Perioral Dermatitis ?

Skin, nail and hair health
1

So here I am, feeling horrible because of my face, skipped a couple of classes cause i dont intend on leaving my room like this.

Let me give you some context.

I've always had a very dry skin. Around a year ago, i had an eczema on both my arms and a doctor prescribed me Advatan and i think it was around that time that my face started to look like this. Around March? i went to the dermatologist and he told to use Elidel, well i did, it flared up for 20 minutes and then clear,with no long term results, it would re appear. Since then i brushed it off but i've always been really insecure for obvious reasons. I've tried to clean my face with soap, i think it helps, but my skin gets SUPER DRY, but if i put some Nivea cream, it flares RED like the photos.

I've looked up on the internet what my problem might be and by looking at images of others, it resembles Perioral Dermatitis. I'm scheduling another Dermatologist appointment for friday if all goes well.

Anyone has any tips?

Not native english speaker so there might be some translation errors

2

Hi, i'm not very sure on what advice I can give you regarding your specific type of dermatitis because I have atopic dermatitis and I don't think they're the same but I also suffer from eczema on my face.

My biggest tip is to definitely not to use soap! Soap makes your skin dryer and when moisturising, make sure to use moisturisers that are dermatologically approved (i.e: no fragrant, etc) I find coconut oil to be the safest substitute when my flare ups get really bad but the only downside is that it absorbs really quickly so your skin gets dryer quicker in comparison to using creams. I also tend to use petroleum jelly to moisturise sometimes when my skin gets super duper dry and when it's not going through any flare ups- but i'm not sure how safe or reliable it is because it only works for me sometimes. My best guess is to definitely try coconut oil and maybe test other moisturisers that aren't harsh to see what's best for you. 

And most of all, don't give up! I know it may seem really bad right now but you'll go through it and it'll get better so fight it! I know how it feels to be in public and have to worry if anybody is looking at your face or if they think it looks weird and just the sheer physical and emotional drainage it can do to you so please don't stop yourself from talking to others about it- sometimes a little rant and venting can help tons.

Wishing you the best and good luck

3

Hi henrique07847, you could ask your dermatologist about an allergy test. My face looked very similar and after much suffering, I found out that I am allergic to sulfonated fatty acids (like Lauryl Sulfonate, Laureth Sulfonate, etc). These are used in many foaming cosmetic products, in hand soap, shampoo, even toothpaste, down to dishwashing soap and detergents. 

The first recommendation would be to keep a list of all ingredients in the products that you have used on your face.  Second, there is no need to clean your face with soap. Just use lukewarm water and only if you really need then a hypoallergenic soap-free face cleanser. 

To reduce the redness and heal the lesions I had good results with Zinc Pyrithione. It is anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial, and anti-fungal. 

 

4

Dear Henrique,

This is my first post. I know how you feel. I really do. 

I have had this condition for two years. No skin problems before I moved to a new area.

Have you moved since this started? 

Do you drink wine?

Do you drink tea - black or green?

Do you drink tap water - if so stop.

Unbelievably these all have a common connection.

What has worked so far...................

Topical creams - don't use any.

Eliminate as many chemicals on your body asap. Body lotions are loaded with chemicals.

Throw out everything with sls or parabens in the ingredients. Try Nature's Gate.(available on Amazon)

Do not buy anything /apply anything on the recommendation of a sales person / Dermatologist  or a friend unless you KNOW the ingredients do not contain sls or parabens. Be vigilante. Check ingredients.

Don't assume  "natural" is good.

Don't assume classic creams are good.

No creams on your face (petroleum oil makes it flare).

When your skin is very dry use a non-petroleum cream.

I use Alba Botanical Hawaii available on Amazon. Use sparingly.

If you can wash your face only with bottled mineral water, do so.

No exfoliating.

Change soap to organic non lathering - unperfumed.  Make sure it is pure. Use sparingly. Rub between hands first and use the least you need on your face - wash your face with bottled mineral water with the LEAST flouride you can buy. Not Evian.

