A couple of thoughts… READ THIS!
I really have to disagree that diet, exercise and other things of
that nature have little or no bearing on this condition. These are
things that will modulate your stress level.
If one eats a lot of crappy food , or food with ingredients that
trigger sebum production and the pityrsporum (sp?) yeast to grow and
cause flareups then it is obvious that there is a connection. If one
is deficient in the multivitamin or protein area, that is gonna
affect stress levels either in your day to day activities, or in the
general way your body processes food and gets the good stuff to your
bones, skin, teeth, etc.
I am not saying Atkins diet or anything like that- just responsible
choices.
I have experienced a great deal of success in avoiding cream based
foods, foods with malt "Doritos" , overdoing cheese eating, not
drinking milk, and staying away from pilsener style beers. Also fried
foods should be a once in a while thing, not a way of life.
Due to this I have noticed that not only has my skin cleared up, but
so have my sinus allergies. No more puffy eyes, clearing my throat,
stuffy nose etc. I still smoke, I still drink, but I also get sleep
and eat better than I used to.
The simple fact is that not only are you choosing to stay away from
foods and drinks that cause a stressful condition to worsen, you
probably will be eating better and contributing to your body’s
ability to process vitamins and minerals.
I think that a little effort toward doing this everyday and noticing
what works and doesn’t work is a lot better than using tape for 15
minutes a day to remove dead skin cells. I had gotten to the point
that for the most part my skin looked pretty normal on a regular
basis AND THEN: !!!!!!!! TRY THIS!!!!!!
I bought an Anthony logistics for men basic skin care set at
Nordstrom back during the first week of January. It costs like 50
bucks, but you get the algae facial wash, skin toner, and
moisturizer (all full size bottles) a dob kit, and two trial packs of
face scrub and cleansing clay. (Each of the full size items sells for
20 to 22 dollars each individually) I was really just having problems
with my forehead and two spots on my nose and went to get Kiehl’s
blue astringent but they don’t have it there anymore.
Anyway, THE STUFF IS AWESOME! At least gamble 20 bucks and get the
algae facial cleanser. I have no blotchiness, no dryness, no
irritation at all. ( OK,I have one little spot right at the edge of
my hairline, and it keeps getting better) This is the first time
since middle school (BTW I’m over 30) that I have had an even skin
tone during the winter, and no raccoon eyes (since I’m staying away
from dairy). I can’t tell you what a relief it is to be using
something that WORKS.
I have used it twice a day for the past month, am only halfway
through the stuff (I even used the algae face cleaner in my hair a
few times and it helped) and not only does it make my skin look
better, the boost to my ego and self esteem has been apparent as well.
Seriously! People I know from the past two and three years who have
seen me in the past stressed out, eating like crap, going out and
drinking Bass Ale all the time, smoking, drinking coffee, etc have
been asking me recently all kinds of questions about why I look so
happy, what’s her name, are you on Viagra? that kind of stuff.
The reason I recommend this so highly is that I have gotten the
runaround from dermatologists in the past who kept me waiting for 2
hours past my appointment time then ignored what I told them worked
and prescribed something cruddy that didn’t and were trying to get me
to make an appointment every three weeks. What worked for me was
Novacet lotion. This set of stuff makes my face look like it did
after 1 week of applying Novacet lotion. No co pay, no taking three
hours off of work, no muss no fuss.
If it works, and we buy it, they’ll keep making it.
December 16th, 2004 at 12:50 am
I guess we have to agree to disagree, however in the last 16 years
this past year has been the only one in which I’ve noticed
that I’ve been drinking and smoking, and the last 20 that I’ve been
eating
a difference. I too have gone through moisturizers, changed shampoos,
taken colder showers, taken shorter showers, the whole gamut.
It is true that the occurence of sebderm is likely among those who
are immuno-suppressed, however if one is experiencing the symptoms of
SD that doesn’t mean your immune system is suppressed. They aren’t
mutually exclusive.
I’m also fairly certain that continuing smoking doesn’t help my skin
ANY. In the SD dept. or otherwise… It may help with the stress I
feel in that I’ve been smoking so long now, but the fact that I had
symptoms 4 years before I started smoking and drinking, and the fact
that they got worse the further I went into puberty and the whole
high school drinking scene, then living in Europe where there are a
lot of great beers and fresh milk delivered to your door every day,
then college etc.
I too have a really high metabolism, like I gotta eat at least 3
large meals a day or I start to lose weight. I also tend to get very
short with people when I don’t eat.
All I’m saying is that the sun hasn’t been out here since last
Saturday, I’ve been out evry night this week (5 pints of Guinness a
night note: they don’t malt the grains when brewing the stuff), I’ve
made a point to get 7 to eight hours of sleep a night, and I’ve made
a point to eat something good every day (without the foods that I’ve
been avoiding), and I’m not a completely worry free person, and my
skin is clear.
