Various skin problems

[katwalker]

Okay, I just ordered several of the products, including the ZZ cream and Fumanling cream. So maybe these things will clear all of this up and there will be no need to explore my problems further.

So, since approximately May 2001 I have had bad skin problems on my face. Without going into the LONG story, I have problems on my face with 1) rosacea, 2) seborrheic dermatitis, and 3) eczema. Most recently, I have been using Metrogel for the rosacea (actually controls fairly well if I self-discipline to stay away from hot showers - which I love ). Also, I had been using Elidel for the seb derm. No scientific reasoning behind this, just my own logic. If steroid creams work on seb derm AND eczema, then maybe something that worked on eczema (i.e., Elidel) would work on seb derm. At first, the Metrogel/Elidel combo worked beautifully, but over time I keep having flare ups. It's still the best combo I've found to date, but I'd still like something better.

I have also been prescribed Nizoral 2% cream for the seb derm, but prolonged use just made my skin very dry and flaky (as opposed to normal oiliness and extreme flakiness). Also tried a sulfur soap 3 years ago, which just dried out my skin and solved nothing.

The seb derm, without use of the Elidel, is very bad. I would wake up every morning and in the shower, just rub all the dead skin off. Of course, I couldn't get it all off, but when sheets of dead skin just roll off - daily - it's very icky. With Elidel, there is some flakiness, but it's much more managable. In fact, the first time I used Elidel, my face burned (not unpleasantly, more like the warm flush you get when drinking alcohol) and itched and - literally - over that night, all the excess dead, flaky skin sloughed off my face. In two days, my face was beautiful.

The eczema I've had since an infant, though not on the face until 4-5 years ago. This is the least of my problems, since Elidel takes care of this nicely.

ANYWAY, here's the one thing I don't get. I don't know if this is mite activity ot what, but every so often (and it's going on now, so it's on my mind), by whole face breaks out. It gets pink - but it's different than rosacea facial flushing. Also, my face get bumpy - again, different than rosacea papuples (sp?). My face is also itchy and very sensitive. The whole effect is most similar to that of an allergic reaction in which the skin has hives (bumps and itchiness).

ALSO - not totally related to the above but are currently happening together... I have very sensitive lips. I'm not sure if I'm allergic to something in lipsticks/glosses, but it seems to happen even when I've just been using pure petroleum jelly (to which one cannot be allergic). My lips will get red and painful. Sometimes there's bumps, again like hives. Other times, they will ooze and crust up (like a burn or scrape will ooze and crust over). It's literally like I have a chemical burn on the lips! This problem has been going on for more like 7 years, and I have yet to find the cause. It seems unrelated to my other facial skin problems as it can happen when the rest of my face is beautiful, or the rest of my face can look awful while my lips are fine.

Just wondering if anyone out there had personal experience with the lips situation or had heard of others with similar problems. Also would appreciate any feedback on the seb derm/eczema/rosacea combo, though I'd suspect based on previous posts that everyone here thinks the mites are the problem and these products will take care of it (not dismissing this explanation, just being skeptical - maybe I'll change my tune when I try the products!).

Interesting side note... back before the Metrogel/Elidel solution, back when my skin would be REALLY painful and itchy, I remember seeing those commercials on toenail fungus in which the critter is digging in the nail bed. I kept thinking that my face felt like little critters were digging in it (hence the itching and redness). It also felt like my skin was allergic to itself and that it was oozing to defend itself (hence the driness). If these mites are the cause, my fantasy matches up pretty closely with the critter digging and skin's allergic reaction fantasy I had!

[SteveInAustin]

It sounds like you have allergies to various chemicals. Rapid color changes on the skin do indicate allergic reactions. You should try to isolate the cause of it. You can do that by taking yourself off of all medications for a short period of time, perhaps 2 weeks. Then reintroduce a large dose of one product. If that product didn't trigger the reaction, stop using all products for another 2 weeks and select another product. Do this until you've exhausted all products you've been using. If it's still happening, then it's perhaps another allergen in the environment (dust mites, pollen, laundry detergent, animal dander, mold spores, etc.) or possibly something you're eating which you're allergic to.

