Folliculitis
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Folliculitis
My Experience With Folliculitis
...how I became Spotty Muldoon overnight and discovered the joys of folliculitis skin infections - yay!
When I started getting spots on my face about 7 weeks ago, I figured I must have been overdoing it a bit and needed to detox. I immediately went on a water fast for a day, followed by two days on just raw apples. In the past, this would have been more than enough to clear up skin blemishes and I should have looked and felt really good. Only thing was, it didn't make a bit of difference! I was getting even more spots. What was going on? This shouldn't be happening. I was a 38-year-old 'health nut' of a man not a 14-year-old junkfood-eating boy -- I shouldn't be getting acne spots!
Well, like it or not, I was getting acne-like spots and they seemed to be multiplying over my face and neck. There's nothing like having a big zit on your nose to really make your day!
I upped my liquid intake -- consuming lots of water. I washed my face morning and night with Oxy face wash (it had always worked for me in the past). I was already eating lots of fresh, organic fruit and vegetables. Surely that would fix it?
No, the spots kept coming (red ones, whiteheads, crusty ones ... the complete pizza menu!).
I went to Google and started searching ... acne, adult acne, skin infections. Oh my gosh, there was a whole world of nasties out there. The worst is if you click on image search results and get hit by the absolute extreme cases. I was scared when I saw how bad some people get hit by skin infections. I looked at hives, scabies, impetigo, psoriasis, ecsema (how do you spell that?!), and a host of things that I have now deliberately forgotten. Somewhere in the mix I also read about folliculitis. But to be honest I didn't know what I had. Follicultis sounded like the most likely -- but there were many different types of folliculitis.
I get medical folliculitis treatment
Taking my folliculitis face to the Doctor!
...But then they came back. Before the course of antiobiotics had finished. Oh-my-god! No-ooooooo-oooooooo!
Well, I didn't know what to do then. I had read of certain types of hardcore acne that resulted from taking too much antibiotics. And that there were types of folliculitis that didn't respond to antibiotics. It was all so confusing. So I just kept going, getting different types of supplement, trying different cleansing regimes, natural cures, supplements and so on.
Finally, just this last weekend, I looked a real mess. In trying to treat and fight the spots, my skin had dried up and it started sloughing off my chin and upper lip. I felt hideous. :-) My wife and son were completely non-judgemental and supportive as they had been all along. But I just felt like hiding in a dark cupboard somewhere. So I finally booked another doctor's appointment and just this morning went back to see her.
Turns out the pharmacy had given me the wrong type of antibiotic (a general kind called Amoxicillin instead of one for skin called Flucloxacillin). She gave me another course of antibiotics (making sure it was the Flucloxacillin kind this time) and a fungal cream in case it is fungal like folliculitis barbae. She also prescribed an anti-fungal medication (miconazole nitrate) but we decided I would go on that following the antiobiotics -- just in case the side affects of taking both medicines simultaneously were too much. If the antibiotics and cream don't work completely, I will go and get the anti-fungal meds too.
Folliculitis Info
Symptoms, treatments and cures for the various types of folliculitis
Types of Folliculitis
There are two forms of folliculitis: superficial and deep/recurring folliculitis.
Superficial folliculitis sometimes clears by itself within a few days and includes the following variants of folliculitis:
* Pseudomonas folliculitis (hot tub folliculitis)
* Barber's itch
* Tinea barbae
* Pseudofolliculitis barbae
* Pityrosporum folliculitis
* Herpetic folliculitis
Deep or recurring folliculitis includes the following:
* Gram-negative folliculitis
* Boils and carbuncles
* Eosinophilic folliculitis
To read a concise description of the symptoms of each of these, see:
http://edition.cnn.com/HEALTH/library/DS/00512.html
Medical treatments for folliculitis
What your Doctor or Dermatologist will likely give you to cure folliculitis
Antibiotics might be topical (creams or lotions you put on your skin like Neosporin) or oral (pills you swallow). I've been prescribed a course of 500mg Flucloxacillin capsules to be taken 4 times a day for a week.
Antifungals again can be topical (like the miconazole nitrate cream I was prescribed today) or oral.
Your doctor may also prescribe an anti-pruritic medication to help you control itching if that is a problem. I find my skin does get itchy, around the jawline, especially at night in bed.
The Mayo Clinic website summarizes treatments for the different types of folliculitis here:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/folliculitis/DS00512/DSECTION=8
Natural and alternative treatments for folliculitis
Searching for natural folliculitis cures?
Natural treatments are always my first choice. Sometimes that is a good thing and sometimes it just prolongs my suffering! There are times when hardcore proven science will have to rescue you from the fuzzy-thinking, anecdotal world of alternative health!
That said, here is what I have been using to cope with folliculitis.
