Hi, so I get itchy red rashes on my face occasionally - usually forehead and cheeks - cheek bone below eyes is the worst. They start like a tingling, then come up red like an allergic reaction whether I leave them alone or touch them (trying not to itch), it doesn't matter which. While it's red they still itch, feel really warm (like it's been bitten), then they'll go away on their own. It's really odd Sometimes they stay like that for 20 mins, other times it's a few hours. After that it either goes completely or stays a bit flushed for 24 hours depending on how "itchy it felt". Antihistamines, non steroidal, and natural anti itch creams have never worked so I usually just let it run it's course.
This happens about 2 or 3 times a month for about 2ish days. Recently (currently) it's been about a week. I've never worked out what's causing it. I already have changes in my diet from about 5 years ago; reduced milk, reduced gluten, reduced sugar, no caffeine. I don't wear makeup and use all natural face and body moisturisers; this hasn't changed. I have endometriosis which does show a link to inflammatory conditions. I've been to the doctors and he suggests it's rosacea (doesn't know about the endo) so antihistamines wouldn't work anyway. He says they can give creams if it's rosacea, I'm due to go back Monday if it's still there, it is currently. What creams are they? As they're probably synthetic, is there anything I can put on that's natural that could help during a flare-up to stop it tingling?
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luthien
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Are you on the contraceptive pill ? the estrogen can trigger hives you need to look into pregnenolone it will promote progesterone which will modify the estrogen otherwise you need to go on an elimination diet it's no good cutting down you need to cut out and you should start with milk
I am not on any contraceptive pills; stopped about four years ago, if not more. Been to the doc for a follow up, he definitely thinks it's rosacea and has given me metronidazole gel to try for a month.
I also have very mild blepharitis, which it can be linked to.
I've had the same diet for about 5 years so it's not that! Doc thinks mine could be prone to weather changes; making it itchy, which then breaks the skin causing bumps.
I agree with lillyofthevalley (love that name😉), you must eliminate to know what's causing the reaction, not cut down. If you're sensitized to something the immune system wants none of it. I'd look closely at gluten, that seems particularly common nowadays with the modifications by hybridizing wheat so there's more gluten than there ever used to be. The love of money was what brought that on, the bread rises higher and fluffier for less grain used, but it's certainly harder to digest now.
Best wishes for success!
Coconut oil may help with the itching for your face?
I completely agree with lillyofthevalley and Saassii. Ditching dairy and gluten is the best way to go about it.
I will add that you can mix rosehip seed oil and hyaluronic acid with the coconut oil (or fractionated coconut oil for oilier skin types) for a soothing serum. Just a few drops of each in your palm and mix. You can play around with the ratios.
There are many good brands of rosehip seed oil (which is a thicker consistency more like a carrier oil) just go on Amazon and find the one you like. Right now I am using Life Flo brand, which is good. I use quite a few of their products. It only takes a small amount of whatever brand you use. You will have to play around with the amounts that work best for your skin.
If you have drier skin, then virgin coconut oil may be fine. But, if you have oilier skin, it can be heavy and cause breakouts. That is why I prefer fractionated coconut oil (where the long chain fatty acids have been removed, so it is much lighter and will also stay liquid regardless of temperature.) I use two brands: NOW and Plant Therapy. There are also many good brands of hyaluronic acid. All of these can be found on Amazon.
Argan oil is fine if your skin likes it. Try mixing it with the rosehip and hyaluronic and see if it works. You could also add some aloe vera gel in the mix, too.
Some other oils that are good for the face/skin are jojoba, apricot kernel, and sweet almond.
Also, make sure you are using a gentle soap when washing your face.
Note: If it is rosacea, then it most definitely is aggravated by diet, and unhealthy gut bacteria. If there is a problem with either, then the metronidazole isn't going to be able to help as much as it could if you were eating low sugar and laying off gluten and dairy, at least until you see if you notice an improvement.
I hope you can find the right combination that offers healing and relief.😊
Thanks so much for all your info I'll definitely have a try of things.
I may let the antibiotic cream run for a month as that's my prescription with a check up at the end. Once it's calmed after that and I don't need to use the cream as much I'll look into trying out some mixtures, perhaps I'll try them on say the underside of chin (no rosacea) to see if particular mixes suit my skin in the meantime.
I'd like to not need the antibiotic cream at all as I don't like taking medication.
But, I wanted to clarify that I am a fan of metronidazole cream, when needed. It is always good to have on hand. The goal is to improve underlying problems (diet, gut health, food sensitivities, etc.) so you don't have to rely on it. But, you can and will have flares. So, it is excellent to have around for those times.
