Undiagnosed Skin Condition (PICS)

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shazam
Posts: 5
Joined: Tue Apr 12, 2011 8:16 pm

Undiagnosed Skin Condition (PICS)

Post by shazam »

First of all, hello to everyone on these boards!

I'm a new member, and have come here for further advice and opinions. I'll give you a rundown of my story:

It all started when I went hunting last spring and ended up rubbing my arm against some poison ivy, and got it pretty bad up my whole arm. Standard topicals just weren't cutting it, so I finally got fed up and went to my doctor. He gave me a steroid shot in the arse, prescribed me a topical steroid cream, and Prednisone to take for a 3 week period until the poison ivy was gone.

I tell ya, it sure was nice watching that poison ivy literally diminish before my eyes after that treatment. About a week went by after it was pretty much cleared up, and then out of nowhere I started noticing small pustules appearing on my mid chest area. I figured somehow the poison ivy spread onto my chest, so I instantly started applying the topical steroid to that area. Only this time, it wasn't doing anything to help. If anything, it was making it worse. Not long after, I started getting the same symptoms on my face. I've never had (bad) acne in my life, and now I was experiencing what seemed like the worst case ever. Finally I admitted defeat and went back to my doctor. After looking over my chest and face, he instantly pointed out that this was no poison ivy anymore, but folliculitis.

He reassured me that this was a typical reaction to Prednisone, and could be cured up after a script of Doxycycline. Relieved, I went and got my antibiotics and took them for about a couple weeks. To my amazement, NOTHING was happening. If anything my symptoms were getting worse. So, I went back to my doc and explained my situation further. He was surprised that the antibiotics had no effect, and said the only other thing he knew that may help was a topical antibiotic, Mupirocin. I wasn't pleased that he wasn't sure what else to do besides use this topical, but nonetheless - I went and picked it up and gave it a go.

The Mupirocin seemed to help somewhat, but definitely was not a cure. Since then, I've been to 4 dermatologists, and have been on 2 different antibiotics with no success. I've tried to get a culture done but each derm I've seen passes my story off as if it's no big deal and a culture isn't necessary. SO. That's about when I decided that my wallet wasn't big enough to keep forking at money to these people that really have no idea what the hell they're talking about, nor are able to help me.

After all this was said and done, I did more and more searching on the web and came across info on Demodex mites. Originally looking at Keratosis Pilaris forums, is actually where I found the subject. I should also mention, I've done pretty rigorous treatment for KP as well, and that's never seemed to help my condition at all. The way that these mites were explained I thought for SURE this was what I had. It only made sense that when your immune system is diminished (Steroids in my case), that in turn the Demodex Mites take over. I felt the crawling sensation on my scalp and face. Not so much on my arms where it appears the worst, though.

I followed a SEA BUCKTHORN treatment, with the soap, shampoo, moisturizer, as well as taking 1000mg + Sea Buckthorn tablets internally everyday. It's been over a month now and I've seen very little improvement. The places that these spots bother me the most is over my arms, because it's so darn RED, BUMPY, and NOTICEABLE. Ugh, makes me really hate life- let me tell you. So I came across this site, and have been reading about a lot of success with DS products. I've included links to a few pictures of my arms and legs so you can get a better idea of what I'm dealing with here.

What I'd like an opinion on is if I might very well be dealing with a demodex infestation here, even though the Sea Buckthorn products aren't working as they should be? Maybe I need something more powerful? I'm hesitant to try any Borax treatments because the idea of ingesting that stuff scares the holy hell out of me. I'm more than willing to try DS products, but want some other opinions before I fork out more money.
Gamgam
Posts: 98
Joined: Sun Jan 16, 2011 2:58 am

Re: Undiagnosed Skin Condition (PICS)

Post by Gamgam »

I cannot really comment on the skin condition on your arms and legs. It suppose it is possible, I have the same red spots in the same places (at the beginning of the hair follicle). I did notice it got worse for me when I developed demodicosis, but those are also not the preferred areas of demodex.

I'll let someone else try to comment on it.

As for your chosen methods-Sea buckthorn oil is completely useless and there is no evidence that oil kills demodex. On the other hand I'm not going to promote these products, as that is not my job. I've posted elsewhere on what kills mites, if you want to look for it.

Lastly, do not injest/use borax, it is also completely useless. Try looking for information on demodex treatments in peer-reviewed journals, also.
shazam
Posts: 5
Joined: Tue Apr 12, 2011 8:16 pm

Re: Undiagnosed Skin Condition (PICS)

Post by shazam »

shazam wrote: As for your chosen methods-Sea buckthorn oil is completely useless and there is no evidence that oil kills demodex.
I've heard that as well. The reason I went with this method first was a post on KP Forums from a couple different members that went about this treatment and (with images) proved pretty great results. Maybe it really just depends on the individual. I've noticed an increase in spots on certain locations, which is what they say happens- as with many skin conditions, it gets worse before it gets better. I can accept that. Though most of those new spots have cleared, much of what I've had is still there, and doesn't seem to be diminishing much.

Sigh, sucks.
shazam
Posts: 5
Joined: Tue Apr 12, 2011 8:16 pm

Re: Undiagnosed Skin Condition (PICS)

Post by shazam »

I suppose I will wait for the response of Sir Walter. He seems to be the genius behind these boards :)

One thing's for sure though, I definitely feel a crawling sensation during the evenings, which drives me insane. Since I've been using SBT soap, my face has really cleared up about 50% from what it was when I was treating it as folliculitis with products such as Head & Shoulders shampoo, Nizoral, Selsum Blue. Those products seemed to help for a day maybe two, then right back the pustules came. I've been using a combination of tea-tree oil and SBT for my face every evening. Although there is still some redness around my cheeks and nose, the amount of pustules has reduced exceptionally. I can't be mad about that! But if I could only get the same results with my arms... :(
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Walter
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Re: Undiagnosed Skin Condition (PICS)

Post by Walter »

In your case, even seeing your pictures, it is very difficult to say if your problems are caused by
Demodex mites yes or no………….
A demodex mite problem can indeed become after using steroid products but because
your arms are the worst I have my doubts.
Do you remember to have a tic byte last years?

What I would do in your case, you definitely needs something stronger then Sea Buckthorn,
is buying a jar Xin Fumanling cream and a jar ZZ ointment and try out which one is working the best.

Walter
shazam
Posts: 5
Joined: Tue Apr 12, 2011 8:16 pm

Re: Undiagnosed Skin Condition (PICS)

Post by shazam »

Walter wrote:Do you remember to have a tic byte last years?
I don't recall exactly, but I almost wouldn't doubt it. I was always in the woods a lot around the time I picked up the poison ivy, so I'd usually at least pull 1 or 2 off me. I picked up the soap and shampoo from this site and have been using them both for about a week now in place of the SBT products. Although it's too soon to tell anything indefinitely- it makes my skin feel pretty nice.
shazam
Posts: 5
Joined: Tue Apr 12, 2011 8:16 pm

Re: Undiagnosed Skin Condition (PICS)

Post by shazam »

After it's been about a week and a half and im really starting to break out on my chest and face (where i originally started getting the pimple like bumps). This is obviously a typical reaction when the mites die off, correct? I never had this many appear while using strictly the SBT soap. I'm currently waiting for my shipment of ZZ cream, but these results are just with the use of the DS Soap and shampoo.

I guess what I'm wondering is how long it took for the same reactions on other people that have used DS products, and how long did it typically take for them to diminish?
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