Rob (Kentucky) on 01/13/2025
Medical Council – A Monthly Journal for the Physican and Surgeon. Volume 15,1910
TO THE MEDICAL COUNCIL:
Between twenty and thirty years ago a man came to me, a Cornish miner, and asked if I could do anything for him for fistula in ano. He had been a patient in and out of Calumet Hospital, and the faculty said he could not be cured unless it was cut out. He was over 60 years old, face full of angry pimples. I told him I could do nothing for him, but told him to try simple decoction of burdock root, as his case was hopeless, any way. Next day he got a bushel bag of the new large roots, cleaned and chipped thin two quarts of them, boiled in two quarts of water gently down to one quart. I told him to wash the fistula once a day in warm soapy water, keep a clean rag to hold discharges, and take a full wineglass of the decoction till it was finished in three days. When his bag of roots was finished he was to come, it alive, and let me see him. When he had taken all he came. He felt fresh, free and easy. His face looked fresh and clear. Fistula completely healed. Very cheap and very easy to perform. No mineral or caustic used. A pint a day of the decoction would not do harm. This is better than any new treatment.
Also, in England one day I saw a man digging potatoes, covered from head to foot with boils. He was nearly dead with suffering. His poor face was a study. I asked him if he wanted a cure, and on his signifying his wishes I told him to take home some burdock roots (of which the ground was full) . I told him how to use them, and advised him to have clean clothes and to be clean himself. I saw him three weeks afterwards and could not see the mark of a single boil.
I have seen this done number of times, and it is simply marvelous in action . There is no medicine so simple and so powerful as that, and it does not make any one sick, sore, worry or weary. Also, I think nothing equals it for inflammatory symptoms in kidneys, bladder or urethra.
WM. DUNSTAN, M.D. – Dollar Bay, Mich. 191
SR (Duluth, MN) on 08/15/2022
Niacin Therapy for Cystic Acne, Anxiety and Scars Panem et circenses (Atlanta) on 12/07/2021
Anyway, as I was increasing my dose, I discovered that my cystic acne was going away. Up til then I had horribly painful deep cysts that would persist longer than regular acne. I also noticed that the cysts I had once developed on my upper thighs and even sometimes my armpits were COMPLETELY gone. I have not had them since. And like I said, that was 8 years ago when I started.
Now, PLEASE do your research about niacin first. While I have never had any issues with it (aside from accidentally taking time release niacin which raised my liver enzymes and caused my ankles to swell - very scary. Once I stopped it, all went back to normal), it does cause a flush. This flush can be anywhere from a slight warmth to feeling like a bad sunburn. It can take 15 minutes to an hour to pass. That is why I started at a VERY low dose and very gradually worked up.
I took the 25mg 3x a day and increased by 25mg per dose every 2-3weeks. I only started flushing when I started taking 50-100mg each dose. I believe it detours the liver and that may have something to do with it getting rid of the acne. I RARELY even have a pimple now when prior to starting it, I had a horrible pizza face with redness and discoloration from the scarring.
My scarring is 95% gone too. I'm sorry for the long post but felt this was a good one to share. Again, I ONLY use pure niacin (flush niacin), not niacinamide and definitely not time release niacin. Those two are dangerous to the liver from what I've read.
Ellie (Santa Cruz, CA) on 05/30/2021
A year ago at the age of 33, I finally found the answer that cured my acne- high doses of vitamin b5 pantothenic acid. I started out by taking about 8 500mg tablets a day. I learned about it from a mom on a YouTube video who cured her son's acne this way. I couldn't believe that it worked. Within about 1 month all of my acne was gone. This had never happened in all of my adult life! Now about a year later, I still take it but around 3-4 tablets a day and my skin is 100% clear. Once in a blue moon, I will get a small pimple pop up and I notice if I take a high dose of vitamin b5 it goes away in about 1-2 days.
This has never happened to me before, even with I was on birth control I still had a pimple here and there. And also I tried EVERYTHING you could imagine - even went 100% vegan and mostly raw for 6 months and it barely changed a thing. This supplement is the only thing that finally cured me. I hope that helps!
Long Nguyen (Vietnam) on 02/02/2019
Jrp (New York, Ny) on 05/04/2017
Stephanie (Napa, Ca) on 12/08/2016
It took about 5 days to start seeing a noticeable difference, it's been 20 days and it's almost as if he never had the problem in the first place. Purchased the Vitamin A capsules from a major health food store, just research and purchase the best brands and you will see results.
