Dermatitis Treatment and Natural Remedies

For months I've had a circular rash on my face. At one point it resembled ringworm so I used an anti fungal cream and nothing changed. Then I went to urgent care and got a steroid cream and the diagnosis for contact dermatitis. The rash somewhat went away when I first started using the cream but came back bigger than ever shortly thereafter. I told a friend about it and she told me the same thing happened to her because she is allergic to the fluoride in her toothpaste. I switched to fluoride free toothpaste and my rash was gone within 24 hours. I realized when I first started using the cream I was staying at a friend's house, using her toothpaste which could be why the steroid cream seemed to work at first. Just throwing this out there if anyone else is dealing with a rash on their face and treatments aren't really working.

Other symptoms I didn't correlate until now include: swollen eyes in the morning (I thought I might be allergic to my mascara) and sneezing (which isn't that unusual for me).

I'm a guy that had perioral dermatitis for over 2 years, and it's been so bad that I chose to use my wife's foundation makeup. Several months ago it started itching badly, and not knowing it was PD at the time, I scratched my face like there was no tomorrow. Well, the PD spread horrifically all over my face. It wasn't until that point I started investigating what was wrong with me. Up until that point I just assumed I had poor skin genetics - dumb!

Thank god for earth clinic and all of you because it has started a wonderful journey of discovery and appreciation for nutrition. I wanted to share my experience and return the favor.

The first thing I discovered was that the commonly prescribed treatment for PD is tetracycline, which has dangerous long-term side effects, and the PD always returns. I never saw a dermatoligist for PD - I self-diagnosed myself by researching the problem, checking out photos and comparing my symptoms.

After much research and dealing with this problem I now believe I know the cause and what I need to do to CURE PD. I started my natural treatment a little more than 2 months ago. After 2 weeks my severe PD symptoms disappeared. Since then I've had to stick to a regimen, but I completely stopped using my wife's makeup, and I've lived without any embarrassing signs of PD for over 2 months now.

From my research and experience I have determined that the cause of PD is an overgrowth of Candida in the body. In order to CURE the disease you have to kill the candida overgrowth, but this is very hard to do. Here's what works for me to get rid of the symptoms.

Before you do the following, remove all toxic chemicals that contain sodium lauryl sulfate and flouride from your home. Buy a new toothpaste without flouride, remove all soap, shampoo, body wash, dish soap, household cleaner, and laundry detergent that contains sodium lauryl sulfate. Natural food stores have natural cleaners without these harmful chemicals that actually do a better job! You need to stop wearing makeup and using ANY creams on your face until your PD symptoms disapear. Once your PD clears up, you can experiment and see what makes the candida thrive and makes your PD flare up. Also, throw out any old makeup - this is filled with bad bacteria that feed candida, and for some of you it may have caused the candida overgrowth in the first place. After you've done this, you're ready to start fighting the candida overgrowth that causes PD by doing the following regimen.

1. Apple Cider Vinegar on Face - This must be organic and unfiltered with the mother (it will say "with the mother" on the label). Use cotton balls to liberally apply the ACV all over your face. No need to dilute it with water! It will sting, but that's a sign it is doing its job. The pain will reduce after a few days. Do this once in the morning and once at night.

2. Apple Cider Vinegar Ingested - Every morning and every night you need to drink a shot of ACV. This is very important because it attacks Candida in the body.

3. Apply an organic plain yogurt mask before bed. The yogurt needs to be organic with live cultures. Have at it, stick your whole hand in the yogurt and slop it on your face and leave overnight. I'm serious - the live cultures in the yogurt kill candida.

These 3 things alone had great effects on clearing up pretty much all of my PD symptoms in less than 2 weeks. This may not be enough to cure the PD, however, because it might not completely kill the Candida overgrowth in the body. Personally, if I stop this regimen the PD starts to come back. Also, your diet will determine how effective steps 1-3 are. To get even better results and work towards CURING your PD, add the following.

4. Make sure you maintain great oral health. Scrape all that white stuff off your tongue (which is candida) and gargle twice a day with 3% hydrogen peroxide.