Change toothpaste to organic non fluoride (most important)  - again available on Amazon. Tastes awful but you will see some results in a few weeks. Check the toothpaste - no parabens, no flouride, no sls.  It has to be without them all. 

Wait for the skin - it takes 28 days to renew when you are young - longer as you grow older.

So changes need time...........a lesson learnt for me. I had to learn to be patient.

Then take selfies on each day of each new change - record at the same time of day. Keep to a minimalistic routine.  Sleep with nothing but a cleansed face of mineral water.

Whenever you are home - all make up off rinse with bottled water

I have researched this for two years and I am sure its a new form of dermatitis. Until my research is finished this is what has helped me so far - this dermatitis is growing fast and studies show it started around the late 70s and it is mostly in the West. 

I have theories but until they work - I will only post what I know has worked. 

I will post when I have seen a result.

I hope this helps you get to a better stage of PD  quicker than me - for a year I did not want to go out.

LD

5

Ps,

My post sounds like the problem is solely fluoride - it is partly and avoiding as much as possible will help.

Unfortunately it interacts with something else since the 1970s.

Try fluoride first - it may be all you need. 

Good luck.

6

Hey guys, i've got good news, my face cleared a lot. Unfortunately i cant pinpoint an exact moment or what type of product was causing this cause i did a bunch of stuff at the same time, but i'll point it out here.

I've noticed that after i shave, my face gets a little whiter and alongside with a thin layer of elidel it helps a lot.

So after i made this post and after the responses i got with were very very helpfull, i cut all ointments and moisturizers i was putting on my skin. I only put Nivea at night, before sleep cause my skin is very dry, and if i didnt it would get all flaky and itch, but i saw improvements that very week. As Ldemi3 said, i cut all fluoride toothpaste, i use a medical non fluoride one now, greasy food gut cut down a lot, products that i used with SLS wre're cut from contacting my skin, the only one i couldnt cut was my shampoo since i couldnt find one where  i live. I started to drink a lot of water in hopes that my flaky skin would dissapear without the need of any moisturizer.

I did went to the dermatologist, he said it atopic dermatitis, and said to continue to use elidel but a very thin layer in the morning and before I sleep.

Here are the photos 2 days before i shaved, and one right after i shave and aply elidel.

Im gonna try and continue to update my condition so if someone has something like what i had this thread can help him.

 

7

Well, the photos didnt go alongside with the previous post and i dont know why, but here they are now hopefully. Thank you all guys that posted and helped me

8

I have had great success with manuka honey for my perioral dermatitis! It initially started off as a patch underneath my nose until it spread. I went to numerous dermatologists, and they have all treated it as a condition that needs to be continually maintained, however in my gut I knew that wasn't the case [well at least for me it wasn't.] Hydrocortisone cream helped, but after stopping it made everything worse and flare-up. I didn't even attempt to go on antibiotics because there was no guarantee it would help. It wasn't until one day I saw I had a jar of manuka honey +16 factor from New Zealand and I thought why not give it a go? It is medicinal honey which is antibacterial, viral, inflammatory, fungal and speeds healing. What I did was the following: 

1.) I would wet my face and use a bit of manuka honey as a facial cleanser [once it touches your wet skin it spreads quickly.] I would cleanse and leave it on for a bit and then rinse off. But I also really worked it into my problem areas very well. 

2.) I don't use towels on my face; I use tissue paper roll- which eliminates: towels, the detergent within them and not washing them which often spreads even more bacteria on your face. 

3.) I would them take a layer of manuka honey and slather it again on my problem areas and go to bed! 

It took about two weeks, and it was gone, and it hasn't come back! I now love manuka honey as a facial cleanser and use it from here on out! 

​

9

hey, i have the exact same thing as you. did yours come and go every week? mine would start as lots of tiny red bumps which burn itch and sting. Over the next day i would get lots more of tiny red bumps and someone would almost look white like yours in the photo. Then the next day i would start getting cuts on the top of my lip which would turn orangey and flakey. all around my lips would feel like sandpaper and burn. Then it would start to heal and i would have about 2-3 days of it being clear and it would suddenly flare up again following the same cycle. It has been 6 months now following this same cycle every week