Another possibility is hormonal, possibly triggered by stress.

By the way, you mentioned you might be allergic to your own skin. Actually, that is indeed a possibility. I have a friend who has that condition. Whenever she sweats, it causes her skin to turn red and inflamed. If she sweats a lot, her skin bleeds, I believe. But you'd know if you had that problem by now I'm sure.

I suspected your problem was fungal in nature from your description. But the Nizoral should have cleared things up if that was the case. You can also try dandruff shampoo, but it's very harsh on the skin I think.

I'm not sure if the demodexsolutions products work on Eczema. I don't know much about Eczema, however.

I'd say try to eliminate all allergen possibilities. If you're still having problems, then use the demodexsolutions products. I doubt you'd have much problems using them anyway, so you might just want to go ahead and order them if you're in a hurry, and see if they work. Prepare to commit to at least 5 months of use, twice a day. It won't work overnight (usually).

If you need something that works to cure cracked lips, you might want to ask your dermatologist for a prescription product called "Cutivate". That's the American name for the product. I don't know if there are other names for it. Anyway, I used it when I was on Accutane. It cures cracked and chapped lips practically overnight. It's not like a regular chapstick. And it's even better than Aquaphor. It's a topical steroid, so it reduces inflammation and allows your lips to heal.

Hope that helps.

Steve
Austin, Texas USA

[Upfall]

katwalker, don't use steroids. they are no good for your health and you'll experience this in the long term. you could possibly get quite severe side effects when you come off steroids as your body relies on them once taken.

[katwalker]

No, no, no. I won't use steroids. That's how I got the rosacea in the first place (dermatologist prescribed topical steroids for eczema on face and then told me to keep using them when I developed seb derm). Or rather, the steroids might have triggered the rosacea. When I did have steroid creams, they did work quite nicely at healing my lips when they'd break out, but NO ONE with rosacea should be using topical steroids anywhere near their face.

I do think what happened on my face is the result of one of two things. Either my spur of the moment use of the Nizoral cream made it break out (now I can't remember if I had a drying reaction in the past to that or the Claron...) OR my drinking alcohol exacerbated a break out from two days of hot showers. Also, I'm taking an anti-biotic (for non-face problems) that you're not supposed to drink alcohol with, and when I looked up the interaction, it listed flushing as a side effect. It's hard to tell if it was a rosacea reaction or an allergic reaction, because both have itching and redness. It felt a little more like an allergic reaction (probably to the Nizoral) because I itched and was broken out in parts of my face that normally don't when rosacea flares up.

So, I'm going back to my Metrogel for rosacea and Elidel for seb derm for now because I know they are not the problem. Eczema is not a huge problem; it just pops up occasionally on my face (usually eyelids, of all places), and Elidel takes care of that. BTW, Elidel is very effective for seb derm, even though it's not FDA approved for it. When my Demodex products come, I'll experiment with them. Don't know what makes it effective (killing mites vs. something else), but a lot of people have found them helpful.

As for the lips... I've always suspected it's an allergic reaction. The problem will just be narrowing down the culprit. It could be a certain food I only eat rarely or it could be a lipstick/gloss. Or it could be something else, but I suspect it's one of the first two.

Thanks for all the advice. I was just very frustrated this weekend, having BOTH my face and my lips break out. I itched like I haven't in a long time.

[norman jones]

i was wondering if the product creams here could be applied on segment portions of the face and then gradually extended to larger areas on the face . some of the people here have noted outbreaks after application which is the normal reaction to the healing process.

rather than having the whole face in a mess, which could cause many to stop using the product,,,,even though in the long term it works. healing a segment of the skin on the face at a time until that segment no longer breaks out then encompassing a larger section in time may be more visually bearable. i am thinking of someone who works in an occupation where appearances can make or break you.

would this method work?

[Walter]

I don't think it will work because when you sleep for example your pillow will spread the ointment to other places of your face not to mention your hands, it is possible though, something you need to try but I think it is better to use very very little but the whole face.
A way to keep breakouts in control (if there are, not always) is taking the first months a broad spectrum antibiotic which they use against acne.

Walter