5. Candida overgrowth is believed to begin in the intestinal tract. Acidophilus is a good bacteria that does a great job killing candida in the gut. Get an Acidophilus supplement and take 2x/day. This is also called a probiotic - just make sure it contains Acidophilus.

6. DIET! - What you eat will determine whether the candida is thriving or getting obliterated, which has a direct result on the quality of your skin. Stop eating sugar, all processed foods, alcohol and bread. Try to minimize meats and dairy products. I know, it's hard. The most important thing is sugar. My PD showed no symptoms, and then I ate 3 big bags of chips, a jar of nutella and a loaf of French bread. The PD started coming back even though I was on the regimen. Then, after eating a ton of vegetables and eliminating sugar, it cleared right up after 3 days and stays clear as long as I don't eat much sugar.

7. Amalgam fillings - Amalgam fillings release mercury (a serious toxic poison) into your body every time you grind your teeth.

Low level mercury toxicity suppresses the immune system, which allows candida to proliferate. It is also believed that candida thrives on mercury. Unfortunately I have A LOT of amalgam fillings in my mouth. I'm currently saving money to have them all taken out. If you do have them taken out, you need to have it done at a holistic dentists office, where they understand the dangers of mercury poisoning. After removing your amalgam fillings you need to detox your body of the metal poisoning. You can find natural products that remove heavy metals from your body at the local natural food store. Also, cilantro is great for removing mercury.

I strongly believe that once this mercury poisoning is out of my body, I will be able to starve and kill the candida overgrowth through a strict diet, and actually CURE my PD. My goal is to no longer need this regimen, and be able to eat very moderate levels of sugar, dairy, meat and bread without effecting my skin. If you are truly healthy, there shouldn't be symptoms like PD. Imagine going to bed and waking up without having to put anything on your face - that sounds awesome.

Good luck, and whenever I get the fillings removed, I'll give you an update.

Dear Jenstacks,

I am not Ted but thought I would suggest some things you could try since Ted is not able to reply right now.

If this were me, I would focus on remedies that reduce inflammation, alkalize the body, and support healthy skin.

Turmeric is a great anti-inflammatory and we have used it to heal a variety of dermatitis issues. 1/2 teaspoon in some milk a couple of times a day.

Epsom salt baths to supply the body with magnesium and heal skin. 1 cup in a warm bath several times a week.

Apple cider vinegar to alkalize the body and promote healing. 2 teaspoons in a glass of water a couple of times a day, during or between meals.

Borage Oil supplement to reduce inflammation. I have taken up to 3 large gelcaps of this daily for a chronic inflammation and it worked when nothing else did.

Gelatin added to smoothies, oatmeal, soups, etc. to promote healthy skin.

Vitamin C is needed for healthy skin and immune function. 1,000 grams 1-3 times a day in the sodium ascorbate form.

You could look in to Lugols or Iodoral as an Iodine supplement or take a kelp supplement. A selenium supplement helps the body to use the iodine better.

I would not add all of the remedies at once but try one every few days to make sure it suits. If you try too many at once you won't know which is causing issue.

Personally I would start with turmeric. It is my very favorite anti-inflammatory and we use it all the time for all kinds of stuff. I buy it by the pound from Mountain Rose Herbs. An Indian market would be a good source of bulk turmeric as well.

I hope you sister is able to find some remedies to bring relief. Please keep us posted.

~Mama to Many~

My daughter had a rash on her cheeks. The bumps were not noticeable, as in, raised but not red; she suspected poison ivy, but she has sensitive skin. It could have been just dermatitis.

I had recently made a calendula tincture with witch hazel and suggested she try it.

Hours later she realized that the rash was pretty much gone.

Here is how to make Calendula Tincture:

1. Fill small jar with dried calendula flowers.
2. Cover with witch hazel.
3. Let sit for 2 weeks.
4. Strain out flowers.
5. Put witch hazel tincture in spray bottle or use a cotton ball to apply.

Witch hazel tinctures do not last as long as alcohol based tinctures but they are worth making for the astringent benefit of witch hazel.

I think this is good for 3 - 6 months or so. Longer if kept in the refrigerator.

Calendula witch hazel spray would also be great for a face toner, poison ivy, hemorrhoids, bug and bug bites. I will let you know what else it ends up helping.

