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Raised Small Red Bumps around Eyes
My husband has been having skin rashes around his eyes, raised small red bumps, for several months and just won
Just a quick update...
I've been pretty much problem free over the last few months. In my case, it's definitely related to coffee with some small correlation to sugar also.
If I stick to 1 espresso (or 1 latte) per day, then I usually will not have any red bumps. Now and then I will overdo it a little and that can trigger 1 single red bump to flare up around my left eye. The bump only lasts about 24 to 48 hours and quickly goes away. I usually put a small amount of magic cream to help it heal faster.
If I eat too much sugar or junk food, this can also have an effect - although it's different than the sudden "hive like" reaction with espresso. Coffee really seems to be the main trigger for me. If I don't drink coffee, then I am pretty much 100% problem free.
One thing to keep in mind (and stayingtuned365 sort of touched upon this above also) is that your skin is the largest organ on your body and so when your body is trying to clear itself of toxins (via the liver), the skin often takes a major part of the load. This is why you see people who use drugs always having horrible problems with their skin breaking out (i.e. meth, etc.), because if you flood your body with toxic substances, it will generally manifest itself in the skin. Google Milk Thistle, btw.
Just look at something like Jaundice in babies - their skin turns yellow because their livers are small and cannot clear the toxins (i.e. bilirubin) that result a few days after birth from red blood cells dying off. So what happens? The toxins enter the skin (causing the yellow tint), where sun light (or photo therapy) break down the toxin's double bonds [bilirubin] into a less harmful substance that the baby can rid itself of.
Anyway, the main point is this: when you have sudden skin problems flare up out of the blue, look to what potentially toxic substances are entering your body. Naturally, this is not always the case (as some skin problems can be related to other things). However, if the symptoms have any characteristics of an "allergic reaction" (sudden onset after meals, etc.), then it's definitely worth looking into your diet and what you are eating, etc.
In my case, after several years of monitoring the cause and effect, I think it's pretty clear that my new found love of coffee is the source of the break outs. Taking sugar out of my diet suddenly probably was a factor as well. As mentioned, if I go crazy eating junk food (which is rather rare these days), that can sometimes cause a little trouble. However, nothing will do it like coffee will. With coffee, it's a hive like reaction that happens with 30 to 60 minutes of ingesting coffee usually. With sugar or junk food, it's a more slow reaction, which isn't nearly as severe. With sugar, it's more like a few random bumps here or there. With coffee, it's more like a sudden welt or hive next to the corner of my eye, which comes on very suddenly and strong - looks very swollen and red / irritated and then goes almost totally away over night (or two nights).
Also, in my case, once I do have this hive like reaction to coffee, then for the next few days, I have to be really super careful. It seems like once I go over the edge, then there is sort of a cumulative effect, whereby drinking any more coffee (or having sugar at that point) really starts to aggravate the problems.
One interesting thing is that by having a latte (as opposed to straight espresso), the severity of all this is offset. In fact, by sticking to just lattes (coffee with milk), I basically have no reaction whatsoever. The milk seems to have a stomach coating effect, which seems to mitigate most - if not all - of my allergic reactions to coffee. Mainly, it's when I have straight espresso that I risk having red bumps appear. No espresso, then pretty no problems.
Right now, I do enjoy coffee quite a bit, so for me, it's a balancing act and a small risk that I'm willing to deal with. I know that if I totally gave up coffee, then I would likely never have any problems again. However, at least for now, I still sort of enjoy having a cup of coffee after a meal. Although, the "fun" of having espresso and coffee is sort of wearing thin, so I may just give it up altogether (or make it a very rare thing) sooner rather than later.
One other thing that I have noticed is that by having a protein shake (made with almond milk) in the morning, this also seems to have a stomach coating effect. Eating a meal does also. In fact, by eating a meal or having a protein shake, this is how I get away with having a little coffee. However, if I wake up and have coffee on an empty stomach, you can forget it - I'll have a reaction (and a pretty rapid one) almost every time. Normally I start my day with a glass of water, or pure lemon juice, or a protein shake, since it seems like whatever you ingest on an empty stomach goes straight into your system very rapidly.
Anyway, that's the latest.
Oh, by the way, I wanted to mention also that I'm recently a new father - my girlfriend just gave birth to a beautiful / healthy baby girl a few days ago. She came 2 weeks early and my girlfriend delivered her by herself, in our friend's bathroom (if you can believe it!). Total labor was 45 minutes. It was crazy. She's an amazing woman <3
We did have to spend a few days in the hospital due to jaundice (about 50% or more of babies have it), but my understanding is that that's pretty normal (I had it when I was a baby and so did my girlfriend, so that's probably a contributing factor). After 2 days though, she was fine. But here was the really alarming part - when the nurses were taking blood from our baby or she was crying, etc., they wanted to pacify her by putting sugar water on their fingers and sticking it her mouth - W.T.F??. I refused, naturally, since the only thing going into our baby at this age is my girlfriend's breasts milk. But man.. the addiction starts early in this country; it just speaks to how addicted to sugar the world is has become.
The best thing I have ever done in my life is to cut out sugar and try to mimic a diet that early humans would eat in nature (food from the earth, not food from a factory). Shopping at "Whole in my wallet" makes a big difference also; until you switch to organic foods, you really don't realize what a big impact it has. I just turned 46 and people still guess my age at late 20's - although that's probably due to never smoking or drinking and never doing any drugs. But in the last two years, switching my diet and cutting out junk food has really improved my appearance and my health. I've dropped 30 lbs and feel so clear headed, happy and healthy.
As far as the whole coffee thing, I think I'm going to switch away from espresso a little bit and maybe stick to lattes for a while. The milk seems to help, although I'm not a huge fan of milk. Basically I need to give up coffee, but man, I have so few vices left :-)
For anyone reading this thread and having strange skin reaction problems: look to your diet and what substances are going into your mouth each day. While it may not be the cause of everyone skin problem in the world, I'll put money on it being the cause of most.
In the end, cleaning up your diet never hurts.
Again, read that book "Clean" if you haven't already. Watch some of the videos listed above. Take charge of your health, take charge of your diet and treat your body like a machine, not a land fill.
:-)
Ray
I've been pretty much problem free over the last few months. In my case, it's definitely related to coffee with some small correlation to sugar also.
If I stick to 1 espresso (or 1 latte) per day, then I usually will not have any red bumps. Now and then I will overdo it a little and that can trigger 1 single red bump to flare up around my left eye. The bump only lasts about 24 to 48 hours and quickly goes away. I usually put a small amount of magic cream to help it heal faster.
If I eat too much sugar or junk food, this can also have an effect - although it's different than the sudden "hive like" reaction with espresso. Coffee really seems to be the main trigger for me. If I don't drink coffee, then I am pretty much 100% problem free.
One thing to keep in mind (and stayingtuned365 sort of touched upon this above also) is that your skin is the largest organ on your body and so when your body is trying to clear itself of toxins (via the liver), the skin often takes a major part of the load. This is why you see people who use drugs always having horrible problems with their skin breaking out (i.e. meth, etc.), because if you flood your body with toxic substances, it will generally manifest itself in the skin. Google Milk Thistle, btw.
Just look at something like Jaundice in babies - their skin turns yellow because their livers are small and cannot clear the toxins (i.e. bilirubin) that result a few days after birth from red blood cells dying off. So what happens? The toxins enter the skin (causing the yellow tint), where sun light (or photo therapy) break down the toxin's double bonds [bilirubin] into a less harmful substance that the baby can rid itself of.
Anyway, the main point is this: when you have sudden skin problems flare up out of the blue, look to what potentially toxic substances are entering your body. Naturally, this is not always the case (as some skin problems can be related to other things). However, if the symptoms have any characteristics of an "allergic reaction" (sudden onset after meals, etc.), then it's definitely worth looking into your diet and what you are eating, etc.
In my case, after several years of monitoring the cause and effect, I think it's pretty clear that my new found love of coffee is the source of the break outs. Taking sugar out of my diet suddenly probably was a factor as well. As mentioned, if I go crazy eating junk food (which is rather rare these days), that can sometimes cause a little trouble. However, nothing will do it like coffee will. With coffee, it's a hive like reaction that happens with 30 to 60 minutes of ingesting coffee usually. With sugar or junk food, it's a more slow reaction, which isn't nearly as severe. With sugar, it's more like a few random bumps here or there. With coffee, it's more like a sudden welt or hive next to the corner of my eye, which comes on very suddenly and strong - looks very swollen and red / irritated and then goes almost totally away over night (or two nights).
Also, in my case, once I do have this hive like reaction to coffee, then for the next few days, I have to be really super careful. It seems like once I go over the edge, then there is sort of a cumulative effect, whereby drinking any more coffee (or having sugar at that point) really starts to aggravate the problems.
