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perioral dermatitis

Posted , 7 users are following.

leigh78246
leigh78246

Hi.

I have PD on one side of my chin and in the corner of my mouth, probably due to overuse of steroid cream (I thoght it was eczema) and I have been taking Doxycycline for about a week and a half now, and although it is not red and angry anymore, it is very very dry and flaky. Does this mean it's healing?? My Doctor did say it may get worse before it gets better, but I am also wondering when it will go! Arrgghhh... 

I have ordered some coconut oil as have read that this can help, although I also know that PD likes to be left alone! 

Anyone shed any light??

L x

1 like, 16 replies

16 Replies

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  • stephaney28634
    stephaney28634 leigh78246

    Posted

    hi Leigh,  yes it is healing it might take a while. Not sure if coconut oil will help.
    • leigh78246
      leigh78246 stephaney28634

      Posted

      Hi. Thanks for replying. Did you take Doxycycline? How long does ittake to clear up, any ideas?

      x

  • andrea13745
    andrea13745 leigh78246

    Posted

    Yes it is healing!  I would suggest to stop using toothpaste or anything that has flouride or sodium laurel sulphate in it....that is what i have figured out to be the cause of mine. I avoid foods that have a higher flouride level in it...like pickles and juice.  If I do get the odd bump now, I put listerine on it and it seems to clear it up almost immediately. I use coconut oil regularly but not sure if that has helped.  I actually put castor oil on my face at morning and night for a few minutes and then rub it off....it seems to have really helped...it has a lot of healing properties.  But it can be drying....which is when i put coconut oil on. I also put extra virgin olive oil on my face mixed with a bit of water...my face is very soft and never breaks out.  Most oils are really good for your skin.
    • leigh78246
      leigh78246 andrea13745

      Posted

      Hi. Did you take Doxycycline? Any ideas on how long it takes to go? It is driving me nuts. 

      Yes, I have heard about flouride in toothpaste, so that is my next step.

      Listerine? Isn't that a mouthwash? I take it it doesn't contain flouride?

      Thanks for replying x

    • andrea13745
      andrea13745 leigh78246

      Posted

      No I didn't try that.  I was really fed up with dermatologists and all the expensive medicine they were throwing at me...which were making it worse. I spent hours upon hours researching stuff on my own.  Yes...listerine is a mouthwash and I know sounds odd....but it for some reason does the trick...on the weekend I accidentally brushed my teeth with toothpaste....there may have been alcohol involved...lol. So I woke up with spots on both sides of my mouth and was extremely annoyed.  I put the listerine on them...within an hour the right side was completely gone and with another application to the left it went away by the last night.  It may not work for you...but I literally tried every crazy suggestion and that workd for me.  I also put a dandruff shampoo on my face and I found that helped a lot.

      From the time I stopped the flouride and changed my diet a little it was fairly quick....a couple weeks for flawless skin.....compared to the year I dealt with that nightmare.

    • leigh78246
      leigh78246 andrea13745

      Posted

      I am a firm believer in medicine! Always worked for me, no matter what.

      However, I do appreciate that some natural remedies can cure minor ailments.

      I just wish this would go.. it's starting to get me down x

    • leigh78246
      leigh78246 andrea13745

      Posted

      I have bought some non flouride tothpaste anyway but think my PD was brought on by topical steroid use... and I hear that it's very stubborn when brought  on by that. I dunno, I read allsorts.
    • leigh78246
      leigh78246 andrea13745

      Posted

      Oh and one more thing.. what tablets DID you try that didn't work?
    • andrea13745
      andrea13745 leigh78246

      Posted

      I don't remember and I threw them all out.  There were about five different creams...all very pricey...they all made it better for a couple days and then it became worse.  I am also allergic to petroleum based products do that didn't help.  

      I agree...people say it's just your face....but um...it's your face, the thing everyone looks at and it brings you down.  I finally feel pretty again after dealing with this for way too long. 

       

    • leigh78246
      leigh78246 andrea13745

      Posted

      I haven't any creams, my Doc/nurse said leave it well alone. Just gotthe tablets.

      Exactly... it's your FACE! Really gets you down.

      I am just hoping these tablets help. I have only beenon them a couple of weeks, and apparentley it takes afew weeks to go.

    • leigh78246
      leigh78246 andrea13745

      Posted

      In the meantime, I am reading horror stories about PD that just won't shift! Gulp!
    • andrea13745
      andrea13745 leigh78246

      Posted

      I hope you get some relief soon. 

      That is the problem with the internet...it's very helpful a lot of the time, but also very scary to read about the worst case scenarios...and just hoping you aren't going to be one of them. 

      You don't smoke do you? Smoking often brings down the immune system and takes longer to heal. Although if you do, I'm sure you smoke more, to deal with the stress of this.  It's a catch 22.

  • Lilangelkris05
    Lilangelkris05 leigh78246

    Posted

    Hi everyone. I've been struggling with really bad perioral dermatitis... Or at least I'm 95% sure that's what it is. There's also a small possibility that is seborrheic dermatitis but either way, I want to tell you guys how I have gotten rid of it because these forums are what helped me.

    What I had was bad. It started out as a dry spot on my chin that my dermatologist gave me a steroid ointment for. After using it a couple of days it seemed to help, but from there it only got worse and spread to the sides of my nose! It was very red and I got a lot of small papules and bumps. After a couple weeks it started itching really bad and only got worse, especially at night. I did a lot of research and what I have looked exactly like perioral dermatitis which, funnily enough, can be caused by using steroid ointment on the face. So I believe it may have started out as one thing and turned into a bad case of perioral dermatitis. Long story short, I got my doctors to prescribe me Elidel that I use in the morning, and Metrogel that I use at night before bed. I noticed the metrogel dried my skin causing flaking, so I rubbed in ASDA Organic Argan Oil in the middle of the night to avoid the dryness in the morning.

    I think the Metrogel made the biggest difference...after a few days of using it my skin improved so much! It has barely been a week now using Metrogel (a month using Elidel) and I'd say it is all 98% gone and getting better everyday. I was miserable for weeks and reading through the forums helped me figure out what to ask my doctors for. In addition, my doctor had me take 2 types of antihistamines, Zyrtec (an H1 blocker) and Zantac (an H2 blocker). I hope this helps someone as much as it helped me because I was at my wit's end, miserable for many weeks.

    I also should point out that I stopped using anything with sodium lauryl sulfate. I also switched to a natural toothpaste and stopped using tartar control mouthwash. I also stopped using my face-wash and switched to a natural soap. I think avoiding the typical triggers definitely helped it get better more quickly. I still maintain a natural mild soap for my face and I am now using Avene Tolerance Extreme Cream as a moisturizer, just in case my regular moisturizer irritates it. I plan to do this until there is no more trace of it. Bottom line: Metrogel made a world of a difference, but daily routine changes will speed up the healing process.

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