Hey I looked up the rosacea, no known cause. Then I looked at blepharitis, it's etiology is known. Bacteria is the cause. That leads us to a massive clue!!!! When contamination starts, generally in a wet area because the environment becomes particularly favorable, they digest building materials and substrate which emit microbial volatile organic compounds (mVOCs). Those are extremely powerful and very capable of causing skin disease and difficulties like you're experiencing. I would use creams designs specifically to target bacteria. Actually colloidal silver sprayed directly onto your eyes, into eyes is perfectly safe even and onto your face. It's a very effective antibacterial. A simple gentle face cleanser and preventer would be Himalayan or Celtic sea salt mixed into coconut. The coconut is antifungal also. When bacteria is present, it arrives within 6 hours of favourable conditions, molds take between 24-48 hours to get there. But I believe your ROOT CAUSE may very well be microbial contamination in your home or workplace, somewhere you're regularly getting exposed. Are there any signs of water damage? Peeling paint on ceiling? Discoloration? Carpets that were ever wet and were not entirely torn out along with underlay and removed? Carpets that have been steam cleaned or wet for cleaning? Leaking windows? Too much condensation? Pull out the bottom draw of wardrobe and turn over to inspect? Leaking sinks or showers? Musty smells or outdoors?
Ah hadn't thought of colloidal silver for eyes - I've been given a mousse / foam wash for eyes by my optometrist. Thanks for the suggestion - I have colloidal silver liquid at home so I'll use that.
I've been given micronidazole for my face, it seems to be helping.
No known bacterial / mould problems - I know to look out for all of those issues! These flareups sometimes happen around my period (which is why the doc thinks it could be linked to my endo - immune system knock on) or when I've worn makeup for a few hours. It always starts with being really itchy so I itch it without realising that it's a flareup - of course that then breaks the skin - and so an infection can take hold. It usually clears up on it's own after a few days but this one is over a week - doc says its bacterial with that the cold outside / warm inside / air con at work / sweating during intense exercise all contribute. So it's just a case of managing it.
I shall have a look at your suggestion of Himalayan sea salt and coconut oil - I have both of those! Do I just mix them and then rub it in? wet face or dry? is it like a moisturiser? Wouldn't the salt crystals stay whole and feel abrasive or should I grind my salt finer?
I was thinking you could try making a mask with it, then gently spread on. They idea was to leave a mixture of salt and coconut, both with inhibit bacteria and kill it down. Then you could gently wipe off and the residue should be pleasant.
Try to skip the makeup if it bothers you. I can't put anything on my face or it itches like crazy. I noticed it always created pimples and spots, so I've never been a fan. If you get tempted, remember the days following make everything more unsightly afterwards, so there's no point. I use eyeliner and mascara but no coating over face.
Excellent you don't have a big problem at home or work. Hopefully between the colloidal silver and then coconut, salt, you'll get better success!
Yes the hormones are pesky that's for sure! I wonder if there's any dietary changes you could try to see if you have a more steady success? I'm aware environment plays a big part and you can't avoid many of those triggers, but sometimes the system can settle with the removal of other mediators found in foods. You could try eating a low histamine diet? It's not for everyone or the faint hearted, but I've found overall reduction in inflammation within my system utilising it. After being low histamine, then eating something high histamine, the reaction for me is massive. Maybe it's not as pronounced in you, but maybe playing around with an elimination diet could reveal some triggers you could simply remove.
Have you noticed anything in particular that you eat or drink that triggers a flare?
My daughter 10yrs gets angular cheilitis every time she eats cheese. But if you look at Google it doesn't know the etiology... But it does associate that condition with bacteria. So I made her coconut oil with two drops of tea tree essential oil, pop in fridge so stays hard, she applies and leaves it. That cleared it up within two days, so long as she doesn't it eat it doesn't return. But she herself got curious and recently ate cheese to see if what I'd said had merit, an immediate flare which she told me about. So no cheese for her! It's a ferment and ferments are high histamine and generally high in microbes.
Play around, track what you eat and see if you can establish any contributor!
I've not changed my diet in about 5 years, it's always been low gluten, low dairy, no fast food, most home-made, usually from scratch, and I don't eat out much. Food changes do not seem to have an effect, or rather I've not eaten anything that could change it. I noticed years ago caffeine made my face itchy, but I've not touched anything with it in for years. I shall make a record anyway, perhaps some stuff I usually get (which has always been fine) has changed their ingredients.
I do sometimes wear makeup but not often as I don't like how my skin reacts the next day after even few hours of wear and taking it off carefully. Like you I just stick to mascara and some lipstick. Again not worn any for a few weeks.