One interesting thing is that by having a latte (as opposed to straight espresso), the severity of all this is offset. In fact, by sticking to just lattes (coffee with milk), I basically have no reaction whatsoever. The milk seems to have a stomach coating effect, which seems to mitigate most - if not all - of my allergic reactions to coffee. Mainly, it's when I have straight espresso that I risk having red bumps appear. No espresso, then pretty no problems.
Right now, I do enjoy coffee quite a bit, so for me, it's a balancing act and a small risk that I'm willing to deal with. I know that if I totally gave up coffee, then I would likely never have any problems again. However, at least for now, I still sort of enjoy having a cup of coffee after a meal. Although, the "fun" of having espresso and coffee is sort of wearing thin, so I may just give it up altogether (or make it a very rare thing) sooner rather than later.
One other thing that I have noticed is that by having a protein shake (made with almond milk) in the morning, this also seems to have a stomach coating effect. Eating a meal does also. In fact, by eating a meal or having a protein shake, this is how I get away with having a little coffee. However, if I wake up and have coffee on an empty stomach, you can forget it - I'll have a reaction (and a pretty rapid one) almost every time. Normally I start my day with a glass of water, or pure lemon juice, or a protein shake, since it seems like whatever you ingest on an empty stomach goes straight into your system very rapidly.
Anyway, that's the latest.
Oh, by the way, I wanted to mention also that I'm recently a new father - my girlfriend just gave birth to a beautiful / healthy baby girl a few days ago. She came 2 weeks early and my girlfriend delivered her by herself, in our friend's bathroom (if you can believe it!). Total labor was 45 minutes. It was crazy. She's an amazing woman <3
We did have to spend a few days in the hospital due to jaundice (about 50% or more of babies have it), but my understanding is that that's pretty normal (I had it when I was a baby and so did my girlfriend, so that's probably a contributing factor). After 2 days though, she was fine. But here was the really alarming part - when the nurses were taking blood from our baby or she was crying, etc., they wanted to pacify her by putting sugar water on their fingers and sticking it her mouth - W.T.F??. I refused, naturally, since the only thing going into our baby at this age is my girlfriend's breasts milk. But man.. the addiction starts early in this country; it just speaks to how addicted to sugar the world is has become.
The best thing I have ever done in my life is to cut out sugar and try to mimic a diet that early humans would eat in nature (food from the earth, not food from a factory). Shopping at "Whole in my wallet" makes a big difference also; until you switch to organic foods, you really don't realize what a big impact it has. I just turned 46 and people still guess my age at late 20's - although that's probably due to never smoking or drinking and never doing any drugs. But in the last two years, switching my diet and cutting out junk food has really improved my appearance and my health. I've dropped 30 lbs and feel so clear headed, happy and healthy.
As far as the whole coffee thing, I think I'm going to switch away from espresso a little bit and maybe stick to lattes for a while. The milk seems to help, although I'm not a huge fan of milk. Basically I need to give up coffee, but man, I have so few vices left :-)
For anyone reading this thread and having strange skin reaction problems: look to your diet and what substances are going into your mouth each day. While it may not be the cause of everyone skin problem in the world, I'll put money on it being the cause of most.
In the end, cleaning up your diet never hurts.
Again, read that book "Clean" if you haven't already. Watch some of the videos listed above. Take charge of your health, take charge of your diet and treat your body like a machine, not a land fill.
:-)
Ray
1 Comments
I have been on organic clean eating for many years now. Fermented foods, such as Kiefer, sauerkraut, kombucha, kvaaas, etc., are essential in our guts. These foods are natural probiotics. It is pennies on the dime to make yourself instead of expensive store bought probiotics. Slow cooked bone broth. I homemake these foods myself. It is a lost tradition and has caused so many diseases now due to the lack of it. Processed foods, white flour and white sugar are killing us. Consider raw, wild, local honey. Those are the pollens gathered by the bees in your area your body is used to. Use pure maple syrup. Use Celtic grey salt. High in essential minerals. Will not cause high blood pressure. Leaky gut is the reason for all of the problems. Disease starts in the gut. Cleansing is extremely important. Consider colon hydrotherapy. Essential oils (therapeutic grade only, Rocky Mountain Oils) are wonderful healers. All of these things do take time to learn. I will not elaborate on the science behind all of the healthy ,fermented foods, it's a long study and Ray above has done a wonderful job! It is a lot of reading and research but so worth the information. I am a health practitioner at a large University teaching hospital. I see some of the most horrible diseases and the medication side effects thereto. It is a viscous cycle. Big Pharma making trillions of dollars. Governmental Medical agencies like AMA, FDA, etc., etc.,etc. love disease. It keeps them rich. I AVOID ANTIBIOTICS LIKE THE PLAGUE!!!!! Unless it is absolutely necessary due to a fatal infection,do not ingest them into your gut. It kills all of your precious bacteria keeping you healthy. They have long term effects. I do everything in my power to avoid western medicine. Yes, there is a time and place for it, and essential for trauma cases I realize, but NOT for little red bumps! Not worth it! Do the research. Educating yourself is the best medicine you could ever buy!
The problem with most Western doctors (and most of the western medical system), in my opinion, is that they usually don't bother to look for the cause of the problem.
Instead, it's more like a guessing game. "Oh, we think it could be this, let's try this cream". Oh, that cream didn't work? Okay, it must be this.. let's try this other cream. It's sort of like attempting to fix a car by just randomly replacing parts and hoping you eventually hit on whatever the problem is.
Have you ever heard that auto repair joke? The guy's car won't start, so he decides to fix it. He looks and there is no gas coming out of the carburetor; he figures it must be a blocked fuel filter. So he installs a new fuel filter. The car still won't start. So then he thinks maybe the carb is old and dirty. The car is old, so he just buys a whole new carburetor and installs it. Nope, car won't start. Oh wait, maybe it needs a new fuel pump! Yeah, that's must be it. So he decides to install a brand new fuel pump. He buys the best fuel pump the auto parts store has and take it hope. When he goes to install it, he notices there's no gas in the gas tank.
I grew up working on cars, as well as computers. I learned at a very young age, spend most of your time diagnosing and identifying the actually cause of the problem, before you start trying to fix it, and you'll save yourself a lot of time and headaches.
Good doctors are hard to find. So are good mechanics :)
GuineaPig69, here is a test you can do:
Have you considered maybe fasting for a while? If the reaction you are having is from food, then just stop eating for a bit and see if your body heals up. Generally speaking, your body repairs itself rather quickly (usually about 3 to 5 days when it comes to minor skin rashes and reactions).
If you are thinking the reaction is due to foods that you are consuming, then stop eating for a while and give your body a chance to naturally detox and repair itself, without you adding more food into your system, which could be triggering yet the next break out.
If your skin does heal up completely while you are not consuming food, then it's probably a good indication that something in your diet is causing a negative reaction.
Once you get past the initial hunger phase (about 2 days), you'd be surprised how easy it is not to eat for a bit. Still drink plenty of water of course and perhaps some sort of juice or something (organic apple juice is very good - just avoid anything with high grams of sugars). And, if you have access to a juicer, you can make it yourself from organic green apples. You can also strain out chicken soup and drink just the broth.
Anyway, the point is, if you stop eating your normal diet for a week (and basically fast or drink a very small amount of liquid, along with a large amount of water), it will serve two functions: one, it will allow your body to naturally detox itself. And two, it will potentially remove any stuff you are allergic to and give your skin time to heal. This can give you a good gauge on what's going on, since many skin reactions (red bumps, rashes, etc) are similar to hives and will heal on their own in a few days; this window of time will give you a chance to see if it's something that heals up normally, or if in fact there is something going on which won't heal and thus needs some sort of cream, etc.
To just prescribe a cream, without isolating why the problem developed in the first place, is rather remiss if you ask me. It would be sort of like installing a new OS without checking to see if the hard drive is bad first.
As far as diet:
Take it from someone who lived off fast food, burgers, pizza, hot dogs, cokes, candy, ice cream, etc: it's not a diet change, it's a life style change. We aren't just talking about skipping a few trips to Burger King, you've got to become fanatical about it. No smoking, absolutely no alcohol, as close to zero grams of sugar per day as possible. You've got to read over every label of everything you go to stick in your mouth. Check the grams of sugar, check to see if it has that High Fructose Sugar (or Corn Sugar) crap in it. Check to see if it has white flour in it. You gotta get serious about what you eat and realize that your body is a machine. As they say, you are what you eat and you eat what you are.
If you start eating healthy, you'll stop craving the BS foods. I know it sounds crazy, but it's true. When you are in a sugar induced haze, it's very difficult to have perspective from the other side. It seems impossible to imagine craving a salad or something healthy when your body is saturated with sugar and junk food. So you'll have to trust me on this one :-) I'm serious, cut out the crap food and just make an effort to eat healthy for a couple of weeks. You'll start to see what I mean. You'll start to enjoy food, crave healthy.
