Adult acne and rosacea.

Newsgroups: alt.folklore.herbs
From: hconser.aol.com (HConser)
Date: 01 Nov 1995 00:35:50 -0500
Subject: Re: Adult acne

Some thoughts on acne:

Your body is using your skin to get rid of stuff that your liver & lungs should be taking care of.

Deep acne in the mouth and nose area can be a reaction to food, some of the top foods are dairy products, wheat, & corn. Usually it is a favorite food, one that is consumed every day. Completely eliminate your favorite food from your diet for two weeks and if your acne gets worse after you start eating it again that is a positive test for that food, avoid it for a few years and you should be desensitized, and you can again incorporate it into your diet. If this is the sole cause of acne, then expect major improvements within a month.

Chronic constipation can result in acne. Do you eat enough fiber? Do your stools float? They should.

Acne that is more on the forehead can be due to liver stress, perhaps from exposure to chemicals, alcohol, or other drugs, or other unknown factors. A Liver flush type of product and/or intensive Silymarin intake can make a big difference here.

Lung are IMHO the major eliminative organ, so any sort of lung stress can agravate acne.

Other acne aggravators are iodine, fatty foods, cured foods, fried foods.

Dry skin brushing is great for overall skin tone and health.

I've tried to keep it practical and succint, I hope it is useful.

From: brumstik.interaccess.com (broomstick)

>What helps reduce acne redness? I've been trying to avoid the dermatologist and the probability of spending months on erythromyocin. I've been taking yellow dock and tea from Oregon grape root. So far topical tea tree oil has helped the most, though it's working very slowly.

First of all, don't completely rule out a dermatologist. Yes, some are heavy on the antibiotics, but not all of them.

I finally went to a dermatologist and wish I had done it years before! It took some searching, but I found one I could talk to and made it VERY clear that I wanted NO long-term drug therapy of ANY kind - erythomyocin or whatever. Actually, he prefers not to use long-term therapy, either.

It turned out my problem was NOT just "simple acne" or redness. There are several conditions that can cause redness, rash, pimples, or other skin eruptions that either worsen or mimic acne. Among them:

*Rosacea* (probably spelled it wrong) which LOOKS LIKE acne but ISN'T and requires different treatment. Allowed to go untreated, it can lead to surgery so do something about it if you have it.

*Parsitic skin infections* OK, so we don't like to talk about these. Well, I worked in the social service field for many years, coming in contact with homeless people, drug addicts, and other sorts who carry various, uh, "bugs" from time to time. If you associate with these folks long enough, you can bring home their "pets". If you live in an urban area you can also acquire them from mass transit seats. You can get these from animals - pets or wild. Again, these require different treatments.

*Allergies* - These made my own skin treatments difficult. Turned out it wasn't so much acne as that my skin was reacting very badly to what I was putting on it to cure the problem. Once I learned what I was reacting to I could eliminate it. This really, really made a difference. My skin hasn't been this healthy since I was 8.

It also means that ALL my skin care products - lotions, moisturizers, etc. - MUST be either made by me or formulated by a pharmacist. It's worth the price not to be a walking rash. Because my dermatologist is willing to work with me I can have him write a request to a pharmacist to blend something specific so as to avoid all things I am allergic to and at the same time using minimal chemicals and harsh drugs. He has also given me some sound advice about obtaining my own ingrediants to make my own moisturizers.

*Dry or oily skin* - These can make acne (or any skin condition) worse. They do NOT require antibiotics to treat, but if you have an extreme case you may need something OTHER than over the counter remedies, some of which can do more harm than good. These conditions can also be helped by changing your diet as well, but that's not exactly a dermatologist's field of experitise.

Not all doctors, not all M.D.'s, are the enemies. They can be an ally. It takes some work and you MUST be very pro-active but there are good ones out there.

By all means, if herbal therapy helps continue with that. I'm glad it's giving you some relief. But it never hurts to investigate all means to solving a problem. Keep your options open.

From: mona.atlantis.allcon.com (Mona J. Klock)

> : What helps reduce acne redness?
> I have a similar condition. I've seen it described in medical circles as "Rosacea," and the article I read noted that it required the care of a dermatologist. As I would not like to take that route, I would like to know if anyone else out there has had any experience with rosacea and possibly knows any treatments, topical or otherwise, that I can use for this condition?

Try using zinc ointment. It would be best if you can get the plain zinc paste, which is quite thick and dry and without fatty additives. You can mix it to a softer texture but adding camomille ointment or salicyle oil or whatever has been helping so far. Do not put it on thickly, especially not on open wounds.

After years of adult acne, I switched to using zinc ointment and found the healing results very good. It also has a good cover-up effect, I sometimes mix it with a bit of makeup.

And another suggestion:
Convince yourself, that you have no reason to show the whole world how easily you can be hurt.

I think skin conditions have a lot to do with our vulnerability.

From: Diana Dills <ddills.u.washington.edu>

> I have a similar condition. I've seen it described in medical circles as "Rosacea," and the
While Rosacea (and many other problems) can be exacerbated by alcohol, the cause is a parasitical infection, and the treatment is a topical antibiotic. Untreated Rosacea can lead to permanent fibrous scarring (The grotesque bulbous nose syndrome) It is most common in fair-skinned folks, generally occurs on or around the midline of the face, and exposure to sun can aggravate it.

While it is true that a weakened immune system contributes to this infection, as well as many others, and that good nutrition can improve the body's immune responses (no argument there) I would strongly urge you to get medical treatment for this condition before you end up with permanent scarring which may require surgery later on.

I don't think you are likely to cure Rosacea with non-medical means-- it responds only to certain, specialized antibiotics, and many non-prescription treatments used for other skin conditions only make it worse.

Once you have gotten rid of the parasite, you may find that a healthy lifestyle can keep you from getting relapses of this, or other such opportunistic infections.

From: steffan.mbnet.mb.ca (Cindi Steffan)

I am 35 and still have teenage skin. I gave up long ago taking prescription medication (oral) but continued to use a skin preparation. However, two weeks ago I had had enough. I went in for a facial (nervous at first because it can irritate your skin) to a woman trained in the Middle East. She gave me some Tea Tree Cleanser to use twice a day. Since I already use essential oils I started to read my aromatherapy books. Instead of my prescribed topical ointment I read a solution of juniper oil and cedarwood oil swabbed over the face every two hours helps. I haven't tried it yet, but will start this week-end. I don't know the exact solution, but if anyone is interested can bring it in to work and post it (I don't have computer access at home).

From: Cindi Steffan <steffan.MBnet.MB.CA>

I have to say I have noticed a marked difference since I started using the tea tree soap followed by dotting some tea tree essential oil on my face. The solution I mentioned before is: 5 drops each of cedarwood and juniper essential oil to ½ cup of distilled water. Soak cottonballs in this solution, squeeze gently and store in a plastic bag. Wipe your face with the cottonballs ever two hours.