Perioral Dermatits- my story and my cure

You CAN overcome POD with persistence. My story is as follows: back in 2013 I started dating someone new and noticed soon after this that some POD(no idea what it was at the time)had appeared around my mouth and on my chin. I went to a dermatologist and she prescribed me with a cream called Elidel. I treated myself for two weeks and tapered off the cream and it disappeared. I concluded that I was dating someone with an abrasive 5 o'clock shadow and my skin just needed to adjust accordingly. Between then and now I started having chronic heartburn in 2015 and had the whole works looked at. I went to see a gastroenterologist where I had a gastroscopy (with biopsy) to rule out any hernias, ulcers, H. Pylori..you name it. All came back normal. I should also note that my stomach would flare during times or stress. I started a new job my stomach settled down to a tolerable amount of occasional heartburn so I decided I could live with it. September 2016 it flared back up again, so bad that I was on rx stomach acid pills (tecta) for almost two months. THEN I started dating someone new (again) and guess what decided to show up? My POD. I had the vial left from last time so I started using it as I did before assuming it was the "beard factor". Only this time..it didn't go away for longer than a few days when I tapered off and I would need to start applying the cream again. I would go to sleep with no POD and wake up with a bunch around my mouth. After 6 months of struggling and being frustrated and embarrassed to talk about it, I turned to the internet to read what helped people.  I was giving up at that point. One thing that I read that stood out to me the most was "your skin is an organ, the best way to heal it was from the inside out". A light switch went off and I went and bought myself some probiotics in attempt to start balancing my gut flora. I should mention my heart burn was occasional at this point. After still not seeing much results on the probiotics alone, I decided to turn to a professional. I had previously spoken with my MD about it and had been referred to a dermatologist and then to a gastroenterologist...who should I see? A NATUROPATHIC DOCTOR. I went over my ENTIRE medical history and so many things aligned with a dairy intolerance and other potential food sensitivities. I'm happy to say since I've cut dairy out of my diet not only has my POD been completely eradicated, but my heartburn is essentially gone. You are not alone, and you can do this. If you feel you have tried everything out there, but haven't looked at diet as a potential cause of your POD and/or heartburn...please see a naturopath as it may change your life around. I know it has for me.

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