Hi Everyone-
I have been using the products for over a year now and I continue to have breakouts. Most of them, are on the small side but I still get bigger ones as well.
Right now I am especially upset with a large inflamed area above my right eyebrow. It is very sore to the touch and itches slightly (almost like a hive).
I know I must still have the mites (still itch mildly)...maybe I am constantly being reinfected?
Also, I have a very difficult time with the ZZ. If I use it, initially it seems to clear things up a bit, but then as my skin gets drier I start to break out worse. I still use the XFML very, very lightly.
Don't get me wrong, there have been great improvements since I began treatment back in june 2004. I was covered in pustles and papules and red all over then. Now most of my skin is "normal" (besides hyperpigmentation marks). I just wish my skin would stop continually breaking out and that I could begin to use regualr products again (I try and thigns get worse again).
Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated-
Johanna
P.S
For all of those who used to post on the old board, I used to post as "Lil". Hello to you all and I hope that you are well!
Long time user...still having problems
Moderators: Julia, Walter, Administrator
sigh...this has been my problem too, although 95 per cent better than 11 months ago , i still notice that i get the occasional itchy and inflamed bumps that wax and wane in number and intensity..... in the summer with the humidity and the sweating especially on my nose i have to concentrate th zz there more than i did in the winter . of course, if i play with my skin i just succeed in spreading them around my sweaty face!!
it is my opinion that we are affected the way we are because we are immune compromised in some way and our bodies have learned to produce a hyper immune response to the bacteria that demodex carry.
i will include a quote from an article i found interesting...
in any case i will say it for all the world to hear
" DEMODEX SOLUTIONS IS THE ONLY SOLUTION FOR PEOPLE LIKE US!!!!"
i am so grateful to have found it.
In the National Rosacea Society funded study, Dr. Kevin Kavanagh and colleagues at the National University of Ireland-Maynooth found that the bacterium Bacillus oleronius stimulated an immune system response, inducing high levels of T-cell proliferation, in 79 percent of patients with subtype 2 rosacea, compared with only 29 percent of patients without the disorder. T-cell proliferation induces an inflammatory response, evident as papules and pustules.
"This indicates that the Bacillus bacteria found in the Demodex mite produce an antigen that could be responsible for the tissue inflammation associated with papulopustular rosacea," Dr. Kavanagh said.
it is my opinion that we are affected the way we are because we are immune compromised in some way and our bodies have learned to produce a hyper immune response to the bacteria that demodex carry.
i will include a quote from an article i found interesting...
in any case i will say it for all the world to hear
" DEMODEX SOLUTIONS IS THE ONLY SOLUTION FOR PEOPLE LIKE US!!!!"
i am so grateful to have found it.
In the National Rosacea Society funded study, Dr. Kevin Kavanagh and colleagues at the National University of Ireland-Maynooth found that the bacterium Bacillus oleronius stimulated an immune system response, inducing high levels of T-cell proliferation, in 79 percent of patients with subtype 2 rosacea, compared with only 29 percent of patients without the disorder. T-cell proliferation induces an inflammatory response, evident as papules and pustules.
"This indicates that the Bacillus bacteria found in the Demodex mite produce an antigen that could be responsible for the tissue inflammation associated with papulopustular rosacea," Dr. Kavanagh said.
flower
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SteveInAustin
- Posts: 206
- Joined: Wed Jan 19, 2005 4:24 am
- Location: Austin, Texas USA
Hmmm. You shouldn't normally continue getting breakouts after you see the creams working. Eventually you should have gotten to the point where you see only one or two small pimples rarely.
I was nearly clear after 5 months. So I kept on trying the full program of ZZ at night and XFML during the day, everyday, just to get rid of the last remaining stray pimple. But it didn't get much better. It wasn't bad at all (better than anything else I tried), but it wasn't perfect, and I wanted perfection. So I kept at it. Then it started getting worse for some reason, after the 1 year mark or so. Walter said he saw this sort of thing before, so he told me to scale back and do the maintenance program instead. That worked for me. Things got to be much better after that. And I've stayed on it. Still not entirely perfect, but almost. I might get one pimple every 2 or 3 weeks now.
XFML gave me red, itchy, blotchy skin, by the way. Especially on the neck. That stopped when I stopped using it. Now I just use ZZ once every other night.
Oh, one other thing. I had some spontaneous break-outs over a year ago. That was last summer, and it was the result of me doing an agressive physical work-out program. I was sweating like mad 5 days a week, and I was reusing my towels to dry the sweat. I was sometimes using the towel on my hair and then putting it on my face. I was also not showering immediately after my workouts. And as a result I started getting some pretty bad breakouts. So I stopped doing that. Instead I used a clean towel everyday, and I would use a separate towel for my hair and body than I would for my face. And I would shower immediately after the workout. That completely solved that problem. I didn't get breakouts after that. I think what was happening was that the mites were living in my scalp and would be carried down to my face when I sweated. They would also get on my towel, and then they'd transfer to my face when I used the towel on my face.
