Monster Acne Outbreak

I’m sorry you’re experiencing that! So painful and distressing : ( Is there any way you can get to a good dermatologist?

I got my first pimple in about 20 years two weeks ago. It was strange how my dimly remembered, teenage skincare routine came back to me. (Warm - not scalding - compresses, witch hazel…. NOT irritating the area further, or squeezing anything.)

But you’re beyond that. You need a trained professional.

I can tell you what worked for my sister and I. But first I want to make sure I can post an answer. This is a test.

Besides your medications, I’d like you to wrap your bed pillow with a clean tshirt every night. Rubbing your face against the same pillow case every night doesn’t help.

Part 1

My sister and I struggled with acne during our teens. She was diagnosed with bipolar and was put on medication that made her acne (whiteheads and cystic acne) worse in her 30s. I will tell you how she cleared it up.

By chance she was in a Chinese tea room and she asked the staff for a suggestion - chrysanthemum tea.

Chrysanthemum tea consists of little dried up white or yellow flowers. Everyday make yourself some tea with these flowers. It's best if, after making your tea, you use the flowers for two more cups of tea. So basically you're taking some flowers and making tea three times from the same flowers. This helps to extract the maximum amount of beneficial compounds.. if you don't have the patience to make tea three times in a row, don't worry. It will be fine if you just make one cup of tea per day.

This tea see seems to make you poop more. The first time you take the tea I recommend taking it in the evening and seeing how it reacts with your system. I recommend starting off with about 5-7 flowers per day. It's better to start at a lower dose. If you tolerate the tea well, then you can take it at any time of the day. If it's too strong for your system, then reduce your dose to 2-3 flowers. I would keep to the same dose for some time (maybe a month?) to see if it's effective before increasing it.

My 5'5", 170 lb sister was taking 30 to 35 flowers per day. Admittedly she is someone who likes to go all out. She did this for some time, (maybe a year?) . Her whiteheads and cystic acne cleared up without having to stop her meds.

I tried it in my 40s. I was getting occasional whiteheads. The acne prone areas on my cheeks were always red. I made tea daily with 12-15 flowers. I would only occasionally make multiple pours with the same flowers. My white heads stopped and the the redness on my cheeks cleared up.

The tea can be sweetened with honey if you don't like the taste. You can drink it hot or cold. I would think you it should be able to make batches in advance and store them in the fridge, if you were so inclined

I’m bipolar and take Seroquel. No acne issues and I had it when I was a teen.

Have you thought about going to a spa and have extractions done along with a facial?

Given your age, you might also be starting to have the adult acne that often comes with rosacea. One symptom can include what's referred to as Papulopustular rosacea. Per WebMD:

[quote] This causes pus-filled "whiteheads" as well as swollen red bumps that look a lot like acne. Often, they show up on your forehead, cheeks, and chin, but they can also affect your scalp, chest, or neck. Your face may also be red or flushed. If you have a serious case, these symptoms can take a while to get better.

Did any doctor mention that or ask you about possible predispositions to rosacea (e.g. ancestry)?

One treatment used are antibiotics like doxycycline, but to treat and prevent future outbreaks another would be using MetroGel (Metronidazole) a topical gel that's applied to the affected area once or twice a day.

Part 2

One thing I found for myself, is that if I skipped drinking the tea for a day or two, I would be slightly constipated. My body became accustomed to the assistance of chrysanthemum tea. I was able to taper my dose later without any trouble.

At first I bought my flowers from a Chinese herbal medicine store. The herbalist said that adding fenugreek seeds would help. He said that the tea was safe enough for children to drink. He also said that actors in Hollywood use this tea to help clear their skin (for what that's worth). I did use the fenugreek for a while, but it was getting expensive. I was able to stop with the fenugreek without any reduction in the tea's effectiveness.

Buying the tea at an Asian grocery store, was cheaper. I believe it's also available online through Amazon. If you have a choice between white or yellow Chrysanthemum flowers, the yellow has a beneficial compound that helps your eyes.