~Mama to Many~

I've been reading everyone's post and am overwhelmed by the feeling of community here. You guys are great!

My PD started with a small rash on the side of my month that was slightly itchy. I didnt think much of it and left it alone.. Then it got worse. It spread around the right side of my mouth and near my chin. It was really scary because I couldnt figure out what it was until I did some research online.

A friend of mine is an esthetician and she recommended super milk thistle with a juice cleanse. I am allergic to ragweed so I couldnt do milk thistle since it can cause an allergice reaction if you have plant allergies.

I realized my PD started because I was not exercising as regulary as I do, drinking tap water which is high in flouride, & consuming 2-3 alcoholic beverages which compromised my gastrointestinal system & liver.

I switched to flouride free toothpaste, drank only bottled/filtered water, began excersing (sweating out the toxins), and drank 2-3 cups of ____ blended juice (organic). Today is the 3rd day and my face has changed dramatically. I highly recommend to go on a cleanse to help your liver and internal systems get rid of the toxins.

I hope this brings relief to anyone experiencing PD. It is awful but you all these post helped me with the psychological trauma that comes with this disfiguring illness.

Love to all of you!

I suffered with PD since after giving birth to my son. I use a ready made natural cream with calendula, lavender oil, tea tree oil and east cape manuka oil. It is amazing for clearing away all of the PD around my face (used to look like a muzzle and was horrible). I still get minor outbreaks in small patches but after using my cream it clears away again.

So happy to have found this website. You truly have to be your own doctor if you have any type of chronic skin ailment. Derms simply send you home with useless topical drugs or worse, more harmful treatments like steroids. What exactly are they studying? Do any of them bother to log onto a site like this so they can actually give patients useful advice and remedies? Infuriating. Okay... I've had hypersensitive skin and atopic dermatitis for decades, I will post solutions I've found on more specific links on this site - this is specifically about water and topical skin reactions because I never hear anyone mention it. I travel constantly and have noticed for years that my skin "burns" at worst or gets very red/blotchy at the very least *AFTER* showering in certain cities... and "clears up" (looks white, calm and no make up needed) again only *AFTER* showering in other certain cities. As far as taking a scientific approach, I can definitely eliminate coincidence, because these reactions (skin flaring up or calming down) occurs reliably the same way in the same cities. I told my derm about this but despite being trained in both internal medicine and dermatology, he simply said "I've never heard that before". It's been obvious to me for years that something in the water is irritating my dermatitis. It's probably fluoride. I'm going to look into it further (check each cities' water content info) and find out if this holds up. If it's not fluoride, it's probably chlorine (my initial suspicion). People think water is water and air is air - only those with allergic skin or respiratory conditions unfortunately know differently. I did find out the city I live in, where the water doesn't bother my skin at all, does NOT add fluoride to their water... Does anyone else have this experience? You would have to travel around a bit to pick up on it but still... even one vacation might have revealed a change in your skin condition.

Diaper Rash cream will completely take your dermatitis away if it is steroid-induced. It took me forever to figure it out which I had to do myself because allopathic doctors have no idea how to truly heal or figure out where symptoms are coming from, all they do is medicate, medicate, medicate. What happened with me was that I was using a strong steroid on my hands, and it was getting on my face without me realizing it. My face broke out horribly in small bumps, starting on the side where I would rest my hand on my face, and spread within a week to the other side. I was floored as to what was causing such bad acne. I tried ACV, coconut oil, DMSO, hydrogen peroxide, borox (thinking it could possibly be small parasites) EVERYTHING. I found another post on earth clinic about diaper rash cream for dermatitis (there are more posts under a certain brand of diaper rash cream, I believe it is desitin. Read that post). Within two days it was completely gone. I could feel it working, and it just totally made the bumps get smaller and disappear. I am not sure how it works for dermatitis of other causes, but its DEFINITELY worth a try, and if you use steroids, realize the connection and that it may be causing your dermatitis.

