Help me with my **possible** perioral dermatitis

To Lisa! I am also peri menopausal, and completely think this is the cause of my PD. I think the lack

Of moisture?? Since they say that is a mixture of acne and eczema that causes the PD.

I have been to 3 derms, not one has helped.

I am in a continual search on the web, trying to find some sort of answers, as we all are. It was nice to see

Someone mention something's that are similar!

I have not found one moisturizer yet, that does not break me out. Which is getting aggravating, because I live in NY, and have no choice but to be subjected to drying heat. I have subscribed to this thread, and look forward to any positive results!

Hi and Welcome to Clare and Sweettooth,Isn't P.D just the most annoying and frustrating problem!

To Clare,I too kept putting more and more steroid cream on my face thinking (wrongly I now know) I was helping the problem.

When one has used steroid cream and then it is stopped....skin tends to flare up badly.This happened to me too.

Hang in there your skin will adjust to no steroids.

Ask your GP for Elidel cream.The latest studies indicate this as helpful for P.D particularly when steroids have been used. It is the non steroid alternative to steroids...if that makes sense.

To Sweettooth,I agree with you completely.I have thrown all beauty creams away.I currently use Cetaphil skin restore cream.I already had this and it is meant for body I think ,but it does not flare me up.

I also use plain Aqueous cream and Calendula cream (the one for babies).I have seen more expensive,pure and stonger versions of Calendula but have not tried them.

There is also a Brand called 'LaRoche-Posay' I have bought a moisturiser but not tried it yet.I have used so many different things on my skin and probably should have used each thing one at a time but in my distress, did not.

Sun screen seems to be important too.and is mentioned a great deal so I shall be using that as I tend to be a sun addict.

As I and others have said, though I think yeast has a bigger part to play in all this.

Hormones can have an effect on yeast.I think when my face was at it's worse anti dandruff shampoo seemed to help as a face wash (diluted I hasten to add)

I also used Canasten cream a cream used for thrush in UK but I have heard of creams for athletes foot helping.

I also think antihistamine tablets help a little.

I had facial swabs taken which showed no viral and no infection, but currently antibiotics and Elidel cream are helping!

The mind boggles! To my mind that left allergy or fungal causes.

Apparently P.D can have different triggers.

I am now also taking 'good bacteria' in tablet form.We all know hormones can effect body yeast levels and we all know yeast can be problem after antibiotics.

I am trying to avoid things that feed yeast like sugar and bread but this is difficult.

For me if I can get rid of this current P.D and not get it back next month around the same time ,I wil know I am on to something.

Keep on posting!

Hi everyone.... I haven't posted anything lately because your comments went to my e-mail and I don't check it regularly and also because I started two new things and I wanted results before I said anything about it. However, I am in a huge hurry and can't post anything in depth but wanted to quickly add:

If anyone has Penetan cream in their cupboard, give it a try. I'll say more about it later but the zinc oxide in it is what helps. Penetan is 18% zinc oxide... if you have anything with more... the better

The Violet Oil arrived 3 days ago and it works the best out of anything that I have ever tried and believe me; I have put every imaginable concoction on my face in the last 3 months. Woke up this morning and I can't believe that my PD beard is gone.

Lisa, I don't know if it is be triggered by perimenopause because I have scaled the internet and learned that there are loads of PD cases in young teenage girls as well.

Anyway...I'm off to the grocery store before this ticking time-bomb explodes on my face again. Finally won't have to wrap a scarf up to my eyes like a stick-up man.

Post later and try the zinc oxide if you have any! Tell you why later

Have you tried sudo cream and oxycetracycline and a cream called rozex worth a try

Hey Mark..... No I haven't tried either of them. I have ocular rosacea that my doctor prescribes Doxycycline for but I ran out long before I developed PD. I have an appointment at the end of the month and will get a new prescription and I'm hoping it will help with this mess on my face.

Rosex sounds like something for rosacea... I'll have to look it up. In the meantime the Violet Extract has provided the best results so far. It's very drying but it's fine if you exfoliate and moisturize before you have to go out anywhere. And as I mentioned earlier, the oil cleansing method is fantastic as long as you MAKE SURE to rinse really well. Thanks for info

.

Huh.....Sudocream has 15.25% zinc dioxide in it. Maybe that is the common thread?!

I mentioned it earlier because I read of this woman who got rid of PD using zinc oxide cream. She did loads of research and came to find that even if blood tests show that you are not deficient in zinc; your skin CAN be zinc deficient in areas. When she realized this she didn't have anything in her cupboard but some old sunblock (sunscreen contains zinc) so she tried it anyway and it worked for her. When I read that a few days ago at 3 or so in the morning, I tried the same with the dregs of sunscreen at the bottom of the bottle and my face was much improved by the time I awoke later on in the morning.