Get to a place like whole foods. Buy foods that you prepare. Nothing frozen. I used to live off my freezer, now I practically just use it to make ice cubes. Fast and then switch to organic food. Get plenty of sun. We computer guys never get enough vitamin D and always look like walking ghosts :) That's never any help for your skin (i.e. lack of skin color and sunshine). Get some sun, dry out your skin a little bit and help it heal up. The sun has UV rays in it, which are great at killing bad stuff and helping your skin to heal.
Anyway, you get the idea. Read that Clean book. Revamp your diet. Give your digestive system a break for a few days or a week and allow your body to heal. Cut back your diet to just what you'd eat if you were stranded on some jungle island or something. Stuff that grows in the ground or on trees - not crap that rolls off an assembly line and is vacuum packed. Maybe add in a good quality protein shake with some amino acids (mixed with almond milk is what I do). Also Folic acid is very good as a supplement.
That's the way out and back on track. And check Netflix for some of the good movies about food and stuff. When I have a minute, I'll try to round up the great movies to watch and post them in a subsequent post.
No doctor is going to care about your health as much as you do. Educate yourself and most likely you'll be able to get a handle on this.
"Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food"
Ray
Instead, it's more like a guessing game. "Oh, we think it could be this, let's try this cream". Oh, that cream didn't work? Okay, it must be this.. let's try this other cream. It's sort of like attempting to fix a car by just randomly replacing parts and hoping you eventually hit on whatever the problem is.
Have you ever heard that auto repair joke? The guy's car won't start, so he decides to fix it. He looks and there is no gas coming out of the carburetor; he figures it must be a blocked fuel filter. So he installs a new fuel filter. The car still won't start. So then he thinks maybe the carb is old and dirty. The car is old, so he just buys a whole new carburetor and installs it. Nope, car won't start. Oh wait, maybe it needs a new fuel pump! Yeah, that's must be it. So he decides to install a brand new fuel pump. He buys the best fuel pump the auto parts store has and take it hope. When he goes to install it, he notices there's no gas in the gas tank.
I grew up working on cars, as well as computers. I learned at a very young age, spend most of your time diagnosing and identifying the actually cause of the problem, before you start trying to fix it, and you'll save yourself a lot of time and headaches.
Good doctors are hard to find. So are good mechanics :)
GuineaPig69, here is a test you can do:
Have you considered maybe fasting for a while? If the reaction you are having is from food, then just stop eating for a bit and see if your body heals up. Generally speaking, your body repairs itself rather quickly (usually about 3 to 5 days when it comes to minor skin rashes and reactions).
If you are thinking the reaction is due to foods that you are consuming, then stop eating for a while and give your body a chance to naturally detox and repair itself, without you adding more food into your system, which could be triggering yet the next break out.
If your skin does heal up completely while you are not consuming food, then it's probably a good indication that something in your diet is causing a negative reaction.
Once you get past the initial hunger phase (about 2 days), you'd be surprised how easy it is not to eat for a bit. Still drink plenty of water of course and perhaps some sort of juice or something (organic apple juice is very good - just avoid anything with high grams of sugars). And, if you have access to a juicer, you can make it yourself from organic green apples. You can also strain out chicken soup and drink just the broth.
Anyway, the point is, if you stop eating your normal diet for a week (and basically fast or drink a very small amount of liquid, along with a large amount of water), it will serve two functions: one, it will allow your body to naturally detox itself. And two, it will potentially remove any stuff you are allergic to and give your skin time to heal. This can give you a good gauge on what's going on, since many skin reactions (red bumps, rashes, etc) are similar to hives and will heal on their own in a few days; this window of time will give you a chance to see if it's something that heals up normally, or if in fact there is something going on which won't heal and thus needs some sort of cream, etc.
To just prescribe a cream, without isolating why the problem developed in the first place, is rather remiss if you ask me. It would be sort of like installing a new OS without checking to see if the hard drive is bad first.
As far as diet:
Take it from someone who lived off fast food, burgers, pizza, hot dogs, cokes, candy, ice cream, etc: it's not a diet change, it's a life style change. We aren't just talking about skipping a few trips to Burger King, you've got to become fanatical about it. No smoking, absolutely no alcohol, as close to zero grams of sugar per day as possible. You've got to read over every label of everything you go to stick in your mouth. Check the grams of sugar, check to see if it has that High Fructose Sugar (or Corn Sugar) crap in it. Check to see if it has white flour in it. You gotta get serious about what you eat and realize that your body is a machine. As they say, you are what you eat and you eat what you are.
If you start eating healthy, you'll stop craving the BS foods. I know it sounds crazy, but it's true. When you are in a sugar induced haze, it's very difficult to have perspective from the other side. It seems impossible to imagine craving a salad or something healthy when your body is saturated with sugar and junk food. So you'll have to trust me on this one :-) I'm serious, cut out the crap food and just make an effort to eat healthy for a couple of weeks. You'll start to see what I mean. You'll start to enjoy food, crave healthy.
Get to a place like whole foods. Buy foods that you prepare. Nothing frozen. I used to live off my freezer, now I practically just use it to make ice cubes. Fast and then switch to organic food. Get plenty of sun. We computer guys never get enough vitamin D and always look like walking ghosts :) That's never any help for your skin (i.e. lack of skin color and sunshine). Get some sun, dry out your skin a little bit and help it heal up. The sun has UV rays in it, which are great at killing bad stuff and helping your skin to heal.
Anyway, you get the idea. Read that Clean book. Revamp your diet. Give your digestive system a break for a few days or a week and allow your body to heal. Cut back your diet to just what you'd eat if you were stranded on some jungle island or something. Stuff that grows in the ground or on trees - not crap that rolls off an assembly line and is vacuum packed. Maybe add in a good quality protein shake with some amino acids (mixed with almond milk is what I do). Also Folic acid is very good as a supplement.
That's the way out and back on track. And check Netflix for some of the good movies about food and stuff. When I have a minute, I'll try to round up the great movies to watch and post them in a subsequent post.
No doctor is going to care about your health as much as you do. Educate yourself and most likely you'll be able to get a handle on this.
"Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food"
Ray
On the forward part, my toe nail was slightly darker and thicker. On the new growth part (now representing about 60% of the nail), it's growing in a beautiful pink color (very healthy looking) and thinner than before. The yellow part has grown out 99% and so now there is just about 60% which is beautiful, pink and thin and then about 40% which is slightly darker and slightly thicker. If you didn't see the difference with such a clearly visible line, then you wouldn't even notice the change.
As far as I can recall, the line correlates to when I really cut out all the sugar, coffee and junk food. It also was when I cut down on eating a lot of red meat and started eating more and more salads and vegetables. Basically, it equates to when I started eating far better. So that was an interesting development.
As far as the red bumps, I've been able to go 2 or 3 weeks with no bumps. However, if I am not careful and/or cheat and have something with sugar in it, then I will notice a few bumps show up. The good news is that they don't seem as bad now and seem to heal slightly quicker. I believe this is because I've made some adjustments outlined in the "Clean" book. I've started giving my body more time to detox itself and have stopped the constantly supply of food throughout the day. Also, getting plenty of sleep makes a big difference. In fact, lately, I'm starting to get a much more healthy "glow" to my skin. The book also points out that many people are deficient in vitamin D and therefore getting adequate sun is helpful. And, in fact, I did notice once when I sat out in the sun for a bit, this helped quite a bit with my skin.
Anyway, so that's the latest. After reading the Clean book, my feeling is that I need to complete their 3 week detox program. I believe the bulk of the reaction I'm having to foods (e.g. milk, sugar, etc.) is due to not giving my body enough chance to clean out the toxins from life, diet, etc. I think once I do that, I may be able to re-introduce some foods that I like (e.g. coffee, cookies) in very small levels again. I'm giving myself about 6 months before attempting that however.
Another thing the book points out is that humans are the only mammals on earth which drink milk after they are weened from it by their mothers. I never really stopped and thought about that, but it's true. There are no other creatures on earth which go around stealing breast milk and drinking it. Only humans - due to some half baked "milk does a body good" marking campaign on TV do that. I've never been a big fan of milk (and have rarely consumed it over the last 20 or so years). However, now, after reading this book and stopping to think about it, it really is an odd practice. Moreover, given the antibiotic used in cows, you have to question if you really want to be drinking milk. The book also points out that the enzymes needed to help digest many foods (such as milks) are destroyed before the food ever reaches consumers. So that's something else to take into account, since it puts additional stress on your digestive system.
The bottom line here - at least for me - is that the solution to this problem more than likely stems back to some problem with your digestive system. The bumps themselves are the symptom and just attempting to treat those with a topical cream is probably not going to yield much in the way of results (I'm talking about my specific situation here; it's quite possible other people with red bumps would benefit from external creams, etc.). For me, however, the problem seems to stem from some internal reaction to food that my body has deemed an irritant.
