crucial in my search for the answer to my skin problem since ca 4 years back. And, yes the doctors did not want to hear about my theory. The diagnosis they gave me was that I caused the sores my self.
Well, yesterday I bought me a microscope. Feel free to have a look whats behind those tiny white plugs. It's a wonder I'm still on this planet!
Tomorrow I'm seeing the doctor, and it will be film-time!
Pityrosporum folliculitis, I assume ...?
Could Sporanox be a good choice?
Crater-Head
Thanks for the pics! I hope your doctor's appointment won't be disappointing. Let us know how it went.
I am using topical antifungalsand they seem to help a little, but process is very slow. I'm thinking that strong internal antifungals are necessary, but they are very bad for the liver and hormones. Especially testosterone. Can't make up my mind.
I just came home from the health center. The doctor looked at my microscope pictures, from my post here, and then said: you don't have to prove anything more, I believe you - let's try Itraconazole (Sporanox), 1x100 mg/day for 2 weeks, and then have a feedback.
I have recently checked my liver; will check my testosterone levels tomorrow. There will be a new liver check in 2 months.
Fitzika, if the topical medicine hasn't helped you for, let's say 2 months, I believe it's time to take a biopsy to see if you might have pityrosporum folliculitis, that is to deep in the skin for topical medics.
I have sometimes succeeded in taming the infections by picking out the keratine plugs and then squeezing Lamisil in the pores. But, after a while i blossoms up again, especially when I'm sweating during work out, or due to stress. The stress is basically chronic now since I don't like to see people when my face looks like a crater.
Ok, fingers crossed, for us all here!
Crater-Head
I'm glad your doctor listened, finally.
I can totally relate to chronic stress and avoiding people. Hopefully, it will change for the better soon.
I will continue my topicals for another week or so, then I'lltry itraconazole internally too. I know that Ihave liver problems and low testosterone, so I'm a little bit hesitant to go with internal route.
Please let us know how your treatment goes.
Fingers crossed indeed!
Well after good success with urea based cream I have had a set back with a really large lesion full of multiple plugs. The urea cream seems to be doing nothing. Is it possible for these awful plugs to build up resistance?
Does anyone else find that sometimes these lesions just have to run their course? Mine always seem to start improving after the 4 week mark. I just get rid of one though and another pops up.
so depressing, I honestly think Im stuck with this problem for life.
PollyDolly
I wouldn't rely solely on urea cream. Why don't you try to add ciclopirox ointment and zinc pyrithione to your routine?
Also empirically I found thatREGULAR exfoliationis necessary. Exfoliationshould not be mechanical however, but rather chemical. Isee the most success with Tretinoin gel.
Hi guys,
Ive been trying to figure out what these tiny plugs were and I couldnt find in any dermatology book or websites so Im glad I could finally find some info here in this forum.
Anyway, the lesion started as one pimple that never healed (around 3-4yrs ago). I would fade a bit with topic corticoids and antibiotics but it would never heal 100%.
At the moment Im using fusidic acid + betametasone and clotrimazole. The lesion is a bit smaller and I dont see the white plugs as clear as before.
Did anyone try laser treatment or any other treatment that has cleared this nightmare?
Thanks for any info/ advice.
Hello, Most of these pictures look to me like the very early stages of Actinic Keratosis. I speak from experience on this. I'm 64 years old and was a sun lover. In my early 20's I got a spot on my nose similar to the one shown in the picture in this blog (the picture of the nose with raw area and white plugs); Around age 60 that entire area of my nose developed extreme thickened skin. The diagnosis was Actinic Keratosis. Although there's several treatment methods, the recommended treatment for me was chemotherapy cream. I opted to not go that route; instead Ihave been diligently scraping away the thick skin. 4 years later and I've just about removed it all. If your spot started out feeling like sand paper, then it is actinic keratosis (aka Solar Keratosis)l It is basically a proliferation of skin cells that are not shedding at the normal rate. The white plugs are actually wet skin cells that are compacted. Scales form on the area. There are several grades of Actinic Keratosis, meaning several levels of severity. Go to a good dermatologist.
Just want to emphasize the need to get the proper diagnosis on these lesions. Actinic keratosis can be pre-cancerous although only a small percentage of the lesions turn into skin cancer. You need a dermatologist who has experience with skin cancer, not just acne.
On 8/7/2019 at 8:20 PM, Fizika said:Crater-Head
By the way, did your doc specify which fungus he thinks this is?
Malassezia or something else? I'm nervous about Aspergillus and molds.
Actually, I've only got verifyed Trichophyton Rubum on feet 
The stuff on my pictures looks just like the malassezia folliculitis pictures I've seen on the webb. But, of course I want this verifyed as well.
I'm calling my doctor today to suggest a follow up with some relevant test.
Will be back 
On 8/18/2019 at 5:52 PM, PollyDolly said:Well after good success with urea based cream I have had a set back with a really large lesion full of multiple plugs. The urea cream seems to be doing nothing. Is it possible for these awful plugs to build up resistance?
Does anyone else find that sometimes these lesions just have to run their course? Mine always seem to start improving after the 4 week mark. I just get rid of one though and another pops up.
so depressing, I honestly think I™m stuck with this problem for life.
It could be, as earlier said in the thread, that the infection is deeper in the poores/follicles, and the cream doesn't reach down. Is is yeast you have, oily cream can actually work as food for fungus.
I think step one is to get a real test taken for bacteria and fungus, or else you just might get incorrect treatment - like me 