Ooooo...I HOPE SO

P.S. I meant to mention that this last outbreak was a doozy. The PD was clearing up rather well until last week when it hit again. I almost dropped when I started feeling it coming on and was racking my brain trying to figure out what it was.....I had been doing laundry with the usual soaps and softeners and bleach for the whites. I am now terrified of the washer.

Another thing... I am in Canada and we are having one of the coldest winters ever. When I went to buy the Penaten cream, the pharmacist told me that he has had all kinds of complaints from woman with what sounds like PD. He blames it on the cold. I doubt it. Of course it may inflame it more but I don't think it's the same thing.

Goodluck and try the diaper cream

Fiona, can you tell me what your application is, are you apply both your ointment and violet oil at the same time? How's the skin holding up?? I hope you are still having success with your new regiment,

Hey Sweettooth and Everyone,

Please bare with me on this long-winded reply because I think that it may be of interest:

I would never recommend a remedy without trying it out and waiting to see what the results really are.

What I KNOW, as I mentioned before is that I was in the midst of my worse breakout to date when I first tried the zinc oxide early that morning and it was surprisingly so much better when I awoke a few hours later.

In hindsight I can't give the violet extract full credit because it wasn't delivered to me until a few days AFTER I had tried the zinc oxide. I do know that it did not make my rash any worse. I will try it first next time. (Did I just say that?!)

If you have to wait 2 weeks for violet extract to be delivered like I did then I would highly recommend any diaper cream that you can find... Penetan, Zincofax or Sudocream, as Mark earlier suggested. Or even better, asking your pharmacist for a higher percentage of zinc oxide (Penaten has 18%)

I have never applied both violet extract and zinc oxide at the same time.

Violet extract is very drying and stains your skin. Beware... it's confusing at first because you think that it looks just like the PD "beard" but it's just the stain that it leaves. I would not recommend putting it on when you have to go out because it's just as noticeable.

I used my own judgement when I started using violet extract....One woman on the internet said that she applied it 3 times a day with success but I couldn't find any EXACT instructions nor was I able to get information from any of the herbal product shops that I called. I just put as many drops on my face as it took to cover the rash then left it on overnight and exfoliated lightly in the morning to get rid of the "scallies" then moisturized.

Zinc Oxide is less drying and you can apply just enough of it so that you can get away with having it on when you are out. I tried blending it with foundation but it looked like clown-face. I just put a thick coat on when I am staying at home.

I won't get into my whole regime now because although I am very happy with the results of a few things that I have learned while doing research on PD; they have turned out not to be of any use in getting rid of it.... so far only the zinc and violet extract.

In short, I do the oil cleansing method (rinse really well) and then apply zinc or violet extract on top of the PD rash and then moisturize around my eyes, forehead and anywhere where the rash isn't. I have stopped paying hundreds for skin care products and just use vitamin E cream for now.

My skin is now even in colour with a few leftover bumps...I am sooo relieved! Fingers crossed!

I hope that I haven't saturated your brain with too much information! I can't tell you how many times that I wanted to scream when I looking into PD....so many variables but I think we are narrowing it down. I hope so!

Take care

Fiona, your information is terrific!! I went to my local health food store today, I thought for sure that they would have the violet, but didn't. I did buy some PH strips, I have to weight till tomorrow morning to perform the test, but I am interested to see where my levels are. For the past year I have researched so much, my husband was diagnosed with colitis last February, and my skin troubles started the summer before. Sometimes I thought my brain was going to split from the info over load.... But what I walked away with, that was a common denominator for both of us, was our gut's. We now eat as clean as possible, meaning no box or can helpers, and I eliminated a lot of our gluten and dairy consumption. We both take probiotics, and I am trying to up our pre-biotics as well. He is doing soooo much better a year later, so I am back to my needs, and periodically try new searches, which is how I stumbled onto this thread, and Lisa's comment of being perimenalpausal. I have seen the violet mentioned in other comments as well, so will hold tight, since I couldn't get it today, and HOPE with all my heart that you have found some long term relief for yourself!

As I noted above, we eat pretty clean, so this means sugars too, but we do love to have our beers on the weekend, so I am currently in a cleanse, trying to get my yeast levels down too.

I just think things that didn't bother us before, if you are exposed long enough to it, can surface at any time.