As I have mentioned previously, I'm no doctor or expert or anything like that. I'm just a guy trying to figure out why my body has suddenly decided it doesn't like cookies, coffee and candy :-) Since I have never had any issues whatsoever eating this stuff, nor have I had any problems with my skin, it tells me something must have gone wrong some place. In my particular quest for answers, I believe the issue relates to something revolving around my digestive system; the information relates in the book "Clean" seems to match up pretty well with the experiences I have been having with these red bumps on my skin. As such, I'm going to give their detox program a try. I'm also going to continue with this far more healthy diet I have been on lately (no junk food, no coffee, no sugar, no milk, no (or little) white breads). I'm also going to employ more juices (since your body doesn't have to work as hard to break those down in order to digest them). This is - combined with not eating for a period of 12 hours (while you sleep) is supposed to help kick your body into detox mode. The book says it takes 8 hours after your last meal for your body to go into detox mode and start pulling toxins back out of your system - then another 4 hours to finish the job. So I'm going to eat healthy and cut back on meals "all day/night long" so my body can function better and we'll see how the net result end up.
All I can say so far is that I have been able to stop the red bumps from coming by modifying my diet. I've also been able to cause them to show up again by adding certain foods back (this most recent time, it was 1 cookie and a tiny, tiny slice of chocolate pie). Frankly, I thought I could get away with it, but nooooo :-) Two red bumps the next day (after none for over 2 weeks) confirmed that I have narrowed down what is causing this problem. So now, the solution is to eat healthy and give my body time to "clean itself out". From there, I think there is a very good chance that I will reset things enough so that I can once again enjoy the occasional sweet item.
So that's the latest. I'll provide another update in a few months - most likely after I complete the detox program in the book. Also, most likely after all my skin has healed up from the most recent batch of red bumps (hives?).
I certainly relate to the frustration. I've been dealing with this for nearly a year now. It's a major pain in the ***, not to mention embarrassing when you have to go out in public looking like someone smashed a chain across the skin around your eyes.
For anyone struggling with this same situation, I urge you to consider changing your diet. Cut out sugars, junk food, drinking, smoking, etc. Anything and everything bad. As the book, Clean, points out: you are what you eat.. and more importantly, you "eat what you are". Since giving up sodas and candy bars, I find that I now crave salads. After 30+ years of craving candy bars and classic cokes, that's a mind boggling statement for someone like me to say, but it's true. Again, change your diet.. there's a good chance the skin problems are simply a manifestation of digestive problems.
BTW, I wanted to mention also, since changing my diet, the uncomfortable pressure I used to feel on my right side (in my abdominal area) has completely vanished. For a while I thought I might have some serious issue like stomach cancer or something ripped or torn inside me (due to body building and weight training). Now I see it was just due to my diet and most likely my intestines not getting a break and/or being inflamed or something. Since changing my diet, that has gone away. Frankly, the changes lately are amazing. Your body is a machine... you just have to figure out how to feed it correctly. When you are getting strange rashes and bumps on your skin, it's very likely a reaction that is telling you "what you are doing now, that ain't working" as far as your diet goes.
Finally, if you have cable, watch that program "you are what you eat". Fantastic show. The changes in people's skin and their overall look (when they follow the program) is amazing. I think this also gives some clue into how diet can affect your skin and appearance.
Okay... another update in a few months! :-)
Ray
As far as I can recall, the line correlates to when I really cut out all the sugar, coffee and junk food. It also was when I cut down on eating a lot of red meat and started eating more and more salads and vegetables. Basically, it equates to when I started eating far better. So that was an interesting development.
As far as the red bumps, I've been able to go 2 or 3 weeks with no bumps. However, if I am not careful and/or cheat and have something with sugar in it, then I will notice a few bumps show up. The good news is that they don't seem as bad now and seem to heal slightly quicker. I believe this is because I've made some adjustments outlined in the "Clean" book. I've started giving my body more time to detox itself and have stopped the constantly supply of food throughout the day. Also, getting plenty of sleep makes a big difference. In fact, lately, I'm starting to get a much more healthy "glow" to my skin. The book also points out that many people are deficient in vitamin D and therefore getting adequate sun is helpful. And, in fact, I did notice once when I sat out in the sun for a bit, this helped quite a bit with my skin.
Anyway, so that's the latest. After reading the Clean book, my feeling is that I need to complete their 3 week detox program. I believe the bulk of the reaction I'm having to foods (e.g. milk, sugar, etc.) is due to not giving my body enough chance to clean out the toxins from life, diet, etc. I think once I do that, I may be able to re-introduce some foods that I like (e.g. coffee, cookies) in very small levels again. I'm giving myself about 6 months before attempting that however.
Another thing the book points out is that humans are the only mammals on earth which drink milk after they are weened from it by their mothers. I never really stopped and thought about that, but it's true. There are no other creatures on earth which go around stealing breast milk and drinking it. Only humans - due to some half baked "milk does a body good" marking campaign on TV do that. I've never been a big fan of milk (and have rarely consumed it over the last 20 or so years). However, now, after reading this book and stopping to think about it, it really is an odd practice. Moreover, given the antibiotic used in cows, you have to question if you really want to be drinking milk. The book also points out that the enzymes needed to help digest many foods (such as milks) are destroyed before the food ever reaches consumers. So that's something else to take into account, since it puts additional stress on your digestive system.
The bottom line here - at least for me - is that the solution to this problem more than likely stems back to some problem with your digestive system. The bumps themselves are the symptom and just attempting to treat those with a topical cream is probably not going to yield much in the way of results (I'm talking about my specific situation here; it's quite possible other people with red bumps would benefit from external creams, etc.). For me, however, the problem seems to stem from some internal reaction to food that my body has deemed an irritant.
As I have mentioned previously, I'm no doctor or expert or anything like that. I'm just a guy trying to figure out why my body has suddenly decided it doesn't like cookies, coffee and candy :-) Since I have never had any issues whatsoever eating this stuff, nor have I had any problems with my skin, it tells me something must have gone wrong some place. In my particular quest for answers, I believe the issue relates to something revolving around my digestive system; the information relates in the book "Clean" seems to match up pretty well with the experiences I have been having with these red bumps on my skin. As such, I'm going to give their detox program a try. I'm also going to continue with this far more healthy diet I have been on lately (no junk food, no coffee, no sugar, no milk, no (or little) white breads). I'm also going to employ more juices (since your body doesn't have to work as hard to break those down in order to digest them). This is - combined with not eating for a period of 12 hours (while you sleep) is supposed to help kick your body into detox mode. The book says it takes 8 hours after your last meal for your body to go into detox mode and start pulling toxins back out of your system - then another 4 hours to finish the job. So I'm going to eat healthy and cut back on meals "all day/night long" so my body can function better and we'll see how the net result end up.
All I can say so far is that I have been able to stop the red bumps from coming by modifying my diet. I've also been able to cause them to show up again by adding certain foods back (this most recent time, it was 1 cookie and a tiny, tiny slice of chocolate pie). Frankly, I thought I could get away with it, but nooooo :-) Two red bumps the next day (after none for over 2 weeks) confirmed that I have narrowed down what is causing this problem. So now, the solution is to eat healthy and give my body time to "clean itself out". From there, I think there is a very good chance that I will reset things enough so that I can once again enjoy the occasional sweet item.
So that's the latest. I'll provide another update in a few months - most likely after I complete the detox program in the book. Also, most likely after all my skin has healed up from the most recent batch of red bumps (hives?).
I certainly relate to the frustration. I've been dealing with this for nearly a year now. It's a major pain in the ***, not to mention embarrassing when you have to go out in public looking like someone smashed a chain across the skin around your eyes.
For anyone struggling with this same situation, I urge you to consider changing your diet. Cut out sugars, junk food, drinking, smoking, etc. Anything and everything bad. As the book, Clean, points out: you are what you eat.. and more importantly, you "eat what you are". Since giving up sodas and candy bars, I find that I now crave salads. After 30+ years of craving candy bars and classic cokes, that's a mind boggling statement for someone like me to say, but it's true. Again, change your diet.. there's a good chance the skin problems are simply a manifestation of digestive problems.
BTW, I wanted to mention also, since changing my diet, the uncomfortable pressure I used to feel on my right side (in my abdominal area) has completely vanished. For a while I thought I might have some serious issue like stomach cancer or something ripped or torn inside me (due to body building and weight training). Now I see it was just due to my diet and most likely my intestines not getting a break and/or being inflamed or something. Since changing my diet, that has gone away. Frankly, the changes lately are amazing. Your body is a machine... you just have to figure out how to feed it correctly. When you are getting strange rashes and bumps on your skin, it's very likely a reaction that is telling you "what you are doing now, that ain't working" as far as your diet goes.
Finally, if you have cable, watch that program "you are what you eat". Fantastic show. The changes in people's skin and their overall look (when they follow the program) is amazing. I think this also gives some clue into how diet can affect your skin and appearance.
Okay... another update in a few months! :-)
Ray
Still having problems with the red bumps around my eyes. For a while they cleared up (for about a week), but then started coming back. I decided to try using some Mupirocin, on the idea that it may be bacterial in nature.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mupirocin
I found tube of Bactroban that my ex-girlfriend left behind (which had never been opened - must have been a spare tube or something). The doctor had prescribed it to her when she got a rash on her skin and it worked really great.
