Facial infections around beard area

Posted , 3 users are following.

Hi for over a year now I have been suffering from recurrent facial infections particularly around the chin and jaw areas. Sometimes they will get quite bad and get a lot of swelling in the area. After numerous trips to the dermatologist and various swabs and samples later they have failed to get a result really of any kind.

My doctor wants to test me for diabetes before any other line of enquiry is taken.....this is fair enough and could be causing these infections but I am 33 and in good health and also not obese....play 5 aside football regularly also.

Could I be suffering from folliculitis or a staph issue also? My first glucose test showed I was borderline diabetes surely this isn't enough to be causing skin infections? They only occur in the beard hair area so wouldn't I be getting infections elsewhere if it was diabetes?

1 like, 5 replies

5 Replies

  • Posted

    Diabetes is the typical "go to" for any doctor. What has happened recently is they have lowered the treshold for diabetes. it used to be your waking blood sugar was over 125 for it to be diabetes, now its 100. Thing is I was tested and my BGL was 100 (pre)when it should be 80-90 but i found out its something called "the dawn effect" I have skipped breakfast for so long seeing as I dont have time in the morning that my body has gotten used to not getting fuel, so it dumps extra glucose into my system in the morning to give me energy. Once I eat it balances out. lunch time goes down to about 70-80, and dinner usually sees the same, maybe a spike to 110 right after a big meal, but this is extremely typical. Diabetes CAN cause skin rashes. it raises your blood glucose level and fungus thrives on glucose, but seeing as its in one spot on your face, it may be unlikely. not sure if perioral dermatitis is directly linked to diabetes.

    Ive done a few new things recently that ive narrowed my recent outbreak to: 1. I washed some dirty socks with my sheets to save time. I have noticed the rash on my face looks like my feet after a long sweaty day. and the rash DOES respond to antifungal medication. (it makes sense if theres spores on my pillow case or in the air in my bedroom, I breath them in and they collect in the moist areas of my nostrils and mouth. then build colonies on my nearby face. looking at my red spots, it looks like its all coming from my nose) 2. its June.. end of spring. Pollen and Mold counts are very high and Ive always had severe allergies to both... 3. new toothpaste- new brand new flavor etc..but im not sure how this would affect areas on my face that never got touched by toothpaste. 4. i bought some Fabreze Unstoppables and sprayed my bed and clothes.  Ive since boiled all my clothes with borax and baking soda, and went back to my old tothpaste. nothing i can do about pollen and mold. So far its getting better. It was Beet red Wednesday night and Thursday. Died down thursday night and I was able to look half way normal. Friday was an "eh" day. My regime that seems to work is this. 1, alcohol (burns), 2. Hydrogen peroxide (stings), 2. Apple cider vinegar (burns and stings), 3 dab on some handruff shampoo (selsun blue) and let it sit until i cant take the burn. 4. athletes foot cream. 5. powder.. either goldbond or baby powder to dry it up. This leads to ALOT of flaking. It will come off in chunks the next day after a rinse. At this point it seems to get better quickly sometimes, mostly dry and flakey but less red. Ive noticed that healing takes place under the flaking so assume its a good thing. I have noticed when i get it I too have facial hair, shaving during a flare up usually does a lot of good. might have something to do with the oils in the hair. No idea. 

    • Posted

      Hi thanks for the reply. Antibiotics seem to clear any bad flare ups ok although the affected area heals theres always some slight swelling left behind that seems now trapped as raised areas of healed skin stay for weeks without subsiding. My current prescription from dermatology is Crystacide cream that contains mostly hydrogen peroxide and emolient500 soap and detergent substitute. Currently the rate of my flare ups has slowed considerably but hasn't stopped them completely. Ive tried being OCD hygiene concious but being in hot unaired environments seem to aggravate it no matter how often I shower etc.

      Sometimes the skin on my neck looks whit at times and bumpy at lntervals. When flare ups near my chin happen it feels like my whole chin area is spongy. Remedies seem plentiful but not alot of people can offer a sound confident cause of the problem.

      Your reply information is helpful nonetheless

  • Posted

    Also look into dust mites or follicle mites. if its mainly happening in beard hair it could be a follicle mite overgrowth (gross but all humans harbor follicle mites, its only when they grow out of control that theres a problem). I also stumbled upon dust mites due to some blister like formations on my fingers i get every summer. Theyre tiny, barely noticeable BUT studies were done and its been determined that dust mites can cause this as well as perioral dermatitis. mine typically happens around changeing of sheets every few weeks so i assumed it was laundry related, but it can be "bed" related. I do have a dust mite allergy and changeing sheets can disturb dust mites in my bedding, causing reactions. theyre "sh*t" is what im allergic to and changeing sheets causes it to billow. time for a new bed or some dust mite control.
  • Posted

    Don't really know much about this, but my dad used to be diabetic and dint experience days rashes thing. I believe it could b a skin reaction, I don't know what part of the world u are but if u know what we call ORII in Nigeria, kindly get it and buy skinel cream, mix it in small quantity and apply morning and evening. The skinel is a cream for skin reaction and the ORII helps in reducing the swelling. I know it would work. Also try taking a lot of fruits and eat healthy. May God bless us all
  • Posted

    Ive finally been able to pinpoint what my facial symptoms were caused by. I am allergic to "dust".. either dust itself, or the excrement released by dust mites. It has become apparent my symptoms will arise whenever i dust or vacuum or go searching in a dusty area for something. dust will fill the air that I really cant see and land n my skin. its worse around my face because im breathing in these particles, getting them moist and breathing them out. then then have "food" land on my skin around my nose and mouth and cause a reaction. pay attention to the flare ups and see if they coincide with dusty areas. . dust on your fingers before you touch areas of your face, etc

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