Seborrheic Dermatitis

Hello, good people. I am a 33 year old man from England I have been
reading through the message archive with much interest and sympathy.

I thought that maybe I’d tell you about my personal skin experiences
and how they coincide with you guys.

As a youth and early teenager I had no skin problems whatsoever. At
around 15 I developed moderate acne, which worsened as I got older.
Looking back on it now with the wonderful but worthless gift of
hindsight, I realise that my condition wasn’t particularly that bad,
but as an introverted and angst ridden teen, I became obsessive about
it. At 17 I was prescribed Oxytetracycline for my spots, and although
they initially reduced the overall inflammation noticeably, after a
while they seemed to have little effect. I persisted with them as I
was told that they were a long term treatment. After a few months

Summer arrived, and for the first time ever I had hayfever. It was
extreme and debilitating and I developed a bacterial eye infection. I
also had an extreme reaction to the sun which turned me bright red
after as little as 10 minutes (before this I had tanned perfectly
well - I have darkish hair and pretty fair skin). At the time I did
not attribute either of these developments as being related to the
antibiotics; I am now convinced they were.

I continued to take oxytetracycline for another 4 years, which seems
incredible to me now for two reasons. Firstly, that my doctor would
repeatedly prescribe the drug without EVER asking to see me
throughout that whole time period, and secondly because I knew that
it wasn’t doing me any good. However, my psychological state was
poor, and in a strange way taking the drug had become an essential
part of my day-to-day coping - I had become more and more withdrawn
to the point where I dreamed about quitting my job and living alone
in my own space away from others. I was 20. At this point I also
developed seb derm. My skin was in poor shape - It was very spotty,
extremely sun-sensitive (in all seasons) and now eczematic. I was
slowly but surely slipping over the edge.

At this point I decided to take action, and so I visited a local skin
clinc. These jokers were total quacks, but at the time I was pretty
desperate and so I happily believed every laughable claim they made.
Firstly, the "doctor" who examined me told me I should stop the
antibiotics immediately as they were making my cheeks very dry. This
was of course the seb derm. Before I forget, I should also say that
the seb derm was also extremely virulent on my scalp, with large
patches of lovely yellowy, greenish scale and, wait for it, thinning
hair. So, I immediately quit the antibiotics and the effect was
instantaneous. My skin got ten times worse over night. My spots
multiplied before my eyes. The "treatment" that the clinic employed
involved steaming my face, then applying a mask of some sort and then
scrubbing it with a harshly abrasive glove! As you can imagine my
skin just gave up at this point and I developed a nasty bacterial
skin infection all over my face. This was treated with a further
batch of antibiotics.

At this point I was as low as I’ve ever been. I had avoided my
friends to the point that I had none, I’d ditched my girlfriend out
of embarrasment, and my work colleagues questioned me on my
appearance. After work, I would simply go home (I was still living
with my parents), lock myself in my bedroom and stay there for the
duration. I received a refund from the clinic after I threatened to
sue the scumbags, and I resumed taking oxytetracycline in a low dose.
Over a period of several months my skin improved - the spots went and
marks faded, but I still had seb derm and I was still low. In sring
1992 (I was 21), I quit my job and rented a room (a bed-sit) away
from prying eyes and became a full-time recluse. I tapered off the
antibiotics and finally quit them altogether. I was obsessive about
washing and dealing with my facial skin, and spent my unemployment
benefit on all manner of vitamins and pills rather than food. I
constantly read medical journals and books. I probably knew more
about skin than most qualified dermatologists. I was now a
hypochondriac. I would sleep all day and wander around at night. I
developed a stomach ulcer. But, maybe in a strange way, I was
happier. Or so I thought.

Eventually, I became tired of the hold this regimented, obsessive
mode of behaviour had over my life. I quit the vitamins and other
quack nonsense and stopped washing my face two or three times a day.
In fact, I quit washing it all together. And guess what - it improved
even more. The flakiness and dry irritation died down and residual
spots disappeared. I guess my face was just glad to be left alone.
The psychological pendulum had swung from one extreme to another. I
got a girlfriend and life got a lot better. We moved in together and
for a couple of years she went along with my slightly bizarre day-for-
night mode of existence. After a while, though I guess she got tired
of it (amongst other things) and we broke up.

