I'm dealing with hormonal-based cystic acne at the age of 41, due to having stopped taking oral birth control 13 months ago. My body is in flux and I just am trying to keep up with my skin's (hormones') overreaction to everything that I eat.
I've read that some people can reduce the size of a cyst by applying a topical Cortisone treatment; sadly, everything I see available--e.g., Cortizone cream and gel--contain at least one ingredient that seemingly would irritate an already inflamed cyst, if not encourage it to enlarge.
Is there such a thing in the U.S. as a Cortisone cream (or gel) that can safely be used on cystic acne? I don't care if it's by prescription only, as there at least is a chance of it being covered by my insurance.
Thank you,
PI
I used cortisone as well as a stronger steroid on my acne several years ago and while it did work I paid a huge price by developing perioral dermatitis that I still fight with to this day. So not only do I have acne I also have P.D. The dermatitis spread from around my mouth to my nose and to my forehead. Any type of steroid to the face isn't a great idea. When I went to a dermatologist for another reason and brought up my acne struggles, how I'd applied cortisone to my face years ago, and the resulting perioral dermatitis that I still battle with, she told me that steroids to the face, underarms, or the groin area are a bad idea. Whoops. Anyway, please proceed with caution when it comes to any steroids to the face.
On 1/9/2018 at 2:21 PM, Jabberwocky80 said:I used cortisone as well as a stronger steroid on my acne several years ago and while it did work I paid a huge price by developing perioral dermatitis that I still fight with to this day. So not only do I have acne I also have P.D. The dermatitis spread from around my mouth to my nose and to my forehead. Any type of steroid to the face isn't a great idea. When I went to a dermatologist for another reason and brought up my acne struggles, how I'd applied cortisone to my face years ago, and the resulting perioral dermatitis that I still battle with, she told me that steroids to the face, underarms, or the groin area are a bad idea. Whoops. Anyway, please proceed with caution when it comes to any steroids to the face.
Oh, wow... I already have two skin conditions that affect my facial skin--nodulocystic acne and sebaceous hyperplasia; so I don't really need to add athirdone.
This info. bums me out, though; I was hopeful to have found a topical that would allow me to mitigate the damage caused by deeply inflamed cysts/nodules. And I must confess that I am tired of driving roughly 30 min. one way to get Cortisone shots to the face and, then, have a balance to pay on each appt. visit. Gah!
One question: did you apply the topical Cortisone (and the stronger steroid) solely on your breakouts, or did you apply it to wider (non-broken-out) areas of your face?
Just to clarify my desperation: I can't take antibiotics or Accutane. (I wind up with troublesome side effects--hence my desperation to findsomethingthat I could apply to help reduce inflammation without constant one-hour round-trip drives to my derm's office for shots.)