During the times when I thought I might just have acne, I tried a host of natural acne remedies which included:
* 3 day apple diet cure for acne. Result: no significant change... and hunger!
* Manuka honey applied topically on my face (for 30 mins and also overnight). Result: very limited improvement. Better off swallowing it.
* Salt and baking soda face scrub as recommended in an online acne cure book. Result: no obvious improvement. Ouch!
* Lemon juice on spots. Result: slight sting with no obvious improvement.
* Tea tree oil and tea tree moisturiser. Result: Good. Seemed to control and dry-up spots. Kept them in check. Stings though and can dry out skin too much.
* Vitamin B5. I read this was good for acne. Result: psychological comfort that I was taking something that would help. No obvious improvement.
* Propolis capsules. Read great things about propolis' antiobiotic-like affects. Result: Don't know.
* Vitamin E 1000 iu. Result: seemed to exacerbate whitehead spots.
* Vitamin C 500mg chew tablets. Result: I have great confidence in Vit C support for skin, but don't think chew tabs are that great because of sugar content.
* Vitamin A oil drops. Result: Oil based Vit A seemed to trigger whitehead spots.
More natural folliculitis cures I tried
Experimenting on my folliculitis filled face!
* Raw garlic in meals. Result: I think this helps attack whatever is causing my folliculitis. I just felt good for having it in salads. Libido picked up too (which is a bonus!). Anyone fancy a romp with a spotty, garlic-breathed 'horndawg'?
* Apple Cider Vinegar: 2 tablespoons of this in a glass of water first thing in AM. Result: hair looks much shinier, unaffected skin looks good.
* Baking Soda: eighth of a teaspoon mixed in with Apple Cider Vinegar drink. Supposed to even out the pH. Don't understand the 'science' behind it, but I feel good on it.
* Hydrogen Peroxide 3% solution. Just got this to apply topically to whiteheads. Result: Too soon to say, but maybe helps shrink whiteheads faster.
* Visualizing healthy clear skin. Result: I would say this is one of the single most important aids to recovery. Seeing yourself where you want to be. Check out Psycho-cybernetics (the Matt Furey updates).
* Affirmations. I used Louse Hay's book 'You Can Heal Your Life' for insights into psychological factors that might cause skin infections. Result: Insightful, comforting.
* Turmeric powder (1 teaspoon mixed with a little water and swallowed 3 or 4 times a day). Result: I believe this helps.
* Blackstrap Molasses (1 teaspoon mixed in with warm water and the turmeric mentioned above). Result: I believe this helps too.
Best source of information I found on natural cures for skin disorders is http://www.earthclinic.com They have a page dealing specifically with boils and staph and MRSA infections. Reading this was a little scary ...and enlightening.
Here in the UK, national newspapers like the the Daily Mail indulge in periodic rants at the state of British NHS hospitals where so-called superbugs like MRSA are said to be rife because of poor hygience conditions. Reading those stories has always made me think that MRSA is just in hospitals but of course it isn't! And reading the personal stories on earthclinic.com shows how many people are getting MRSA infections and being misdiagnosed.
Anyway take a look and hold your nerve. There are some very good superhealth recommendations on there. And one or two scary sounding cures. Use discernment.
Reader Feedback
Have YOUR say on folliculitis...
Here's where you can comment on this folliculitis lens, relate your story or give a tip for an effective folliculitis cure that you have used....
Many thanks,
Wily
corey smith wrote
oops too many words in my last post. Anyway the neem balm from www.auromere.com has cleared my face up completely i use it every night, is great for the skin and when i break out now i put it on my face and my zits go away. Much luck to everyone battling this. Oh and I definately think there is a connection to internal yeast and high acidity levels and these condtions.
Posted June 24, 2009
Corey Smith wrote
Hello fellow folliculitis sufferers. I have suffered from folliculitis on my scalp since 2000. I also interestingly enough , had been on acne antibiotics from the time i was 15 until my mid twenties, I am now 40. I was also on Accutane twice. During the past 9 years i have tried numerous dermatologists and doctors from internal medicine to skin specialists and have been on many different courses of antibiotics. Most of which worked while taking them, but the folliculitis was back as soon as i finished them. In the past several years it had spread from my scalp to all over my face. I was told again that i had adult onset acne, only this time they would turn into large cysts that would last for months. I now live for the most part with my scalp symptoms under control from taking Miracle Mineral Solution which i found on the internet 6 drops at night and 6 drops in the morning as a maintenance dose after going through their program seems to work, and using Auromere Neem Balm at
Posted June 24, 2009
Caroline wrote
in reply to Lisa Hi Lisa, I too have been on Accutane, for a long time actually. I have recently woken up and decided to get off this toxic drug. I now have recurring follculitis in the same areas you described. I am so angered by this because the entire reason I was taking Accutane was for a skin disease, now the staph infection I am experiecing is causing the skin disease to flare up. Have you had any luck since this post? Ive been on antibiotics none of which seem to help.
