My seb derm frustrations. Raw honey ups and downs...

[LadyBee]

Not doing so well the past few days.

It's not BAD but it's nowhere near as good as it has been recently. My forehead is all covered in seb derm, and I have some patches on my right cheek and am breaking out on my chin. I'm confused because I haven't changed anything! I'm still on the same probiotics, and I still do the honey masks. Haven't added or subtracted anything from my routine. Had plenty of sleep lately, not too stressed, healthy amounts of exercise, drinking lots of water... The only thing I can think of is I might have had more cow's milk than I did a couple of weeks ago (when I was using mostly oat milk on my cereal) but dairy has never been a trigger for me before.

Still, I'm going to cut cow's milk for a while to see if it helps.

Very frustrated.

[shrimpy]

Hi LadyBee,

Sorry to hear you're still having problems. I wonder if you have atopic dermatitis along with seb derm, as Auburn suggested somewhere. I went to my dermatologist after 2 months of honey masks and he said that I have both, which is why it wasn't clearing up completely. The honey masks do a lot for my itching and burning but it never seems to get rid of the rash on my forehead, which I've come to learn is my atopic dermatitis. I don't really have any suggestions for you since I haven't been able to figure out how to control my own atopic dermatitis but thought it is something to consider. I'm thinking of switching back to a cream lotion instead of coconut oil for my moisturizer thinking I would be able to use more of it to really get into all the crevices of my forehead and allow the rash to heal. As much as I love coconut oil for my facial moisturizer, I don't think it's enough for me.

[Auburn]

Hi LadyBee,

I'm thinking of switching back to a cream lotion instead of coconut oil for my moisturizer thinking I would be able to use more of it to really get into all the crevices of my forehead and allow the rash to heal. As much as I love coconut oil for my facial moisturizer, I don't think it's enough for me.

Shrimpy,

Before you do that, give this a try (it worked well for me and for another forum member who also had either atopic or contact -most likely atopic- dermatitis on his forehead): See if you have an OTC antifungal cream with Tolnaftate as the active ingredient. Apply thinly, twice daily, stop when it clears. Be sure not to apply the cream anywhere near your eye/eyelids (the Tolnaftate will irritate your eyes, it did mine but the spot I had to treat was right below my eye so I had no choice - my eye was very red and sore for a few days so be careful with that). It might take a week or so to clear. I wouldn't stop moisturizing with the oil.

HTH

[shrimpy]

See if you have an OTC antifungal cream with Tolnaftate as the active ingredient. Apply thinly, twice daily, stop when it clears.

Thanks Auburn. If my current attempt at beating this (Elidel at night, coconut oil in the morning) doesn't help within a few weeks, I may try this. I also have used Epiceram and think it helps and it is really gentle.

It might take a week or so to clear. I wouldn't stop moisturizing with the oil.

I absolutely plan to keep using coconut oil if/when my rash clears. I have not found a nicer facial moisturizer than coconut oil and it's so cheap considering how little I need to use each day. I just need to figure out what helps to clear the atopic dermatitis when it flares up, treat it, and then back to coconut oil.