The antibiotic cream seems to be working on the main infection, going to give it another week on it's own, then ready to try out all these natural suggestions. I don't want to make it worse; prescription is for a month.
Lets see if the warm weather in spring helps. I may invest in a little desk humidifier / aromatherapy mist thing for work as I think the air con makes it a lot worse; plus it's like warm recycled air which makes my face feel all tingly / itchy.
I like the idea coconut oil with tea tree! Tea tree is awesome for spots. I use coconut oil with lemon essential oil / mashed lemon balm leaves (when we have some in the garden) as a hair mask; I have an itchy scalp - no spots or dry skin so I put the coconut oil and lemon oil on for an hour then rinse off with a mild shampoo, it smells like lemon meringue!
Oh how lovely!!! That sounds amazing!! Yes it seems useful to do the script then maybe the naturals can help keep it at bay. Interesting that the air con bothers you, if any air conditioner has not been fully decontaminated it has caused me problems since I got exposed, the children too actually. We were exposed in the house for just one month, now dirty air conditioners make one child's nose bleeds and the other one suddenly wets at night. Microbes can be savage. Washing filters doesn't help, they need to be fully decontaminated. The house I've moved to now is brand new and clean, I'm wondering quite how I'll cope when it needs decontaminating... It's ducted, that's way more complicated. I'm just doing a day at a time currently.
Maybe you could experiment with patches on your skin to see if anything helps more than others?
It's just flaired up again, Monday morning at work. Sooo home is fine, it calms over the weekend.
Feels like itchy patches that obviously I try not to itch, either way those areas come up bright red and inflamed. Air con is always on at work, it's dry air too, currently blowing room temp air, it's worse today. Outside is humid and not cold so it's fine out there.
It's a lot better if I give it an itch, then it goes bright red inflamed but only for about 20 mins after. If I don't itch, it stays patchy red all day.
Interesting that it flares up more at work. Take a good look at the ducts and see if you can see any contamination coming out of them. The air conditioners that I have had most problems with, it's generally visible also. There's obvious black mold between the louvres. All too often air conditioners aren't decontaminated regularly. Why would they? That costs a lot more money and lets face it, which corporation do you know who is more hungry to help people and care for it's workers than make money? Zero! Add to this that people are largely uninformed and not educated about these things. I know I sure was not, right up until it nearly killed me, suddenly education was vital. Then just think Legionaires....almost everyone has heard of that, but people mistakenly believe it's a one off random incident, but it's from a bacterium known as legionella. Bacteria turn up within 6 hours of suitable conditions, mold takes between 24-48 hours. An air conditioner is ALWAYS suitable conditions. So if you can see mold, how much bacteria is in that thing after months, or a year or even longer if it's not being fully decontaminated. Washing the filter or changing it definitely does not decontaminate it and that's the only general practice employed regularly by employers. Most people haven't even heard of any other process.
There could also be other things than the air conditioner, like there may have been spills for years on carpets or carpet tiles, then they're steam cleaned. So that sure doesn't remove stuff and then there's a brew of water, bacteria, mold, underlay etc, as the bacteria and other microbes are breaking down the substrate they emit microbial volatile organic compounds (mVOC's). Those are carcinogenic and impact human health adversely.
It's important to learn the route of exposure and where it's coming from, but that can be tricky. Keep looking around to see what you can find, keep researching and learning, you're protecting yourself and looking after yourself, keep at it!!
I'm not sure what happens at work or what the process is; they have regular carpet "deep cleans". Air con is maintained - "cleaned and serviced" once a month. I like most employees in companies wouldn't know what they do. We can't access / see the main air con / heating vents as they're securely hidden / locked within walls / units / ceilings.
It seems to be better as the day goes on. Definitely worse on Mondays - the heating / air con is off at weekends - I know that as I've been in on the odd weekend!
Hmmm yes those carpet deep cleans will be fraught with difficulties I imagine. Seriously how can water get mold out of carpet? It can't! It only feeds it. There's nothing that can kill it entirely that they can apply because that would be gamma radiation. So their "deep cleans" are making matters worse. Where there's dust, there's mold and bacteria also, they all cohabitate together. So carpets are dusty/moldy/bacteria and then they add the magic ingredient? Water! Now the microbes can really go crazy. Mold sticks into fibres. Ever seen a piece of material with mold on it? You could wash it a million times and it won't come out unless bleach with a sequestrant to take the bleach to the bottom of the hyphae.
So yes you could very well be experiencing more difficulties purely because of your environment. Generally speaking it's what we put in or on ourselves.... And we're breathing all the day (hopefully), inhalation is the most dangerous route of exposure.
Not sure what to suggest to combat these issues, struggling with them myself....
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I'll definitely have a try of things.
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