★★★★☆
Like many other contributors on this site, I thought my break-out around the left side of my mouth and chin was adult acne. I do sometimes have acne and at 51, figured I could be having a bout of hormonal acne. I'm under crazy stress and do get hives on my legs when overly stressed. Tried my arsenal of mostly natural acne medications and nothing worked: lavender which usually dries up zits very well only exacerbated the situation.
After self-diagnosing POD from images on the internet and then reading up on remedies on this site, I proceeded to try hydrogen peroxide (I have a bottle that expired in 2008, but figured better than nothing) and natural yogurt as a mask. The hydrogen peroxide seemed to help dry things out, but wasn't providing any healing. I then went to look for calendula oil and found a shea butter based one which I applied that evening. Woke up to what appeared to be a less angry red chin, but during the day, it worsened. Kept applying hydrogen peroxide and was starting with apple cider vinegar, though I only have standard store-bought and not that dark, organic stuff. Burned a little, but didn't seem to be doing anything.
I thought overall it was starting to clear but then I returned from a few hours out (no makeup on) and it looked shiny, red and much more bumpy. Kept applying those three remedies but it wasn't improving much. The next day, I washed my hair, taking care not to let my usual (SLS) shampoo run down my face, but by day's end my face was looking awful. That night, I dug into my essential oils and found oil of thyme. Hmmm, why not I thought, but stupidly forgot that this MUST be diluted. Put a drop on my chin area and it started burning like the dickens. Icing my face helped with the pain but I was fiery red that night and the next day. Calendula cream did not calm it down.
Then I remembered not having tried zinc which was recommended here. Found a tube of Desitin from 2007 (yes, half of my meds/treatments should be tossed) but figured that the zinc isn't going to lose potency, especially since the cod liver oil had retained its consistency. I spread this on and hoped for the best. Before bed, I gently removed what hadn't melted off my face with a cotton pad and water, dried my skin, applied some hydrogen peroxide, let it dry, and again applied the Desitin. I awoke this morning to a noticeable difference. Hard to tell quite how good things are because the Desitin is making the pimples flake off and I don't want to disrupt this, but the angry redness is gone. I'm in a new coating now as I write this and am hoping that this is it.
Going on antibiotics just isn't something I want to consider and from what I read here, antibiotic cream didn't work well for anyone. As to what brought this on, I had mentioned stress. I had also been using a toothpaste for sensitive teeth (Elmex) which has a high concentration of fluoride, though not any higher than my usual toothpaste but a different type (amine fluoride as opposed to sodium fluoride). I still find it hard to believe that this is what triggered my POD. The last thing I want to say is that it's essential not to touch the area: needless to say one shouldn't try to squeeze the pimples, but even trying to flake off a bit of skin is a no-no. I'm sure the healing process would only be hindered from bacteria laden fingers.
Hope this helps!
Zinc Oxide
★★★★☆
I have some form of dermatitis and over the past couple of weeks I have been experimenting with zinc oxide. I notice some improvement for a few days after using it. Then I take a break and I start having problems again. So I'm pretty sure it does the trick ;)
I totally distrust doctors too after I've had terrible wrong diagnosis, adverse reactions to medications, etc. In fact I saw doctors, dermatologists, skin specialists, you name it for what was going on with my skin and none of them could diagnose it! I was told maybe rosacea, maybe acne rosacea - I knew it wasn't any of those things because my trigger was washing my face! Washing my face with tap water that is loaded with chlorine and fluoride was causing my face to be totally sensitized and painful, it would be bright red, dry, flaky, scaly, peeling and with bumpy pustules! Duh, it was washing that caused it and none of these medical twits could work out it was dermatitis! I'm sure the medical fraternity love all of the chemicals dumped into the drinking water because it causes so many dermal and internal health issues and they make loads of money out of treating us for these conditions!