Siren (West Tisbury) on 11/03/2016
So, like I always do when I have a health concern, I came to this site and read the rave reviews about Turmeric. Last night I made this concoction:
I drank it around 8:00 pm. When I woke up this morning, the pimple had gone down by 2/3. The bump is much smaller and flatter. I dosed myself with the same concoction today around 12:00 pm and I expect it will be nearly gone tomorrow. Pretty amazing. I don't get cystic pimples very often but when I do they can last for weeks. It seems that the Turmeric zapped it almost completely within 24 hours. Highly recommend!
July (Milwaukee, Wi) on 10/08/2016
Dietary Changes Cured Cystic Acne After 30 Years Happy (Northern California) on 04/10/2016
I had been eating this and no rice or all the other products that don't have these items in them. It's a different way of eating and for some may feel like an outcast at get togethers. A bit frustrating as many people don't want to care or understand. But for me I'd rather have that than severe painful cystic acne.
After the Medical provider gave the list to me went home and that is all that was in fridge so went to the store right away to start.
I can safely say that nearly all the boxed sweets, Daiya cheese ( have to watch every product closely as they said they had an improved cheese and turns out they added corn starch.
Btw. Corn starch is in nearly everything. Before I got rid of the last bit I checked and th pharmacist worked with me to get the prescriptions with no corn starch fillers. After that life became wonderful.
This took a long time to get the poison out of my system as we are what we eat and every cell in my body had to be replaced with the non poison.
For now I haven't tried to add anything back as I prefer not to intentionally eat something just to see. Had those 30 years of acne and the reaction can be delayed. I do have this to say DON'T CHEAT. It may be difficult at first when you still have bad stuff in your system, but it will be soooooo worth it. There are so many foods to replace the old its actually incredible. $$$
Not sure if this work on everyone but other than food costs being a little more why not try it and see how things go after one month then two three etc...
I still don't know about corn fed chicken and beef.
Kelsea (Ventura, Ca) on 01/29/2016
I had clear skin all through high school and began getting cystic acne in college. I am 24 years old now and my skin is finally clear.
I have experimented with SO many different things hoping to find a cure: yogurt facial masks, grapefruit seed oil extract, lavender oil, vitamin E oil... nothing ever reduced the inflammation, soothed the redness or reduced scaring like the regimen I am about to share with you.
For one, I have completely eliminated Sodium Laureth Sulfate from my shampoos, body washes, face washes, washing detergent, etc. It is a harsh chemical that gives most products the bubbly lather. Key word: it is HARSH!
Second, I have eliminated all dairy from my diet which has helped immensely. Dairy is full of hormones meant to raise calves, it combined with our own is overhaul for our bodies.
Lastly, I want to share the ALL NATURAL things I've been using that have cleared my face 100%.
I use a gentle face wash every morning and follow it with Apple Cider Vinegar as a toner, and lastly coconut oil as a moisturizer.
Every other night I switch off with a home made coffee facial scrub and manuka honey mask + a tumeric/honey spot treatment.
Apple Cider Vinegar toner- equal parts water and ACV on a cotton swab all over the face.
-this evens out the PH balance on your face ridding of blemishes and uneven skin tones.
Coconut Oil- about a teaspoon should cover your entire face... I let it set until its almost dry then wipe off the remaining.
- I know, adding oil to your already oily face is scary.. but it tricks your face into not creating as much oil and also has antibacterial properties all the while moisturizing it
Home made scrub- I took a 1/4 cup used coffee grounds, 1/4 cup coconut oil, 1-2 drops of lavender essential oil an 1-2 melaluca (tea tree) oil and mixed these all together.
Scrubbing your face very gently for a minute every other day gets rid of all the excess dead skin cells that may block your pores and trap oil under the skin, leading to build up, and eventually.. acne.
When you rinse off this scrub your face feels SO soft.. wipe off the extra coconut oil and wah-lah.
Manuka Honey Mask- I genuinely think this portion of my face regime has been the most impactful.
Manuka honey helps with inflammation and scars. It has antibacterial properties and does a good job moisturizing as well. This specific honey is extracted from the tea tree plant and is extremely raw. It is a bit pricey but worth the money. You simply take this and smear it all over your face. Leave it on as long as possible! Seriously, I'd leave it on over night if it wouldn't get all over my bed. When you rinse it off.. your face feels so refreshed and rejuvenated.
The last thing I'll share is a quick spot treatment that SERIOUSLY works.
Simply take a small amount of honey and add the tumeric spice until you've created a paste like consistency and add it to any incoming, inflamed or ongoing acne. The tumeric will instantly reduce inflammation and redness and speed up the healing process.