Posted June 05, 2009
Sze's buttocks wrote
hey guys, good to see that i'm not the only person out there infected with folliculitis. i'm 22 this year and i've been suffering from this condition for 6 years now and i have it on my butt cheek, and it hurts whenever i sit on something without a cushion. i have consulted numerous dermatologist and they all have prescribed me different kinds of antibiotics but none of them works for me. just so you know that potash alum or shaving alum might help for some people. go to this site if you wish to read more about it.
http://flarekit.blogspot.com/2008/10/folliculitis-found-cure-that-atleast.html
Posted April 29, 2009
WilyWalnut wrote...
in reply to Scorpion Luv
Thank you all for sharing your stories and comments...
Scorpion Luv -- I hope you go to your doctor soon. She should be able to give you an anti-pruritic medication to sooth the discomfort, and possibly an anti-biotic / anti-fungal combo to go to work on the break out. I strongly recommend that you get some hydrogen peroxide 3% or 6% solution to dab with a cotton bud onto any folliculitis spots (you could even include it in your bathing water)... and I also recommend the turmeric treatment discussed on this lens and in other replies to people's comments. Wishing you good health.
Posted April 28, 2009
Scorpion Luv wrote
I began to break out, vaginally, 3 weeks ago. I thought it was just an itch, until it became a severe itch. A week went by and I was treating it with A&D ointment... ask me why... I have no idea. My husband told me to get check out, after he saw what it had turned into. There were boils and bumps in the womanly area, and it itched like crazy... omg! this is even embarrassing to type. It began to spread to other parts of my body, and really began to freak me out. I was told I can use Neosporin, which helped the itching a little, but did nothing to cure it. When I arrived at the doctor she told me it was folliculitis, and that it developed there, after shaving. Somehow, after the area was freshly shaved, one or few of the hair follicles became infected. She could not prescribed anything, because she was not my doctor. This was a free clinic, because I was afraid I had contracted something from my husband, so that caused a lot of confusion and misunderstanding in my marriage.
Posted April 27, 2009
cuteinside wrote
so when i was in culinary school my chef instructor forced me to shave with a cheap razor and soap!! well ever since that dreadful day, I get the worst ingrown hairs possible! I would be able to live with the pain, but it is so unsightly, and it looks very unprofessional to hava a beard. I am at my whits end, I am tired of not going out because my face is less than "cute". does anyone know what I can do?
Posted March 23, 2009
SethForearms wrote
A few years ago I began developing painful "pimples" on my forearms. At that time I was wearing long sleeve t-shirts quite a bit and I think the constant contact with the rolled up sleeves irritated my arms. Some of the small "pimples" would swell up so much that I thought the skin was going to burst- it was very painful.
I saw a dermatologist and he told me it was folliculitis and gave me a few samples of a dermatological soap. The soap didn't work at all and in fact, made the sores worse.
Long story short, 4 years later I've found a simple way to keep this forearm Oil Folliculitis at bay. Using a loofah everytime I shower and making sure I scrub my forearms liberally keeps the folliculitis managed. Also, keeping my arms uncovered and exposed to the air and sun (UV light seems to help) has reduced the folliculitis as well.
Posted March 22, 2009
rgstms1974 wrote
in reply to Lisa hey i have been dealing with the painful things since 2000 and have tried alot of stuff one being hibicleanse and nothing its bad when you are ashamed of your own body because of these things my first one made me think i had breast cancer and then it got worse i got them under my arms, under my breasts and in between my legs and on my rear and when i got 1 it seemed like i got a few more to boot. they always last about a month on me and are very sore at times to where i cant sit and i have been looking for answers to cure this thing so i can live my life normally i was even told it has to do with weight gain which that happened as well i am 34 and weigh 178 and used to be about 140 and never had them now i cant get rid of them the sores and the weight if any one knows of something that will make them go away or subside please let me know rgstms1974@aol.com
Posted March 02, 2009
Lisa wrote
Hi!
Very interesting site and helpful! I took Accutane back in 1996 for just acne, and about a few weeks after my treatment ended I developped folliculitis just on the scalp/hairline...the recurring type. My dermatologist had prescribed a Benzoil Peroxide wash on the scalp and then a topical EM Gel...(erythromycin) which has kept it under control for all this time...I apply it maybe twice per month and that seems to do it.
Just wondering if anyone else out there has gotten this from Accutane....interestingly enough, during BOTH of my pregnancies, I never ONCE got a bout of folliculitis.....something in the hormones or whatnot seems to keep it away when pregnant!!! Wish I knew that cure.
I blame Accutane for not only folliculitis but a plethora of other problems I have gotten since then!! Would love to hear from others on that topic. Thanks, Lisa
Posted January 16, 2009
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