Once your face clears up, and you wish to stop the tea, gradually reduce your dose. For both my sister and I, the tea worked well enough so that we were able to stop taking it and still maintain clear skin.

If blackheads are giving you trouble, you need to take a different approach. You need to use an exfoliant. Do not use any scrubs. They will irritate your skin. When using exfoliants, use a gentle cleanser on your skin and wear sunscreen

On the advice of doctor Oz, and because I'm broke, I would use Pepto-Bismol. Pepto-Bismol contains salicytic acid, which is found in many skin care products. If you don't want to use Pepto-Bismol, there's a brand called The Ordinary which makes effective and reasonably priced skin care.

The nice thing about the Pepto-Bismol is that it's so inexpensive that you can use it on your back, chest or any other blackhead prone areas.

I apply thin layer of Pepto-Bismol, brush my teeth and then wash it off with a gentle cleanser. The reason I mentioned the toothbrushing is to give you an idea of how long to leave it on your skin. One time I left it on too long and my skin was kind of red for a couple of days .

Over the next few days after using the Pepto, the salicytic acid helps dissolve dead skin cells and your blackheads will become loosened over time. Use a black head extractor tool when the blackheads are loose enough to be removed from your skin with little effort.

I hope you find this helpful. Sorry that it's so wordy. Because there were no instructions for us to follow, I felt that our experiences would be a useful guide.

I wish you all the best with your treatment and may you banish your skin on the acne forevermore.

I meant to say may your skin be free of acne forevermore.

With Accutane they should titrate you up monthly, so it eventually might help if not now.

Proactive

R7 You had me until mentioning Dr. Oz.

That flower shit was tedious from start to finish….and pretty useless advice. 😵‍💫

Come ON.

Congratulations on finally reaching puberty.

I take between 50 to 300 mg Seroquel for BD each day and never had a single pimple because of it. Now if I go into the sun and starts to tan, like that time when I went to Florida in June, the acne comes back with a vengeance but it's not localized to the chin and thank God it is not cystic (which means it doesn't leave any scars).

If you're a guy and you shave with razor blades, it might very well be an infection and doxycycline works wonders for that.

OP, also change your covid mask more often. They are good for a week. You should be changing daily until this is under control.

R11 I agree with the Dr Oz thing, but you can always use the product from The Ordinary instead.

R12 I admit that my tea instructions were very long. My summarization skills are weak. But here's a summary for you: Drink chrysanthemum tea. Drink it everyday.

I've had many treatments for my acne prone skin (whiteheads, blackheads and cystic) over the years. I have taken accutane, antibiotics and used Retin-A. I used to go to a specialty clinic where I would get steroid injections for my cystic acne and regular blackhead extractions. Chrysanthemum tea was a game changer.

Go to a dermatologist. There are all kinds of new prescriptions that can help.

Don't fuck around with home remedies. You don't want to get acne scars in your 50s.

I was given an Rx of doxycycline, and it is working beautifully.

You went to the ER for pimples?

MARY!

^OP said he was at the ER for something else...

Actually not a good reason. ER is for EMERGENCIES, when you go in for a hangnail or pimple outbreak everyone else who is in real pain, hart attacks, strokes, bleeding profusely, has to wait for your prissy ass to stop monopolizing ER doctors and resources. Go to Urgent care for that stuff.

Wait, I need to hear far more detail about the chrysanthemum tea and its many uses, dosages, and side effects.

OP, ask your GP for a referral to a dermatologist. General practitioners (and emergency room physicians) should not be your first port of call for stuff like this.

Rub your acne with a cut up potato and then bury the potato in an old hollow log under the light of the moon.

Then copy and post these instruction to your Facebook profile - your acne will disappear and your lucky numbers will all be multiples of 7.

It’s in the Bible!!!

R23, what did you want to know? I would be happy to answer any questions.

I got an Rx for doxycycline and three weeks later, my skin is much, much better.