Anyway, I gave it a shot. I used it for about a week steady (twice a day) and combined that with taking some oil of oregano pills (which are supposed to be good for digestion, etc). I also used a few drops of tea tree oil under my tongue. At first, it seemed to start to clear up a bit. Most of the improvement occurred over night (while sleeping), but just today I noticed some bumps showing up again. Whatever this is, it's pretty stubborn.
I'm considering going to the doctor and asking them to give me some antibiotics that will kill any bacteria in my body, as well as something that will kill all yeast. However, based on reading some of the information from other people, I'm not holding out a lot of hope on that.
I've also ordered a couple of other things to try. One is some stuff called "magicream" that I read about on another skin forum. I found it on ebay and just bought some to try. I also ordered some 20% Azelaic Acid Cream. Might as well give that a try.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azelaic_acid
So we'll see. I'll keep everyone posted. I'm about ready to rip my eyes out... so wish me luck! I'll report back how things work and what other steps I take.
Ray
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mupirocin
I found tube of Bactroban that my ex-girlfriend left behind (which had never been opened - must have been a spare tube or something). The doctor had prescribed it to her when she got a rash on her skin and it worked really great.
Anyway, I gave it a shot. I used it for about a week steady (twice a day) and combined that with taking some oil of oregano pills (which are supposed to be good for digestion, etc). I also used a few drops of tea tree oil under my tongue. At first, it seemed to start to clear up a bit. Most of the improvement occurred over night (while sleeping), but just today I noticed some bumps showing up again. Whatever this is, it's pretty stubborn.
I'm considering going to the doctor and asking them to give me some antibiotics that will kill any bacteria in my body, as well as something that will kill all yeast. However, based on reading some of the information from other people, I'm not holding out a lot of hope on that.
I've also ordered a couple of other things to try. One is some stuff called "magicream" that I read about on another skin forum. I found it on ebay and just bought some to try. I also ordered some 20% Azelaic Acid Cream. Might as well give that a try.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azelaic_acid
So we'll see. I'll keep everyone posted. I'm about ready to rip my eyes out... so wish me luck! I'll report back how things work and what other steps I take.
Ray
I don't know if what the people here have is what I had, but this is one of the search results I would get when looking for the symptoms I had. I had a hard time getting a diagnosis for about 4 months. It eventually got as bad as one of the pictures you can see if you search for "perioral dermatitis eyes" or "periorbital dermatitis". I tried all kinds of treatments before I was properly diagnosed and then cured it.
Here are the treatments I used, I hope they can help someone!
Baking soda paste. Applied over night. Reduces skin redness and new "pimple" formations. Takes about a week to clear the skin. Once my skin was clear I stopped using the baking soda and used only vitamins to keep the dermatitis under control.
1000mg Vitamin B5 and 375mg Magnesium 3x per day. Reduces new "pimple" formations and keeps them away as long as you keep taking the vitamins. Takes about a week to clear the skin. The "pimples" come back if you stop taking the vitamins though.
After using those my skin was clear but not cured. I eventually decided to use a topical tetracycline antibiotic which cured it completely. I used the tetracycline for 1 week while still taking the vitamins. I took the vitamins for another week and then stopped all treatments. It has been cured since. Please use antibiotics responsibly, they can harm your good bacteria which can cause other problems, and over use can cause antibiotic resistant bacteria to develop, which will also cause problems for yourself and other. Try to use natural cures when possible before resorting to antibiotics.
What didn't work:
Fresh garlic juice from a cut clove. Mildly effective at getting rid of active "pimples". Does not prevent new formations. Can cause skin burns if used too much (honey and coconut oil can help heal burns, scars, and dry skin). The pimples come right back though, so it's not really effective.
Anti-fungal cream. After being in the sun for a few minutes it really messed up my skin, making it really dry and wrinkled, and took weeks to recover.
Cutting all sugar out of my diet.
Honey.
Coconut oil.
Keeping skin dry as possible. Tissue drying/wiping.
General multi-vitamins.
Thoroughly cleaning sheets.
Here are the treatments I used, I hope they can help someone!
Baking soda paste. Applied over night. Reduces skin redness and new "pimple" formations. Takes about a week to clear the skin. Once my skin was clear I stopped using the baking soda and used only vitamins to keep the dermatitis under control.
1000mg Vitamin B5 and 375mg Magnesium 3x per day. Reduces new "pimple" formations and keeps them away as long as you keep taking the vitamins. Takes about a week to clear the skin. The "pimples" come back if you stop taking the vitamins though.
After using those my skin was clear but not cured. I eventually decided to use a topical tetracycline antibiotic which cured it completely. I used the tetracycline for 1 week while still taking the vitamins. I took the vitamins for another week and then stopped all treatments. It has been cured since. Please use antibiotics responsibly, they can harm your good bacteria which can cause other problems, and over use can cause antibiotic resistant bacteria to develop, which will also cause problems for yourself and other. Try to use natural cures when possible before resorting to antibiotics.
What didn't work:
Fresh garlic juice from a cut clove. Mildly effective at getting rid of active "pimples". Does not prevent new formations. Can cause skin burns if used too much (honey and coconut oil can help heal burns, scars, and dry skin). The pimples come right back though, so it's not really effective.
Anti-fungal cream. After being in the sun for a few minutes it really messed up my skin, making it really dry and wrinkled, and took weeks to recover.
Cutting all sugar out of my diet.
Honey.
Coconut oil.
Keeping skin dry as possible. Tissue drying/wiping.
General multi-vitamins.
Thoroughly cleaning sheets.
Ray666 and Kramericus are on it.
It's a gut imbalance between good bacteria and yeast.
Ray- I knew what your issue was by your first few posts because I'm having the same issue after 1 month of being on a very good pro-biotic for the first time in my life and really the only thing I've changed recently. I'm 40, clean eater, work out like crazy and never had this issue. but also admit to having more coffee and desserts/sugar than usual the last couple weeks.
at first, I thought it was bed bugs, scabies, allergies... but then I seen Ray's post about diet and he started taking probiotics and back & forth with sugar. It all makes perfect sense.
For me- it's definitely candida.
The red bumps are a yeast infection, chalky/powdery skin under the upper eyelid. I don't think that taking the pro-biotic caused the issue but it definitely highlighted the yeast imbalance or candida overgrowth.
Great website-http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-8376/10-signs-you-have-candida-overgrowth-what-to-do-about-it.html
Hope this helps,
Josh
It's a gut imbalance between good bacteria and yeast.
Ray- I knew what your issue was by your first few posts because I'm having the same issue after 1 month of being on a very good pro-biotic for the first time in my life and really the only thing I've changed recently. I'm 40, clean eater, work out like crazy and never had this issue. but also admit to having more coffee and desserts/sugar than usual the last couple weeks.
at first, I thought it was bed bugs, scabies, allergies... but then I seen Ray's post about diet and he started taking probiotics and back & forth with sugar. It all makes perfect sense.
For me- it's definitely candida.
The red bumps are a yeast infection, chalky/powdery skin under the upper eyelid. I don't think that taking the pro-biotic caused the issue but it definitely highlighted the yeast imbalance or candida overgrowth.
Great website-http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-8376/10-signs-you-have-candida-overgrowth-what-to-do-about-it.html
Hope this helps,
Josh
these red bumps just started for me in the corner one eye and at the corner of my mouth..so i did cortozone 10 then coconut oil and it went away but what i found is last night i had a bad nights sleep and that causes me stress..woke up and it was back on my eye. OOULD IT BE A STRESS FACTOR CONSIDERING DOCS SEEM TO FIND NO BIG CURE
seem to have the same and this is what I believe it is
Perioral dermatitis is a common skin rash that mainly affects young women. The rash affects the skin around the mouth. Use of a steroid cream on the face seems to trigger the condition in many cases. Treatment includes stopping the use of all creams and ointments to the face, including cosmetics and topical steroids. A 6- to 12-week course of antibiotics may be advised, which often clears the rash.
What is perioral dermatitis?
Perioral dermatitis is a rash that develops around the mouth. The word perioral means 'around the mouth'. Dermatitis means 'inflammation of the skin'.
What is the rash like?
PERI-ORAL DERMATITIS -ON FACE (AND ACNE)
Typically, small red or pink lumpy spots develop on the skin anywhere around the outside of the mouth. That is, they may appear on the chin, cheeks, and the skin next to and below the nose. They look a little like acne spots, but perioral dermatitis is not acne. The skin under and next to each spot is often red or pink. It there are a lot of spots next to each other, then the area of affected skin can just look red and lumpy. Sometimes the skin surface can become dry and flaky.
Typically, the skin just next to the lips is not affected, or is affected much less than the skin just a little further away from the lips. So, in some cases, it looks like the rash forms almost a ring around the mouth, but sparing a small border of skin next to the lips. Occasionally, the skin around the eyes is also affected.