I just wanted to note that anyone looking for a cleanser for dermatitis should pick up some dead sea salts (make sure it is the real thing). I use a mortar and pestal to grind it into a flour-fine texture and then lightly massage it into my face (focusing, but gently on the derm spots) for about a minute or two. I follow this up with moisturizer with colloidal oatmeal (which is specifically designed and used for eczema, derm, etc.) as a moisturizer. This has helped tremendously, though I must say that I also maintain a plant-based, whole food diet as well and I take vitamin supplements, propolis, manuka honey, acidophilus, and some others.

For scalp, I wash my hair with a baking soda/ water mixture (at a 1:4 parts ratio) and then rinse and follow with a ACV vinegar/ water mixture (same ratio). This hair regimen has removed all scalp dermatitis (I have to keep doing it or it WILL come back) and I would like to add that my hair had begun to thin due to the derm but now my hair is very full and baby hairs at the hairline have returned. I even get compliments on my skin and hair and the look of surprise when I tell people about the cheap and simple products I use. I really hope that this helps someone, I know this thread is old but I also know the struggle of dealing with the embarassment of derm. Regardless of whether or not you get the eczema, derm, acne, whatever, under control, you should know that you should live your life and those that matter won't mind and those that mind shouldn't matter to you.

Much love, peace, and wishes for the skin you dream of :)

Lemon Oil for Dermatitis:

I first started having red spots on my face. I noticed they would flare up after eating certain foods. I decided to have allergy and food testing done to see if I could find the culprit that was making these red spots on my face. My allergy testing revealed I am sensitive to corn, soy and yeast. I changed my diet to try and avoid these foods. I also saw a dermatologists during this time. He got me out of my severe redness stage with a shampoo and steroid but did not solve the problem. My wife decided she wanted an oil diffuser. This puts different types oil into the air. She read that lemon oil behind the ears helps complexions. I tried it and started seeing good results. I have been putting several drops of Lemon oil behind my ears twice a day. I have had a few occasional mild flare up but I have seen a drastic improvement. I am not sure if lemon juice works or not. I would at least suggest diluting the lemon juice if you try this with water. But my best results have been with lemon oil. Good Luck

Hi all. Long time lurker, first time posting. I've had dermatitis around my eyes for over 6 months now. Tried everything that's been suggested on EC. In going over my oils and their properties, I thought I'd try Peppermint oil mixed with Argan oil. Just a drop of Peppermint to a couple drops of Argan. It burns but that goes away quickly. Do NOT get it in your eyes! 2 days and gone. Very happy. Love EC and the posters are all so helpful. Peace!

I've been battling Perioral Dermatitis for years=( It comes/goes but never completely gone; doesn't really itch (occasional but specific spots) area around my mouth, nose, eyebrows/between eyes is affected by redness w/bunches of tiny bumps, 1-2 will be raised & contain a clear liquid. I use a makeup remover wipe prior to washing, then I use Dr.Woods "Black Soap" am/pm it's a castile type liquid from health food store (NO sls) it helps a lot, NEED moisturizer after.

I use honey ALL over my face every morning (& night if it's really bad) after I wash; pat dry gently, smear honey all over & leave it anywhere from 5 min to an hour. It's so soothing & deeply moisturizing; rinses clean w/luke warm water- CAN'T LIVE W/OUT IT. I just use raw unfiltered local honey, one day will try Manuka but regular stuff works great. May sound crazy that I wear make up but my skin feels calmer w/it on & my Derm Dr. says it protects my skin. I use Tarte Amazon Clay BB cream (for normal/oily) the clay makes it somewhat water/sweat proof (need make up remover wipes to get it off) this stuff is great for my sensitive skin (NO Parabens, dyes, fragrance etc.. & SPF 20 is mineral based) & Neutrogena Longwear foundation (I NEED coverage) I'm very sensitive & this doesn't bother my skin.I take Biotin (very low levels). I was taking Max. dosage Biotin years ago & it was giving me HUGE CYSTS on my chin (never had that prob before) & I read that could happen in sensitive skin types, quit taking it & stopped having that problem. Maybe I have deficiency now?? Thanks for tips everyone, hope my info helps=)

Hello, I've had p/o dermatitis for about five years now, the only thing other than prescription that has worked for me is fresh squeezed lemon juice, it takes just as long as the prescription "ery" pads but works just the same. I use it twice a day all over my face w/ a cotton ball and have been free of my dermatitis and eczema for over a year.