Don't know if any of that applies to you, though.
Steve
Austin, Texas USA
I was nearly clear after 5 months. So I kept on trying the full program of ZZ at night and XFML during the day, everyday, just to get rid of the last remaining stray pimple. But it didn't get much better. It wasn't bad at all (better than anything else I tried), but it wasn't perfect, and I wanted perfection. So I kept at it. Then it started getting worse for some reason, after the 1 year mark or so. Walter said he saw this sort of thing before, so he told me to scale back and do the maintenance program instead. That worked for me. Things got to be much better after that. And I've stayed on it. Still not entirely perfect, but almost. I might get one pimple every 2 or 3 weeks now.
XFML gave me red, itchy, blotchy skin, by the way. Especially on the neck. That stopped when I stopped using it. Now I just use ZZ once every other night.
Oh, one other thing. I had some spontaneous break-outs over a year ago. That was last summer, and it was the result of me doing an agressive physical work-out program. I was sweating like mad 5 days a week, and I was reusing my towels to dry the sweat. I was sometimes using the towel on my hair and then putting it on my face. I was also not showering immediately after my workouts. And as a result I started getting some pretty bad breakouts. So I stopped doing that. Instead I used a clean towel everyday, and I would use a separate towel for my hair and body than I would for my face. And I would shower immediately after the workout. That completely solved that problem. I didn't get breakouts after that. I think what was happening was that the mites were living in my scalp and would be carried down to my face when I sweated. They would also get on my towel, and then they'd transfer to my face when I used the towel on my face.
Don't know if any of that applies to you, though.
Steve
Austin, Texas USA
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SteveInAustin
- Posts: 206
- Joined: Wed Jan 19, 2005 4:24 am
- Location: Austin, Texas USA
Oh, I also remembered to mention that you should be changing your pillow cases everyday. And you should be changing your bath towel everyday. And you should keep your hair and hands away from your face. As well as keeping everyone else's hair, hands, and faces away from your face. Pets, too. Kind of hard if you're in a relationship, but that's the deal. It's all done to minimize re-contamination.
If you suspect you've been contaminated, it's probably not a problem so long as you wash your face with the Acarid soap bar as soon as possible. If you wait a few hours later, it may be too late.
Steve
Austin, Texas USA
If you suspect you've been contaminated, it's probably not a problem so long as you wash your face with the Acarid soap bar as soon as possible. If you wait a few hours later, it may be too late.
Steve
Austin, Texas USA
Hi Everyone-
I do have pets in the house. They are not in my bed and I do not have any facial contact with them.
I change my pillow case daily and I also fluff my pillows in the drier on high every few days.
I use a new towel everday and use a fresh wash cloth every time that I wash my face.
I do not touch my face...if it itches I use a tissue to take care of that.
My facial contact with others is very minimal. I am married so it cannot be entirely avoided. He used to treat himself but hasn't in a while. How do you avoid entirely.
I have tried to just use the ZZ every couple of days but my skin gets to dry, which seems to cause deeper type pimples. I cannot go completely "naked" without anything at all of my face. Maybe because I live in such a dry environment?? At this point I use the XFML as a moisturizer (very tiny amount, like a dab for my entire face, 1 jar lasts months at this point) just to give my face some moisture.
Maybe I will try and use the ZZ 1-2X's a week. I still am at a loss for what to use daily though. Any suggestions (cannot use the Fum without the metro and the fulio seems to cause bigger breakouts)??
I wish my case was not so difficult. I haven't posted in such a long time because I just wanted to stop focusing on it and see what happened. I am losing hope at this point that my skin will ever heal...
What to do??????????
Thanks for you responses-
Johanna
I do have pets in the house. They are not in my bed and I do not have any facial contact with them.
I change my pillow case daily and I also fluff my pillows in the drier on high every few days.
I use a new towel everday and use a fresh wash cloth every time that I wash my face.
I do not touch my face...if it itches I use a tissue to take care of that.
My facial contact with others is very minimal. I am married so it cannot be entirely avoided. He used to treat himself but hasn't in a while. How do you avoid entirely.
I have tried to just use the ZZ every couple of days but my skin gets to dry, which seems to cause deeper type pimples. I cannot go completely "naked" without anything at all of my face. Maybe because I live in such a dry environment?? At this point I use the XFML as a moisturizer (very tiny amount, like a dab for my entire face, 1 jar lasts months at this point) just to give my face some moisture.
Maybe I will try and use the ZZ 1-2X's a week. I still am at a loss for what to use daily though. Any suggestions (cannot use the Fum without the metro and the fulio seems to cause bigger breakouts)??
I wish my case was not so difficult. I haven't posted in such a long time because I just wanted to stop focusing on it and see what happened. I am losing hope at this point that my skin will ever heal...
What to do??????????
Thanks for you responses-
Johanna