The severity of the rash can vary from a few minor spots that are barely noticeable, to a definite and obvious lumpy rash that is around the mouth. The rash is not usually painful or itchy. However, some people report a mild burning or itchy feeling. Others report that the affected skin feels tense. The rash is not serious and is not associated with any underlying disease. However, it can be unsightly.
What causes perioral dermatitis?
The exact cause is not clear. However, in many cases the rash seems to be triggered by one or more of the following:
Steroid creams and ointments are a main trigger. See below for details.
Make-up, cleansers and cosmetics applied to the area affected on the face. It may be that certain ingredients of cosmetics may act as the trigger. For example, one study found that make-up foundation seemed to be a particular provoking factor.
Physical factors such as strong winds and ultraviolet (UV) light.
Fluorinated toothpaste has been suggested as a possible trigger.
Yeasts and germs (bacteria) that live on the skin and in hair follicles have been suggested as a possible trigger. (However, perioral dermatitis is not just a simple skin infection.)
Hormone factors may play a part, as some women find that the rash becomes worse just before a period.
The oral contraceptive pill may be a factor in some cases.
Recently, a study has found that some sun creams used on the face may be a trigger for perioral dermatitis in some children and adults. A liquid, gel or light milk sunscreen may be the best to use.
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Perioral dermatitis and steroid creams and ointments
There is a well-known link between using a topical steroid (steroid creams, gels, ointments, etc) and developing perioral dermatitis. Many cases develop soon after using a topical steroid on the face for another condition such as mild eczema. Without realising you are doing so, you may even rub some steroid on your face if you are treating another part of your body with a topical steroid. For example, you may scratch the treated area of your skin (say, your elbow), and then, without realising you are doing so, rub the finger used for scratching on to your face.
Topical steroids can also clear a mild patch of perioral dermatitis temporarily. Some people will have tried a steroid cream that can be bought at pharmacies to treat what they think is mild eczema. However, as soon as the rash clears and the steroid is stopped, the rash reappears, only even worse. This can get into a vicious circle as they may then put more steroid cream on to clear the new rash, which may clear again. They may stop the steroid again but then the rash comes back even worse, etc.
Who gets perioral dermatitis?
Almost all cases occur in young women, most commonly between the ages of 20 and 45 years. It is thought to affect up to 1 in 100 women at some point in their life. Perioral dermatitis is uncommon in men and children. However, as the number of men using facial skin products increases, the number of men with perioral dermatitis is increasing.
What is the treatment for perioral dermatitis?
Without treatment, the condition may last for months or years. However, the following treatments can usually help to clear the rash. However, it may take some time for the treatment to work.
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Stop using anything on your face
Firstly, your doctor is likely to advise you to stop using any cream, ointment, cosmetic, etc on your face. In particular, to stop using any topical steroid. If you have been using a topical steroid, the rash will get worse for several days before it gets any better. You need to anticipate and accept this. Whilst the rash is present, just wash your face with water only. Some doctors advise not using toothpaste that contains fluoride.
Even when the rash has gone, it is best not to use any cosmetics or creams on the affected area, as the rash may reappear. And use only a bland liquid face cleaner to wash your face rather than bar soap.
Antibiotic medicines
Your doctor may prescribe an antibiotic tablet in the tetracycline group. Doxycycline or tetracycline topical antibiotics are sometimes used in milder cases. The course of treatment is usually for six to twelve weeks. You may not notice any improvement for the first few weeks of treatment. However, there is an improvement in most cases within two months after starting antibiotic treatment. So, do persevere if an antibiotic is prescribed. The way antibiotics work in this condition is not clear. It is not a simple skin infection. However, tetracyclines and some other antibiotics have an action to reduce inflammation in addition to killing germs (bacteria), and this may be why they work.
Other treatments
Other treatments are sometimes used for perioral dermatitis. These include pimecrolimus cream. This cream works to reduce skin inflammation. It seems to be particularly effective in perioral dermatitis that has been caused by using topical steroids.
A medicine called isotretinoin is sometimes used in severe cases. It consists of tablets that are taken by mouth. It is also used in the treatment of acne and some other skin conditions. Isotretinoin works by slowing the production of certain substances that can cause spots to form. However, it is important that this medicine is not taken by women who are pregnant or who plan to become pregnant. This is because it may harm the developing baby or lead to miscarriage or premature birth
Perioral dermatitis is a common skin rash that mainly affects young women. The rash affects the skin around the mouth. Use of a steroid cream on the face seems to trigger the condition in many cases. Treatment includes stopping the use of all creams and ointments to the face, including cosmetics and topical steroids. A 6- to 12-week course of antibiotics may be advised, which often clears the rash.
What is perioral dermatitis?
Perioral dermatitis is a rash that develops around the mouth. The word perioral means 'around the mouth'. Dermatitis means 'inflammation of the skin'.
What is the rash like?
PERI-ORAL DERMATITIS -ON FACE (AND ACNE)
Typically, small red or pink lumpy spots develop on the skin anywhere around the outside of the mouth. That is, they may appear on the chin, cheeks, and the skin next to and below the nose. They look a little like acne spots, but perioral dermatitis is not acne. The skin under and next to each spot is often red or pink. It there are a lot of spots next to each other, then the area of affected skin can just look red and lumpy. Sometimes the skin surface can become dry and flaky.
Typically, the skin just next to the lips is not affected, or is affected much less than the skin just a little further away from the lips. So, in some cases, it looks like the rash forms almost a ring around the mouth, but sparing a small border of skin next to the lips. Occasionally, the skin around the eyes is also affected.
The severity of the rash can vary from a few minor spots that are barely noticeable, to a definite and obvious lumpy rash that is around the mouth. The rash is not usually painful or itchy. However, some people report a mild burning or itchy feeling. Others report that the affected skin feels tense. The rash is not serious and is not associated with any underlying disease. However, it can be unsightly.
What causes perioral dermatitis?
The exact cause is not clear. However, in many cases the rash seems to be triggered by one or more of the following:
Steroid creams and ointments are a main trigger. See below for details.
Make-up, cleansers and cosmetics applied to the area affected on the face. It may be that certain ingredients of cosmetics may act as the trigger. For example, one study found that make-up foundation seemed to be a particular provoking factor.
Physical factors such as strong winds and ultraviolet (UV) light.
Fluorinated toothpaste has been suggested as a possible trigger.
Yeasts and germs (bacteria) that live on the skin and in hair follicles have been suggested as a possible trigger. (However, perioral dermatitis is not just a simple skin infection.)
Hormone factors may play a part, as some women find that the rash becomes worse just before a period.
The oral contraceptive pill may be a factor in some cases.
Recently, a study has found that some sun creams used on the face may be a trigger for perioral dermatitis in some children and adults. A liquid, gel or light milk sunscreen may be the best to use.
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Perioral dermatitis and steroid creams and ointments
There is a well-known link between using a topical steroid (steroid creams, gels, ointments, etc) and developing perioral dermatitis. Many cases develop soon after using a topical steroid on the face for another condition such as mild eczema. Without realising you are doing so, you may even rub some steroid on your face if you are treating another part of your body with a topical steroid. For example, you may scratch the treated area of your skin (say, your elbow), and then, without realising you are doing so, rub the finger used for scratching on to your face.
Topical steroids can also clear a mild patch of perioral dermatitis temporarily. Some people will have tried a steroid cream that can be bought at pharmacies to treat what they think is mild eczema. However, as soon as the rash clears and the steroid is stopped, the rash reappears, only even worse. This can get into a vicious circle as they may then put more steroid cream on to clear the new rash, which may clear again. They may stop the steroid again but then the rash comes back even worse, etc.
Who gets perioral dermatitis?
Almost all cases occur in young women, most commonly between the ages of 20 and 45 years. It is thought to affect up to 1 in 100 women at some point in their life. Perioral dermatitis is uncommon in men and children. However, as the number of men using facial skin products increases, the number of men with perioral dermatitis is increasing.
What is the treatment for perioral dermatitis?
Without treatment, the condition may last for months or years. However, the following treatments can usually help to clear the rash. However, it may take some time for the treatment to work.
Related articles
Acne
Antibiotic Tablets for Acne
Antibiotics
More related content
Stop using anything on your face
Firstly, your doctor is likely to advise you to stop using any cream, ointment, cosmetic, etc on your face. In particular, to stop using any topical steroid. If you have been using a topical steroid, the rash will get worse for several days before it gets any better. You need to anticipate and accept this. Whilst the rash is present, just wash your face with water only. Some doctors advise not using toothpaste that contains fluoride.
Even when the rash has gone, it is best not to use any cosmetics or creams on the affected area, as the rash may reappear. And use only a bland liquid face cleaner to wash your face rather than bar soap.