A year or so after this an old friend of mine who was working for a
pop group called "Babylon zoo" (remember them?!) got in touch and
wangled me a vacation with the group in Miami! I was there for two
months. I had avoided the sun for so long that I had forgotten that
my skin didn’t like it, and in a rush to rid myself of my sallow
complexion, I subjected myself to furious bouts of midday Miami sun.
Ouch! My skin was still extremely sun-sensitive and I burned myself
several times, but, hey, at least I was red rather than white, right?
My seb derm remained a constant (it had never seemed to get worse or
better, always the same, always there), but a few months after I got
back home I noticed changes in my skin. My face was starting to flush
unexplainably and remain red. This in turn was exacerbating my seb
derm, and spots started to re-appear. I got the medical journals back
out. I had rosacea. Oh joy!

I now entered another phase of obsessive, compulsive behaviour. By
now the internet was all the rage (it was about 1999), and I spent
happy hours endlessly trawling through on-line medical articles and
related sites. I now know more about the aetiology of the sebaceous
gland than God himself. But again, I was getting fed up. My rosacea
was getting worse and I was sick and tired - mostly of being
beholden, seemingly forever, to my blasted skin! My stomach ulcer had
been a constant bugbear and another obsession, this time shaping my
eating habits (which were very poor). To cut a very long story short
(as i’m sure you are hoping I would), my ulcer started to bleed and I
was admitted to hospital. They said they could cure it with a
concentrated regime of anti-biotics. I knew this but had avoided
antibiotics ever since my bad experiences had given me an almost
pathological fear of the damn things. This was serious, though, and I
complied.

Over the following couple of months, two things happened. One, my
ulcer was zapped and my general health improved immeasurably. And
two, my rosacea improved noticeably. I was well versed with the
proposed connection between Helicobacter Pylori ( the bacteria that
causes stomach ulceration) and rosacea, but had been too scared to
test the theory. Now I had been forced to, and although of course I
can’t be 100% sure, in my case it seems to have worked. I still have
seb derm (hence my presence on this site!), but in the light of my
other skin experiences, I figure I can live with it! I wash my face
with a mild non-oil, soap-free shampoo every other day, and shave
with a wet razor about once a week (I have very light stubble). This
does not irritate my skin and I don’t get rosacea flares anymore. I
still have a few thread veins on my cheeks and the bridge of my nose,
but I ain’t complainin’. Hell, maybe one day I’ll get ‘em lasered
away.

I’d like to wind this epic up with a few things I have learned. First
off - antibiotics. Antibiotics are a miracle of modern medicine, but
they no longer have ANY place in the treatment of non-threatening
skin conditions like acne. If you know any acne sufferers who are
contemplating treatment, STRONGLY advise them against it. Accutane I
have no experience with, but I would say this - is your skin
complaint so bad that you would risk damaging your health to rectify
it? I’m not arguing for or against, just asking you to implement
something I often lost; PERSPECTIVE. I became obsessive and paranoid
about my skin and other people’s reactions to it and this made the
situation a whole lot worse. Please don’t waste as much time as I did
doing the same. I know, as much as anyone, that it’s hard, but try
and let it go. Think of all the hours you’ve wasted thinking about
your skin when you could be doing something - ANYthing more
worthwhile. It saddens me to think that my reaction to a rather minor
ailment has shaped the greater part of my life. On the other hand, I
have learned an awful lot of other things I might never would have
otherwise. Like Frank said - regrets, I’ve had a few, but then
again…

Lastly, treatment specifics. A lovely lady asked about SPORANOX a few
posts ago -I tried it and it didn’t do anything either way.
Personally, I’ve never used steroid creams but i know a guy who has
and he wished he hadn’t. Don’t despair.

Thanks,
Andrew.

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