Tumeric has been my saving grace..
Be warned though that it does stain your skin slightly, nothing that wont come off with a little facial cleanser though!
PLEASE, give this a try.. you can buy most of these products at most health food stores.
LET ME KNOW!!!!
Ginger Tincture Cured Cystic Acne Linda (Raleigh, Nc) on 10/17/2015
I started taking ginger tincture drops (for a different ailment) but after approximately 5 days, my cystic acne has completely disappeared. I started taking 15 drops, 3 times a day. After a couple weeks, I dropped down to once a day (morning) and have not experienced any relapse at the smaller daily dose. I am now 5 weeks straight of no acne! (ginger is known for helping inflammation, as well as other things).
I am so happy i wanted to share it, in case it might also work for others.
Kathy (Smyth County, Va) on 06/26/2015
So my son took the following each day:
2000 mg of C (we use timed release)
1 zinc (recommended by another friend)
1 A&D (great for inflammation, and make help heal the scars)
To reduce the redness on new pimples, he would apply the following:
1-2 Drops of Lavender & Tea Tree Oil with Diluted ACV (sprayed on back & shoulders)
Oh, and he also started using Castile Soap, just to be sure he wasn't using anything that would irritate it.
Within a few weeks he was very pleasantly surprised to have his acne disappearing!!
Active Mom Of Monmouth County (Marlboro, Nj) on 02/10/2015
Courtney (Miami, FL) on 08/28/2014
Amber (North Carolina) on 05/28/2014
The routine was based on my daily routine, it can be tweaked as needed. Everyone's skin responds differently to different things.
AM: Was face with equal parts apple cider vinegar and hot water. Liberally apply pure aloe.
PM: (Right before showering) Wash face with hot water and an organic oatmeal based facial soap, I use Grandma's Acne Bar. Mix equal parts honey and turmeric, I use a table spoon of each. Apply to face. Then I jump in the shower and let the steam do it's thing while I wash, washing my face last with hot water and a wash cloth. Pat face dry, rinse again with vinegar/water. Liberally apply aloe.
I always started both the am and pm treatments by laying a hot wet washcloth on my face for about 5 minutes. Don't know whether that makes a difference, though.
I seen a reduction in the size and soreness of bumps the first morning after I tried this, the redness persisted for a few weeks. I found that my skin was a little sensitive at the end of the first week just from the vinegar, only slightly though, nothing compared to the painful bumps. I pureed a cucumber and mixed it with a little green tea and left this on my face for about 20 minutes. Made a world of difference.
You may have to adjust the frequency of treatment depending on your skin's sensitivity to vinegar and the soap. Also, turmeric will stain clothes and skin. Supposedly the turmeric stain can be removed from your face with a mild toner but I never leave it on long enough to find out, usually just the 15 minutes or so that I'm in the shower. I would suggest starting the honey and turmeric on a weekend so the stain goes away if it happens. Everyone's skin will absorb the color at different speeds, so just be cautious at first.
Queen (North Carolina) on 03/19/2014
Better But With Side Effects
Be very careful with using B5 for Cystic Acne. Its been a year now and although my face cleared up, I've lost all my hair in the top of my head. I noticed a few months into taking the B5 that my hair was thinning but didn't put two and two together. It wasn't until it got really bad that I decided to pull out my diary and see when it started. I remember before breaking down and taking it because my face looked horrible, I had read about a woman who suffered major hair loss from this supplement. I wish I would've listened because now my hair is falling out at an alarming rate. There are tons of stories about similar experiences with this vitamin. Can someone help me please? And only herbs and while foods, I am done with supplements!!!
Activemom (Monmouth County, Nj) on 03/12/2014
Thank you to the man who suggested coconut oil. I cannnot begin to express in words how you have helped me. Within two days, my facial cyst has gone down to where I can see the healing skin and the reduction of the build up of fluid underneath the skin. It was sitting in my pantry all along.....
After insurance costs have changed and the price of medicine has escalated greatly, I decided to research alternative natural remedies and this site is amazing. I will continue to use this as a first resource in remedies for my family.
Crankybanana (North Carolina ) on 08/07/2013
My esthetician told me that the acne profile of cystic zits on the chin and clear skin elsewhere is a good indication that the acne is hormonal. Not everyone has this reaction to dairy, acne can be caused by many things, but it has worked really well for me and a friend of mine. It is quite sad to have to dramatically reduce my dairy consumption, but it's worth it if it works.
Andrea L (Glendale, Ca) on 07/22/2013