Antibiotic medicines
Your doctor may prescribe an antibiotic tablet in the tetracycline group. Doxycycline or tetracycline topical antibiotics are sometimes used in milder cases. The course of treatment is usually for six to twelve weeks. You may not notice any improvement for the first few weeks of treatment. However, there is an improvement in most cases within two months after starting antibiotic treatment. So, do persevere if an antibiotic is prescribed. The way antibiotics work in this condition is not clear. It is not a simple skin infection. However, tetracyclines and some other antibiotics have an action to reduce inflammation in addition to killing germs (bacteria), and this may be why they work.
Other treatments
Other treatments are sometimes used for perioral dermatitis. These include pimecrolimus cream. This cream works to reduce skin inflammation. It seems to be particularly effective in perioral dermatitis that has been caused by using topical steroids.
A medicine called isotretinoin is sometimes used in severe cases. It consists of tablets that are taken by mouth. It is also used in the treatment of acne and some other skin conditions. Isotretinoin works by slowing the production of certain substances that can cause spots to form. However, it is important that this medicine is not taken by women who are pregnant or who plan to become pregnant. This is because it may harm the developing baby or lead to miscarriage or premature birth
Hi Clint, I was wondering what kind of antibiotics you took? I've had this problem for over two years, my eye doctor prescribed ciprofloxacin eye drops, which clears it up while I'm using them but never makes the bumps really go away.
Hi Clint, I was wondering what kind of antibiotics you took? I've had this problem for over two years, my eye doctor prescribed ciprofloxacin eye drops, which clears it up while I'm using them but never makes the bumps really go away.
I wonder if this is my issue. I had laser eye surgery and a side effect is often dry eyes. I mentioned this to my eye doctor and she stated to continue using eye drops as needed. As I never used to have dry eyes, I find it tiresome to have to continuously use them and had stopped. Over the last month or so, I have found these tiny red bumps mostly under and at corner of my eyes. Sometimes barely there and sometimes more visible....I started using a humidifier in our room and will go back to drops, my eye doctor also suggested adding OMEGA-3s, Not all OMEGA 3s are created equal though to be of benefit it should apparently have at least, EPA 400MG, DHA 300MG, DPA 70MG...I think I will try that as well. She also suggested drinking more water.
I have had the same issues with these sore little bumps around my eyes. After months of searching everywhere for an answer to what they were I found out it was a form of dermatitis. All it took to clear them up was a 2 week course of antibiotics, not using any products on my face (exfoliants, harsh cleansers, toners, heavy moisturisers, ect), and switching to a soap free cleanser.
Whatever you do, stay away from any steroid creams! They seem to feed these bumps and keep them coming back.
I took the antibiotics back in November 2015 (roughly 2 months ago), made the changes with the products I use on my face and haven't had any issues since.
I know how horrible these things are so I hope this post helps:)
Whatever you do, stay away from any steroid creams! They seem to feed these bumps and keep them coming back.
I took the antibiotics back in November 2015 (roughly 2 months ago), made the changes with the products I use on my face and haven't had any issues since.
I know how horrible these things are so I hope this post helps:)
I have had the same issues with these sore little bumps around my eyes. After months of searching everywhere for an answer to what they were I found out it was a form of dermatitis. All it took to clear them up was a 2 week course of antibiotics, not using any products on my face (exfoliants, harsh cleansers, toners, heavy moisturisers, ect), and switching to a soap free cleanser.
Whatever you do, stay away from any steroid creams! They seem to feed these bumps and keep them coming back.
I took the antibiotics back in November 2015 (roughly 2 months ago), made the changes with the products I use on my face and haven't had any issues since.
I know how horrible these things are so I hope this post helps:)
Whatever you do, stay away from any steroid creams! They seem to feed these bumps and keep them coming back.
I took the antibiotics back in November 2015 (roughly 2 months ago), made the changes with the products I use on my face and haven't had any issues since.
I know how horrible these things are so I hope this post helps:)
I have had the same issues with these sore little bumps around my eyes. After months of searching everywhere for an answer to what they were I found out it was a form of dermatitis. All it took to clear them up was a 2 week course of antibiotics, not using any products on my face (exfoliants, harsh cleansers, toners, heavy moisturisers, ect), and switching to a soap free cleanser.
Whatever you do, stay away from any steroid creams! They seem to feed these bumps and keep them coming back.
I took the antibiotics back in November 2015 (roughly 2 months ago), made the changes with the products I use on my face and haven't had any issues since.
I know how horrible these things are so I hope this post helps:)
Whatever you do, stay away from any steroid creams! They seem to feed these bumps and keep them coming back.
I took the antibiotics back in November 2015 (roughly 2 months ago), made the changes with the products I use on my face and haven't had any issues since.
I know how horrible these things are so I hope this post helps:)
SAVE YOURSELF TIME AND SPARE YOURSELF THE SUFFERING!!!
Short answer: It's a fungal infection. You can get Clobetasol Propionate Crean 0.05% for about $5 bucks/tube and it's gone in one day. Or less likely, it's a yeast infection in which case you can use the same cream and get the same results, or you can use one pill of Diflucan or you can buy Monistat 3 over the counter, but I consulted with MANY docs, many docs who are my long time friends, and they say just go with Clobetasol.
Long answer: Ray's trials and tribulations point in the right direction. Eat healthy and exercise. However, I am a vegan and exercise daily, yet this nasty little infection will not be solved by lifestyle changes once the infection has set in. Once you clear it, yes, the lifestyle choices the Ray put forth are VERY valuable not only in preventing this, but preventing a very long list of avoidable negative health effects of eating the typical American diet.
Here are my observations about the things I read in this thread:
1- Alcohol does not help, so avoid it (for this and many reasons)
2- Coffee does not help, it only makes it worse.
3- Sugar does not help, it only helps to feed Candida and also slowly kill your body, so avoid it.
4- Steroids (Lotemax et al) in your eye WILL NOT HELP, and your eyesight will begin to go from good to bad to worse. I saw an Ophthalmologist and he gave me many expensive drops that diminished my eyesight, and never solved anything in the short or long run. DO NOT SEE AN EYE DOCTOR, THEY WILL JUST GUESS AT STUFF REPEATEDLY AND GIVE YOU STEROIDS TO MASK THE PROBLEM which weakens the eye and the skin around the eye, and it's NOT AN EYE INFECTION IT IS A SKIN INFECTION
5 - If you see a dimwit Dermatologist you will most likely go through the same steroid-based treatment which weakens the skin and never "cures" the problem. Specifically, do not apply Hydrocortisone, Neomycin and Polymyxin B Sulfate and Dexamethasone Ointment THESE WILL NOT GET RID OF THE FUNGAL INFECTION. Likewise, they may say it's a form of Herpes and give you Acycolvir Ointment and if it's a fungal infection you will get the same results I did, none.
In short, AS SOON AS YOU CAN:
CLEAN YOUR SKIN (twice a day)
DRY OUT YOUR SKIN THOURUGHLY (everytime)
THEN DRY OUT YOUR SKIN FROM THE INSIDE WITH ANTIHISTAMINES LIKE CLARITIN
AND APPLY CLOBETASOL PROPIONATE CREAM AND YOU WILL BE FREE FROM THE HELLISH, EMBARRASSING, PSYCHOLOGICALLY DAMAGING NIGHTMARE OF GOING FROM DOCTOR TO DOCTOR FROM MONTHS OR YEARS TRYING THIS AND THAT. ATTACK IT AS A FUNGAL OR YEAST INFECTION, PERIOD.
ONCE YOU HAVE IT UNDER CONTROL, DON'T STOP, MAKE YOUR SKIN UNINHABITABLE FOR FUNGUS BY BEING RELIGIOUS ABOUT CLEAN, DRY SKIN WITH ANTI FUNGALS AND CHANGE YOUR DIET TO AVOID SIMPLE SUGARS THAT FUNGUS LOVES.
I HOPE THIS SPARES EVERYONE FROM THE TORTURE.
EAT SMART, EXERCISE, AVOID ALCOHOL AND LIVE WELL!
PEACE
Short answer: It's a fungal infection. You can get Clobetasol Propionate Crean 0.05% for about $5 bucks/tube and it's gone in one day. Or less likely, it's a yeast infection in which case you can use the same cream and get the same results, or you can use one pill of Diflucan or you can buy Monistat 3 over the counter, but I consulted with MANY docs, many docs who are my long time friends, and they say just go with Clobetasol.
Long answer: Ray's trials and tribulations point in the right direction. Eat healthy and exercise. However, I am a vegan and exercise daily, yet this nasty little infection will not be solved by lifestyle changes once the infection has set in. Once you clear it, yes, the lifestyle choices the Ray put forth are VERY valuable not only in preventing this, but preventing a very long list of avoidable negative health effects of eating the typical American diet.
Here are my observations about the things I read in this thread:
1- Alcohol does not help, so avoid it (for this and many reasons)
2- Coffee does not help, it only makes it worse.
3- Sugar does not help, it only helps to feed Candida and also slowly kill your body, so avoid it.