Thank you so much for this post. I have perioral dermatitis but didn't know the name for it until I went to the dermatologist 3 weeks ago. She gave me Metrogel samples to try, and said if I didn't see any improvement in 4 weeks, I should come back and she would put me on an oral antibiotic. I saw no improvement. I think it actually got worse with the Metrogel. Three days ago I started looking on-line for some answers. I have been using the ACV, yogurt and Acidophilus for the past 2 days and have seen an amazing improvement. Needless to say, I will not be going back to the dermatologist for the antibiotic.

I have had PD for over 10 years now. The only prescription medicine that ever worked for me was the minocylline. It completely took it off. However, it will return and it is pretty expensive and most insurance companies have a hard time approving it for patients. Everything else that I have been told - stay away from fatty foods, flouride, sls products - has not worked at all and ACV w/green tea only slightly minimized it but caused itching. I have it pretty severe and I am really frustrated with it. I look at this site every so often and I finally took the advice of the gentleman who recommended acidophilus. He, however, removed flouride and sls products - I did not. I have maintained the same diet and I quickly felt results with the acidophilus pill.

However, I also suffer from occasional alopecia so I picked up a bottle of Biotin. I take one of each daily around noon as I also suffer from hypothyroidism and you cant really mix the medication for that with anything else for about 4 hours or so to be safe it doesnt stop the synthroid from working. I never write on these websites but this time I had to tell anyone who will listen and who suffers from PD that with me taking one pill of each acidophilus and biotin daily I must tell you that my PD has drastically been reduced. The biotin has also improved my facial skin that I dont need makeup anymore. I totally love my skin now and I am not embarrased anymore. I hated living my life with redness around my nose and mouth and noticed that it would worsen when I ovulated and the week before my menstrual cycle. (I know too much information but I think it is important to know because these are the times the flare ups would occur the worse and I have never read where anyone ever mentioned that. ) I have pink now... Pink - slight pink and hope that as I continue taking the vitamins it will slowly go away. Now, I must admit one thing, I dont know if it is the acidophilus or the biotin that is working these wonders but I did read the following on webmd for biotin deficiency symptoms:

"Symptoms of deficiency include thinning of the hair (often with loss of hair color), and red scaly rash around the eyes, nose, and mouth."

http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-313-BIOTIN.aspx?activeIngredientId=313&activeIngredientName=BIOTIN&source=2&tabno=2

Does this sound familiar to anyone????? Isnt if amazing that after all the dermatologists we have visited, nobody has mentioned a possible biotin deficiency???? I have seen 3 different dermatologists and they all seem to blame it on the flouride and sls but will not confirm. Yet we trust them and do whatever it is they tell us to do. Flouride free toothpaste is not too cheap and sls free products arent either, yet we do it because nobody but us understands what it is like to live with this horrible redness in our face! Gosh it makes me so mad that all it took was some simple vitamins to rid myself of this PD that was harming my self esteem and ruining my pictures because of the redness. It only gets worse in extreme hot and cold weather too! If you suffer from PD and have tried everything like I have and have had no success, please give the acidophillus and biotin a shot. It cant hurt. I bought them right off the target pharmacy dept.... And to the people who recommended Acidophilus - THANK YOU.

Hello, just wanted to drop this off. I had Contact Dermatitis over 3 months last year, supposedly from powerwashing a house down and the remnants from using oxy clean baked on my arms and caused me great ail.

However, I saw the culprit pop up 3 days after being in a tanning bed that was not clean, I should have cleaned that bed myself. I went to the doctor's twice the first time and of course I used the steroids which only caused my sugar to rise and a yeast infection accompanied that. Then he said it was time for a dermatologist, I decided it was time for a cure, no more doctors for this nonsense.

Here is what I did, yes I tried the virgin coconut oil, it helps but very short lived to stop itching and hives. The derm covered my arms, portions of my back, hips stomach under breast, inner thighs and ankles I was miserable. Nothing could touch me, it made it worse and I mean nothing.

