doxycycline with clindamycin and red itchy bumps

Hi,

Last year some times in August 2009 one day out of sudden my husband had red tiny itchy bumps all over the face.
He had not changed his shampoo, face cream in a long time. He tried topical herbal solutions for few weeks and that did not help. When he went for his usual annual physical, internal medicine doctor subscribed doxycycline with clindamycin. After full course face was completely clear. Since then it keeps coming back though, he took one full course again recently. We are worried that it will come back again. Also he tends to get pimples on face pretty often.
Any suggestions will be really helpful.

Thanks


This discussion is related to Itchy rash only on face.

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
From the symptoms it looks like adult onset acne. Just ask your husband to keep his face clean by washing with a mild soap atleast twice a day. Pat it dry and do not rub it. Avoid picking or pressing the acne.  He can also use Benzoyl peroxide 5% lotion or gel once at bedtime. An amount of lotion the size of a pea should be enough to cover most of the face. If the skin becomes red or peels, you are using too much of the medicine or applying it too often. If the symptoms persist then please get it evaluated from a dermatologist and get rosacea and cysts ruled out.

It is very difficult to precisely confirm a diagnosis without examination and investigations and the answer is based on the medical information provided. For exact diagnosis, you are requested to consult your dermatologist. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.