Perioral dermatitis nightmare please help!!

Sorry Tammy, I'm not sure what's going on, I hope you get a few replies. My suggestion is that worsening rashes following repeated applications of topical steroids can cause addiction and withdrawal reactions like you describe. The treatment would be to stop topical steroids and manage the withdrawal by using non steroid creams. If it is a steroid withdrawal reaction, things will get worse before they get better - you may want to google some topical steroid support groups to link with others with the same to help you through.

Hopefully your recovery period will be short. You may also want to think about what triggered the original rashes eg. Nasal sprays, face creams, toothpaste, food types. Good luck. 

Hi tammy 

Sadly I encountered the exact same experience as you 😕 

i appeared to have a rash around my mouth to which I was given the exact same creams as yourself. 

All the creams I tried either irrated the dermititus or helped it for a couple of days to which it would then come back with a vengeance. 

My doctor advised me to stop using ointments and creams which I was prescribed. He's given me lymecycline (1 a day) for a month) I've only been on them for 2 weeks but sadly no improvement yet, hopefully they will work as this dermititus is really getting me down at the minute. 

i would speak to your doctor about these tablets apparently they will clear it. 

I also used aveeno instead of my usual Nivea cream and this made no difference. 

 

I have just been diagnosed with perioral dermatitis (3 days ago) after it starting around my eyes (2 very small spots) 10 months ago. I was told it was eczema and prescribed steroid cream (while it was only around my eyes). Several visits back to the dr (saying I really didn't think it was eczema), 6 months of steroid use and a visit to an immunologist (who finally gave me a diagnoses) and I have now gone cold turkey with all creams, washes etc. My face looks and feels like hell. I have it all around both eyes and my mouth/chin there are also some spots running up near my nose. I am just so frustrated knowing that it has been made so much worse by my prolonged topical steroid use.

But one can only more forward. I am now researching the best treatment. I would like to try natural remedies (after the disaster with the last prescription) but fear due to the severity of my PD I will be put on (and agree to) a long course of antibiotics.

I am a healthy person. I have always used a simple cleanser and moisturiser on my face. I hardly ever wear makeup, I moisturize with sorbolene elsewhere. I have never used fluorinated tooth paste. I have been on a low inflammatory diet for 2 months. I have cut out all sugars (not that I even had much anyway) carbohydrates, coffee, alcohol, gluten, sls. I do not have digestive problems.

I lost my partner 2 years ago and I have 2 small children. 2yrs and 4yrs old. So I have had a fair amount of stress in my life but I have felt like I have been coping quite well up until now. Our town introduced fluoride into the water 2 years ago so I am wondering if this was a trigger.

I have read good things about Grape seed extract and benzoyl peroxide washes. The first thing I tried was an antifungal cream, which did not work. I have started on the benzoyl peroxide wash and a gel after. I don't know if I can use coconut oil or not, same people say it helps and lots of people say stay away from all oils. I desperately want something to help moisturize the area that will not make it worse. Any advice would be great.

If I come up with anything useful I'll let you know Tammy. 

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.

Hi, I know this is an old discussion and hopefully you've found relief from your dermatitis but I wanted to post what helped me.

When I was young, I had perioral dermatitis but was misdiagnosed and given a steroid cream for years. I finally went to a dermatologist instead of my general practitioner and he diagnosed it immediately and prescribed a sulphur concoction mixed at the pharmacy. After havung that stupid rash for years, the rash was gone within 2 weeks if using the sulphur ointment.

15 years, a new country, and a new dermatologist later, it came back again.

I was prescribed Elidel, antibiotics and some other cream which I can't recall and of course none worked. After a few weeks of that, I asked my dermatologist about sulphur. She seemed a bit flustered and only replied that sulphur wasn't used for that any more. I think she'd never heard of it. Well, after digging around for a long time on the internet, I found published, scientific articles about using sulphur to treat dermatitis. I bought myself a small bit of De LA Cruz 10% Sulphur Ointment and it was gone within a week. Stuff costs $6.29 from an American pharmacy called Walgreen's. If anyone wants it but can't find an affordable way to ship internationally, I would be happy to send it.

I've probably missed the boat here (I hope your PD is healed!). But in case anyone else is suffering like us I did have a similar experience and it came to a head one day when a little boy said to his Mother 'what's wrong with that lady's mouth?' and it caused me to tear up and I went to the toilet in the shopping centre for a good old sob! Children are so innocent and looking back it was such an over reaction that I can't even bear to think about it. It was just a culmination of stress at work and money problems and my skin getting worse! this all happened two years past in August. Then I remembered I had terrible thrush problems and had used a thrush treatment by mama naturals that was top notch. So I eagerly jumped on my laptop and was desperate to contact them and ask for their help! They sent me an eczema cream that was really thick and luxurious. I can remember being dismayed after two days (and cursing them!) because my skin was more red than ever and the bumps looked bigger. Bit after contacting them they said it was likely a 'healing crisis' and it should improve. I was literally jumping for joy in the kitchen around a week later because my dermatitis was fading and looked ten times better. It got to a stage where I was completely PD free in around two three weeks and I have never looked back. Might be worth a try?