The only thing that has changed in the past year has been my effort
to keep track of what I eat, and the only thing that has
significantly improved upon that in the last 4 or 5 weeks has been
the Anthony logistics stuff.
The crazy thing is that I could never use a moisturizer before. It
would just end up aggravating the SD. Now, I wash my face in the
morning, shave, do the toner, then put on the moisturizer, and walk
out the door. Then I do it again before I go to bed. wash, tone ,
moisturize. Done.
Now doesn’t that seem a little more reasonable than using tape to
exfoliate your face for fifteen minutes a day?
December 16th, 2004 at 9:08 pm
So try it if you want to, I don’t have any vested interest in whether
you try it or not, I only put what I have noticed and seems to be
working for me up on the board in the hope that it helps someone who
is dealing with it and potentially has some of the same type of
symptoms.
Frankly, your OPINION that it just can’t be helped in general because
all the things you have tried have not worked isn’t helpful or
productive to anybody, but I understand your need to vent.
Any person who hasn’t given up and just wants to get back to
a "normal" minimal fuss and concern skin care regimen and wonders if
they should try it has my unreserved recommendation. Perhaps they
might want to look closer at their eating and excercise habits if
they think there are any "triggers" in their diet.
Those of you who don’t want to - Don’t. I wish the best of luck to
those who take a more active approach in their search for answers and
remedy to this condition. "For every effect there is a cause" or in
this case maybe a combination of causes.
For the record I am very thankful that this is working for me,
therefore I see no reason not to suggest it to someone else who is
experiencing the same symptoms.
December 17th, 2004 at 6:58 am
I know for sure that some foods/drink will set off a flare every time for
me:
Ice cream, strong coffee, beer–I am certain these foods are a trigger for
me. I am also certain that diet, drinks can have no effect on others with
seb derm–it is for sure on a case by case basis
Speaking of flaking, someone last week sugested pure glycerine. For about a
week now have been using this pure glycerine ($3.89 at Walgreens) diluted
in half with water. The flaking of my skin is now practically gone.
15 minutes a day?–i have spent over 2 hours almost every day for the past
three years scraping and brushing dead skin and dried up sebum off my face.
Tried oils, mosturizers, you name it, it either broke me out with zits or
just sat on top my skin and dried up., which actually made the flaking
worse.
The gylcerin diluted with water seems to have given me new hope that at
least the flaking can be controlled. I have been apllying it mostly at
night as it will be greasy for the first few hours on your skin, but by
morning, my skin looks and feels normal–warning though, I have not been
using on the really red and oozing areas of seb derm in my eyebrows–I am
using it for the pinkish, slightly irritated skin that causes the most
flaking on my nose and mid forehead and sides of forehead above eyebrows and
on upper lip.
Be careful if you use on oozing seb derm areas, the stuff tends to itch and
burn slightly the first few times you apply–it did not make my skin any
more red nor did it irritate it all, just felt a little weird the first few
times, but now it prety much feels normal.
This stuff does you leave your face with a bit of glistening appearance, but
sure as hell beats the dired up flaking appearance–the slighly oily
appearance looks pretty health on me actually.
Good luck if you try it.
December 17th, 2004 at 5:26 pm
Hi,
Sandra, if your seb derm is not controllable with Cutanix DRL or any
other remedy, did you ever try normal dose or low dose accutane?
It is known to work well for seborrheic dermatitis, so I would think
that stubborn seb derm should be a no brainer if you are not thinking
about becoming pregnant.
I would suggest asking your dermatologist about this, and if you dont
have one, try sending an e-mail to dermatologist Linda Sy at
www.lindasy.com or to rosacea/deb derm expert Dr Nase at
www.drnase.com
I have found them to be very knowledgable.
Linda Sy said that she personally knows one dermatologist who uses
low dose accutane to treat his own seb derm.
best wishes
Mads L H
December 18th, 2004 at 11:53 pm
Hi Sandra,
You should check out the Photoderm treatment then. Dr Nase has
talked about it for a rosacea treatment, but it reduces sebum
output, so it should be helpful for seb derm too.
good luck
December 19th, 2004 at 10:02 am
Im not sure if there are long term side effects.
If you are going to use a low dose regimen, it would have to be done
permanently, so there would be continous concerns, but with low dose
and good routines, it is pretty safe.
But Im not a dermatologist.
best wishes,
Mads L H
December 20th, 2004 at 6:20 am
Yep, a low dose Accutane with DRL is the very best combination that
really did it for me, before this Rosacea-thing started.. if you have
SD and oily skin, you just have to try Accutane, it will work wonders
for you..