4- Steroids (Lotemax et al) in your eye WILL NOT HELP, and your eyesight will begin to go from good to bad to worse. I saw an Ophthalmologist and he gave me many expensive drops that diminished my eyesight, and never solved anything in the short or long run. DO NOT SEE AN EYE DOCTOR, THEY WILL JUST GUESS AT STUFF REPEATEDLY AND GIVE YOU STEROIDS TO MASK THE PROBLEM which weakens the eye and the skin around the eye, and it's NOT AN EYE INFECTION IT IS A SKIN INFECTION
5 - If you see a dimwit Dermatologist you will most likely go through the same steroid-based treatment which weakens the skin and never "cures" the problem. Specifically, do not apply Hydrocortisone, Neomycin and Polymyxin B Sulfate and Dexamethasone Ointment THESE WILL NOT GET RID OF THE FUNGAL INFECTION. Likewise, they may say it's a form of Herpes and give you Acycolvir Ointment and if it's a fungal infection you will get the same results I did, none.
In short, AS SOON AS YOU CAN:
CLEAN YOUR SKIN (twice a day)
DRY OUT YOUR SKIN THOURUGHLY (everytime)
THEN DRY OUT YOUR SKIN FROM THE INSIDE WITH ANTIHISTAMINES LIKE CLARITIN
AND APPLY CLOBETASOL PROPIONATE CREAM AND YOU WILL BE FREE FROM THE HELLISH, EMBARRASSING, PSYCHOLOGICALLY DAMAGING NIGHTMARE OF GOING FROM DOCTOR TO DOCTOR FROM MONTHS OR YEARS TRYING THIS AND THAT. ATTACK IT AS A FUNGAL OR YEAST INFECTION, PERIOD.
ONCE YOU HAVE IT UNDER CONTROL, DON'T STOP, MAKE YOUR SKIN UNINHABITABLE FOR FUNGUS BY BEING RELIGIOUS ABOUT CLEAN, DRY SKIN WITH ANTI FUNGALS AND CHANGE YOUR DIET TO AVOID SIMPLE SUGARS THAT FUNGUS LOVES.
I HOPE THIS SPARES EVERYONE FROM THE TORTURE.
EAT SMART, EXERCISE, AVOID ALCOHOL AND LIVE WELL!
PEACE
I have became really red around 1 eye and there are lumps on it my mum just says its spots cause im a teen but i know its not spots because it stings when i touch it and becomes really hot when i try to clean my face with wipes my mum wont do anything about it so does anyone have tips/ ways top stop it
Hi RVr2 I seem to be having the same symptoms. You mentioned going to a doctor...If you do receive a diagnosis and treatment plan can you please share with me. Would you e-mail me anything important? ***@**** .
Thank you for sharing!!! Have been having the same issues for a few months now... I am a vegan but for the eggs I eat each day as my one source of animal protein... i have been having several a day and your comment about the eggs being a possible source may have just hit the nail on the head. I was initially thinking yeast as well so I plan to do a natural homeopathic to address any possible yeast issues and stop the eggs for a while an see what happens. I work with children and deal with food allergies all the time, I have changed my children's diets and my own dramatically over the years and am shocked this never came to mind!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing!!!
YogaOT
YogaOT
I've had this problem of red bumps on the outside corner of my eyes for years and tried several things to get rid of them including Hydrocortisone cream.
After reading your post, I decided to try an antihistamine at bedtime.
Because I sometimes get vertigo from fluid in my ears caused by allergies, I keep Bonine on hand to take for it. Last night, I took a Bonine before bed and when I woke up this morning, the bumps were gone. All of them.
There may be several causes for these bumps, but in my case, it's definitely allergies.
After reading your post, I decided to try an antihistamine at bedtime.
Because I sometimes get vertigo from fluid in my ears caused by allergies, I keep Bonine on hand to take for it. Last night, I took a Bonine before bed and when I woke up this morning, the bumps were gone. All of them.
There may be several causes for these bumps, but in my case, it's definitely allergies.
I don't know if this would help anyone, but I healed mine in a few days with terramycin ointment (from pfizer to be exact). I'm not sure what's causing this, but before I had it, I consume some alcohol which is most likely the culprit.
I went looking for an answer for these red bumps and found it here on this forum! It seems clearly that there is a link among most of us with eye bumps of dairy (creamers) + sugar. I use both far too much especially recently.
Knowing from other research that excess sugar causes yeast to grow, I believe this is (part of) the answer. Regarding the creamer, dairy is believed by many not to be healthful for humans and to increase allergies in the human body as well as increase mucus production. Many babies with eczema and other skin issues are prescribed to stay off cows milk and drink rice or soy milk instead. FYI, that whole "Drink Milk" campaign is put out by the Dairy Manufacturers Board. (Yes the same corporation who makes trillions of dollars from dairy sales! So of course they want you to think milk is great for you when it may not really be. Google and watch documentaries about milk production in the US and you will see that I mean.)
Anyway, I wanted to just put in my vote for sugar or dairy being the culprits for these mysterious red eye bumps which I too developed under my eyes over the last couple of weeks while consuming way more sugar and dairy creamer than usual. I plan to cut back and will repost a follow up in a week or so.
Thanks for the prolific posts, Ray! So helpful...
Knowing from other research that excess sugar causes yeast to grow, I believe this is (part of) the answer. Regarding the creamer, dairy is believed by many not to be healthful for humans and to increase allergies in the human body as well as increase mucus production. Many babies with eczema and other skin issues are prescribed to stay off cows milk and drink rice or soy milk instead. FYI, that whole "Drink Milk" campaign is put out by the Dairy Manufacturers Board. (Yes the same corporation who makes trillions of dollars from dairy sales! So of course they want you to think milk is great for you when it may not really be. Google and watch documentaries about milk production in the US and you will see that I mean.)
Anyway, I wanted to just put in my vote for sugar or dairy being the culprits for these mysterious red eye bumps which I too developed under my eyes over the last couple of weeks while consuming way more sugar and dairy creamer than usual. I plan to cut back and will repost a follow up in a week or so.
Thanks for the prolific posts, Ray! So helpful...
What most of you are describing is called Perioral Dermatitis. There is no known cure and no known cause. It used to be known as Periorificial Dermatitis.
While I understand the frustration and the embarrassment the ailment causes as I have it, nobody (experts) can tell you what brings it on. Allergies, Immune system suppression, Bacteria, Virus, Fungus are all suspects for everyone but if you try and treat your ailment with the shotgun approach, you will certainly be more frustrated.
Grasping at straw methodology of diagnosis provides very little correlation for a remedy if any.
Ive read many testimonies of people trying creams, diet changes, cosmetic changes, anti-fungals etc. The reality is, there is no cure and you need to see a competent dermatologist.
If you are diagnosed with Perioral Dermatitis, you will most likely be prescribed a low dose antibiotic which is not designed to kill any bacterias (its too low dose to do that) but is designed to attack the inflammation which is the symptom and some sort of eye cream like Protopic.
If you are using ANY steroid based creams, stop immediately. While they provide temporary relief from the dermatitis they actually make it worse when you stop using it and long term use has horrible consequences.
While I understand the frustration and the embarrassment the ailment causes as I have it, nobody (experts) can tell you what brings it on. Allergies, Immune system suppression, Bacteria, Virus, Fungus are all suspects for everyone but if you try and treat your ailment with the shotgun approach, you will certainly be more frustrated.
Grasping at straw methodology of diagnosis provides very little correlation for a remedy if any.
Ive read many testimonies of people trying creams, diet changes, cosmetic changes, anti-fungals etc. The reality is, there is no cure and you need to see a competent dermatologist.
If you are diagnosed with Perioral Dermatitis, you will most likely be prescribed a low dose antibiotic which is not designed to kill any bacterias (its too low dose to do that) but is designed to attack the inflammation which is the symptom and some sort of eye cream like Protopic.
If you are using ANY steroid based creams, stop immediately. While they provide temporary relief from the dermatitis they actually make it worse when you stop using it and long term use has horrible consequences.
I am so grateful for your input Ray! I am a little befuddled. I have been paleo and eating totally clean/organic, sugar-free for almost two years, and my red eye bumps, which sound just like yours, started up about 3 months ago. After reading your comments, I have cut out my beloved raw milk, just in case. The only thing that has helped at all is monistat, but it just keeps it at bay, isn't curing it. Since I'd been eating clean for about a year and a half before this started due to longstanding issues with migraine and hives, I'm just at a loss as to what I can do. I've now cut out even natural sugars, like fruit and raw honey, to see if that helps, but I honestly didn't eat much of it before anyway. Just wanted to add my two cents. I firmly believe that most maladies are diet/nutrition related and have benefited immensely by my diet changes, so not knocking it at all, just wondering what the heck is going on with me then. I've pretty much decided doctors are useless as none could help me when I first started this journey, and most still don't understand how I've cured myself of all kinds of ailments with diet alone. Anyway, just wanted to add my two cents as I battle this thing. Right now, just started a parasite cleanse, just in case it's contributing, and when I'm done, will probably do a pretty intense candida cleanse as well.
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