Hope I didn't rant! Oh yes, I live in NY, on the Great Lake, and we also are having a very cold winter.

Keep posting all!! It really helps!

Hi, Thanks for all the information. I thought I'd add some.

From my research I gather that PD can be triggered by horomonal changes so it could be that perimenopause could cause an outbreak. My two out-breaks have been due to pregnancy and starting the contraceptive pill.

My PD has been really bad but I've managed to clear it over the past week by not using anything at all on my face for several days, I then initially tried Apple Cider Vinegar as I've read a lot of people recommending it. I diluted it to 1 part ACV to 2 parts water initally. It is very drying, I washed my face with it at night and the next morning the rash had dried up but my face was very scaly, dry and itchy. Because I didn't have anything else I tried coconut oil as a moisturiser, it didn't make anything worse but it didn't really help that much either.

After getting rid of the worst of my rash using this combination I stopped using the ACV as I was concerned it was just too drying and switched to a gentle natural baby soap that's got no nasty chemicals.

I have since bought and am also using Weleda Calendula Baby Oil - I bought the oil rather than the lotion. It'snot too greasy and after using it my skin feels really nice and moisturised again. I've also tried sudo cream (thanks for the tip) which I also like. I only tried it earlier today and am interested to see if it might help with one problem patch of PD that is being a bit stubborn.

I'm in New Zealand and some of the products that have been mentioned on this thread I can't buy here - so I've just had to go with what I can find. I feel pretty good now about the combination of the natural soap / calendula oil & sudo cream with the ACV on hand to dry out any future breakouts. I should mention that I am still on antibiotics - doxycycline which I think has helped a lot as initially my rash was so inflamed it looked infected. I'm taking pro-biotics to combat the effect of them. I've also stopped using my toothpaste and found a Red Seal one which has no SLS.

Thanks again for sharing your information - I've spent hours researching PD and tis has been one of the most helpful discussions I've found.

Cheers.

Hey Seettooth, Clare and Everyone,

Holy Cow, I wish that I had more than one face....there are so many possible remedies that I would like to try but I have to focus on one at a time otherwise I will never be able to say for sure what the key is. I am going to be diligent about zinc oxide right now because I know what I saw when I first applied it....It took a really bad PD breakout from red, raw and cracked to bearable in the matter of a few hours....Not healed by any means but definitely better. And a week and a half later, it is THAT much better. And to be honest, I have had so many unbelievable concoctions of food and stuff on my face that I am not willing to veer off just when I am seeing some result.

There is so much that I want to discuss and ask both of you (dietary & hormonal issues, PH levels (yes, I tried balancing that out also) but I've typed this out twice and lost it twice by back-spacing too far. I am so late making dinner and getting stuff done now that I don't have time. I really wanted to make sure that I got out that I have had a small breakout from the Penaten Cream. It contains lanolin, petroleum etc. that will clog pores eventually. BUT I will take a pimple breakout over PD anyday...at least I know what causes a pimple. I have to find a more pure form of zinc oxide...different diaper creams contain higher percentages of zinc (Penaten has 18.5%) but I don't want the lanolin etc. that invariably comes with it. I called a few pharmacies today but I haven't had any luck. I know that it's out there; I just have to find it. I have an appointment with my doctor at the end of the month to get doxycycline and a prescription for zinc oxide if I cannot find it by then.

CONCLUSION: Penaten Cream and any diaper cream, I presume will cause some pimples eventually but the zinc oxide in it works for me. Violet Extract gave me results too but I am paying full attention to zinc right now.

Sweettooth, I am so glad that your husbands colitis is under control (as much as it can be) and that you can now concentrate on yourself. You deserve it and I hope that I can help by doing research and being a PD guinea pig. And Clare; I had things to ask you as well but I bloody-well erased it twice and now I have to go!

Will post soon!

As usual, there is a P.S. with me......I haven't gone near the washing machine since last week when I had that horrendous breakout but I absolutely have to do laundry tonight......I guess I'll find out if it was the laundry soap, bleach or softener that did me in last week. Wish me luck!!

