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Essential Oils for Perioral Dermatitis

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Shannon (Stillwater, OK) on 04/21/2008:
5 out of 5 stars

I have been battling perioral dermatitis for about 6 months. I went to a dermatologist and was put on minocycline, which did clear it up. After 3 months of taking the medication, my doctor put me on doxycycline, due to concerns about negative side effects of long term use of minocycline. I could not tolerate the doxycycline, it made me nauseous and just made me feel weird, so I quit taking it and decided to look for a natural treatment. I found this website and began using a combination of remedies. I began taking pro-biotics, and evening primrose oil. I began washing my face with apple cider vinegar and baking soda. I also used evening primrose oil topically on the area of dermatitis. It seemed to be ok, until I got a cold. The area of dermatitis is around my nose, and blowing my nose constantly while I had the cold irritated it. The dermatitis began to spread.

I found a post somewhere about using tea tree oil. I had an old jar of Desert Essence Tea Tree ointment, so I began using it. I have used it for 4 days now, keeping the area covered constantly with the ointment, and the dermatitis is almost gone! It looks as good as it did when I was on minocycline. I think the probiotics and evening primrose capsules that I am taking may be helping too, but the tea tree oil was my "magic bullet." I have noticed that when I drink alcohol, the area becomes more inflamed. I'm not sure if this is due to dehydration, or the destruction of healthy bacteria in the intestinal tract.

I want to mention too that I have been under a great amount of stress, trying to finish grad school,and the dermatitis appeared during this time. I really believe stress and unhealthy eating habits/drinking alcohol contributed to the problem.

I hope this helps someone else out there. I love this website!

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