I was beside myself and decided to smother myself in Desitin maximum strength paste, the gooey stuff. I did this for two weeks straight day and night and it cured me, thats right, it dried up this crap and it disappeared. I hesitated using it because.. Well it stinks and it makes you white. I persisted even though I was miserable 4 to 5 days into using this stuff, after all I did not care I was going to keep using this stuff just because I could. Not really knowing the outcome but wow, it started to stop itching, then it slowly formed scales and then.. Yes and then, it was gone. Please be advised, smother yourself in this stuff, keep it up, it will work, screw the dermatologist, they will keep you coming forever. I made a choice I wasnt paying for a derm, I have diabetes and endo and regular doctor is enough to pay out, that alone is a killer. So no derm and the Desitin works, please be advised, it does work. Janet

So here's my story. I got a pimple in the corner of my mouth so I used my topical clindamycin solution on it. A week or so later I developed a dry patch of skin, it didn't itch or hurt, just was very flaky. That lasted for a couple of months despite using aquaphor on it several times a day. 6 months later I was developing little fluid filled bumps that would break open and then leave a yellow/orange crust on my skin. The area expanded and then a little further out I got a very dry patch of skin, this time no flaking. I started using hydrocortisone on the area with the bumps and it would keep it under control but it never completely went away. After dealing with this for a year and a half, I finally got in to see a dermatologist who diagnosed perioral dermatitis. He put me on clindamycin solution, oral erythromycin (3 week course). I was pregnant at the time so I could not use the Protopic (tacrolimus) ointment he wanted to prescribe. After 4 months of using the clindamycin twice a day the symptoms were gone and I just needed to put a little aquaphor on the corner near my mouth and was able to stop the clindamycin. About 3 months after delivering my baby, the bumps started coming back in the same spot. I started using the clindamycin again but it seemed to get worse and even started spreading around the bottom of my lip to the other corner. I went back in to see the dermatologist who thought it was contact dermatitis this time. He recommended topical steroids, oral antibiotics, and topical tacrolimus. I was still breastfeeding so these medications were scary to me and I didn't .

So here's what I did. I switched toothpastes to a non-fluoridated one. I bought the organic Apple Cider vinegar (my local grocery chain had it - Meijer - for like $4). I tried drinking 1 oz (shot glass) straight but it was so acidic it hurt my teeth (I have severe tooth sensitivity). Even watered down I couldn't take it. So then I put it directly on the affected skin and all around my mouth. It burned like crazy but did seem to take away the bumps, however I still had very noticeable redness and dry flakiness. I put yogurt on the skin after the acv. I started taking acidophilus supplements as well. After a week of doing this, I stopped the yogurt. I then started putting a diaper rash cream on the area (MotherLove diaper rash and nipple cream - $9.00 online but costs $9. 00 for shipping. I got it for $12.00 from my local lactation consultant). It started to get significantly better, almost looking normal. However, after a few weeks it was still red and my lips started to become very flaky. I almost resorted to giving up breastfeeding to take the recommended medications because I have to work and it was so embarassing. Then I started putting the Apple Cider Vinegar on my face again but this time also dabbing it on my lips and the mucosa just inside my lips (pull the bottom lip down to expose the inside and swab Apple Cider Vinegar there and on the inside of the top lip). I use Vannicream moisturizer on my skin and vaseline (dermatologist said not to use aquaphor because it has lanolin and it can be irritating) on my lips and MY SYMPTOMS ARE COMPLETELY RESOLVED. No bumps, no redness, no dry flakiness.

My heart goes out to you, this is an extremely irritating and embarassing condition. Hope this helps.

First off, metal fillings give off an electrical charge that affects your brain, and your body, simple physics. The story of the famous actor basically every time he tried to sleep he would instantly get a migraine, and doctor did not know why. He finally asked his fans and one suggested metal filling. His biological dentist said, that when he laid down to sleep it was like a "lightening bolt going through his head, " All the metal was removed and the migraines stopped.

Metals are reactive and porcelain is not, I consider the hygienist opinion invalid.

I tried using a teaspoon of table salt, mixed with a little warm water to form a paste. I appled it to the side of my nose (where the crease is) because i have a very itchy patch of skin there that I can't seem to stop scratching! Putting salt on itchy skin works! It breaks the scratch/itch cycle, but eating garlic everyday will help also!