I neglected to say, I think?? Without going back and re-reading my last post, that it bought some grape seed oil to try out. I tried the coconut oil awhile back, with out success. It irritated my skin (it is a good quality, and I did search to see if other people had problems as well, and saw a lot of yes'), so now however, I am eating a couple of tsp. a day, while I am cooking, because it tastes pretty darn good. I have also heard that using it internally is a very healthful thing as well. Looonnggg story short, I applied the grape seed this morning, lightly dabbed it on with a cotton ball, and was in shock, my red bumps subsided in front of my eyes! I say in less then 10 minutes, I walked out the door in such a good mood! Now they, did not completely go away, they just were. to as red!!! I applied again tonight as my evening moisturizer, so we shall see! I will post, even if negative, but I am very excited to at least for the moment, have some sort of moisturizer to apply. I by they way have a derm appt on the 13th as well, and as much as I don't like taking the antibiotics either, think I may have to resort back to a round of the again myself. I forgot all about my PH strips this morning, so I still have to give it a go tomorrow morning. I am also off the SLS toothpaste as well as fluoride. I purchased SLS free shampoo awhile back as well.

Fiona, I was doing some research and came up with a couple of different sites that had instructions to make your own diaper rash cream

I didn't like all the ingredients, but was think about researching that idea a bit more perhaps, to get it more tailored to products that won't bother me. I do use, by the way, petroleum and pure lanolin on my lips. I have horrible moisture issues with my lips as well. This is where my whole issue started actually. So I apply barriers all the time, before I eat, brush my teeth. I have had two horrible blister break outs on my lips.. So if I am diligent with the barrier.

It's me again... I wanted get into a few things that I deleted by accident in my last post:

Sweeettooth,

It took me a long time to find out where I could buy Violet Extract.,,,I finally went right to the source by calling Herbpharm in Oregon and asked them who they sold to. There are quite a few places to order from but you have to be careful because some places charge and arm and a leg in shipping. They recommended a site for cheaper shipping costs. I looked up their customer satisfaction remarks and they varied so I opted to call them directly to order. The toll free number I have won't be of any use to you because I'm in Canada but they do have an American toll free number listed on their website. It may have been fine to order it on line but I wanted to make sure that my order was received.

I agree wholeheartedly that you can suddenly develop dietary issues at any point in life and I am interested in knowing more about your response to the PH test....I only went so far as to add baking soda to my bottled water to alkalinize it but nothing more and I don't even do that anymore. And the spit test blows me away....such a simple way to detect yeast problems. Thanks for that...I'm going to do it.

It still wouldn't stop me having beer though. In my case, wine.

I wanted to ask if you heard anything about turmeric ...so many wonderful results. It should be taken with black pepper and milk or another fat. It's too long to get into now but if what all the websites say are right then I think that it would benefit both you and your husband,,,,huh,,If you can get him to drink it.

I have read up on and now practice a few things that I have learned through doing research on PD but try to stop myself from getting too involved in every little thing that I read. It was necessary to try as many possible remedies that I could to get rid of this and I really hope that it has been narrowed down because there simply isn't enough time in the day and I have to be practical. Up until a couple of years ago I was vitamin crazy but I just couldn't deal with all of the interaction issues...."this vitamin depleting that vitamin or eating that particular food will not interact well with this vitamin". That's why I feel for you and your husband having to deal with colitis because it must have been a nightmare trying to work out some kind of diet for him! I now take a multivitamin and rely on a Vitamin C rich diet for skin and connective tissue and take gelatin every day. I cannot even begin to sing the praises of gelatin. I began taking it for back and neck pain and was so surprised to see lines on my face fading. Not Gone but faded.

I have had a few nice surprises that resulted from things that I have tried regarding PD and I'm happy with that but I have to draw the line because I just have that kind of brain that will go into overdrive.

Clare, I honestly don't know if it is a perimenopausal issue because it effects teenage girls too. It wouldn't surprise me if it is hormonal though.

I gave up the ACV too for the same reasons. I know somethings that hurt you also help you like peroxide on a cut but I couldn't reason with that much stinging and drying actually helping anything. And for me it didn't. I'm really trying to look at this from the angle that if you are burning your face off applying something then it can't be helpful. For example, so many have tried steroid creams that burn and hurt and then told by their doctors to keep applying it anyway. They had a short reprieve from PD and then it came back with a vengeance and it did irreversible damage. Today, for the first time ever I saw a medical website for PD actually state that steroid cream can make it worse. Maybe the medical community is starting to take notice and will amend their pat solutions.

Thanks for the calendula oil tip. I had never heard about calendula cream until reading about it here but the oil sounds good for doing OCM and you have had success so I'm up for it.

With regards to doxycycline,,,my doctor started me on it a couple of years ago for ocular rosacea. I ran out of it many months ago and never went back to get a new prescription. I can't wait to see my doctor at the end of the month to try it for PD. I'm glad that you are managing well with the calendula oil and antibiotic....it gives me hope!

I better get off this laptop....I can't believe how I go on about this stuff. I don't even talk on the phone this much!

Take Care