Dairy tends to interact with different medications and acne is often a side effect. I recommend cutting our all dairy and see how you do.

Get four chicken bones and put in the farest four corners of your house, it will push the bad juju out, your acne will disappear!

How can you even function on high doses of Seroquel?? It’s an anti psychotic. I could never find a doctor who would prescribe it for mood. It’ll put you asleep for 2 days.

You better talk to your own doc. If it’s a side effect it could be life threatening. Rash side effect from other anti-depressants are and should be discontinued immediately.

Accutane has its own dangerous side effects too. What else are you on?

Congratulations OP! You finally reached puberty.! The best is yet to come.

Skip the Accutane. I have rosacea and was prescribed a cream that’s azelaic acid, ivermectin and metrocream. I get it from a compounding pharmacy and it’s $40 a tube. The tubes last forever and even though I still get an occasional bump, the goo works like magic. You just need to get oil control sunscreen if you use it.

I use very mild soap on my face and wash my pillowcases at least once a week.

It sucks. Having acne as an adult is the pits. They tried to pinpoint what set my rosacea off and we agreed it seemed to be stress.

Does sugar or chocolate or cola cause acne, or is that just an old wive’s tale?

Sugar, which is usually a top ingredient with chocolate and colas, is an inflammatory nutrient which can cause acne. Try to avoid all white or processed sugars. Eat a smaller amount of non-diary dark chocolate instead and have sodas only occasionally rather than daily.

I had the same thing happen and they started me on Acyclovir daily. They said it was a form of shingles since I'd not had the vaccine. It cleared-up in about 4-5 days.

I was under the impression that persons diagnosed with bipolar disorders and/or on meds to treat the disorder, cannot take Accutane?

Anyone here with experience regarding this, know the answer?

Prednisone does me like this. I always request a dose of antibiotics when I must take it.

R38 Yes, that’s what I was told.

It didn’t bum me out, but I did have bad back pain. Apparently that’s a side effect too.

Accutane is ok, doesn’t work well for rosacea if that’s what you have. It really cleared up acne on my back. For my rosacea I had to do a topical, which works well!

I really think I have acne and not roseca. Many of the zits do form a whitehead.

I will occasionally get drawn into watching videos like this. After each time, I kind of wish that I had just one blackhead that would be as gratifying to squeeze out/extract as this one.

What causes this? Just general poor hygiene? It can’t be diet…

I had a few infected pores on my chin recently, but it was from touching my chin inadvertently with lube covered hand after long but satisfying masturbation session. I should have washed it off quickly, but didn’t. That lube stuff can grow bacteria.

Prednisone causes me to break out

Topical clindamycin (antibiotic) worked great on me for acne. I never really had bad acne, but in my 30s I started getting the odd painful cystic ones. Also, would suggest Salicylic Acid that you can get otc. Worked better for me than benzoyl peroxide which did nothing at all. The SA can be a bit drying, use oil free moisturizer. Cera ve or Nutrogena make a good one. Good Luck!

Just letting any rosacea sufferers on this thread know that azelaic acid works wonders. Prescription strength is sold as Azelex (20% azelaic acid) and Finacea (15% azelaic acid). My insurance doesn't include the name brands in my prescription drug plan but the generic version of Finacea is about $30 a tube. (If I bought Azelex without insurance the cost would be in excess of $550 for a single tube!)

Old age (post 60) brings blotchy uneven skin, pebbly texture and something that looks like blisters. And age spots, of course. I never had acne or skin issues when I was younger, but I can't spend any time in the sun now without having my forehead break out.

Just WTF is happening here? Not the blackhead extractions… watch as much as you can stomach. But be sure to skip to the end when she starts cooking!

Just how is that an appetizing combo?!?

I wonder what"s in those tarts..

Fuck the tart... I'll never look at a cheese danish the same way again!

Sucked any dirty dicks lately? Could be the mPox.

WHORE.

I had a little cystic outbreak on my chin and used pimple patches overnight. Surprise surprise they worked well.

It’s mpox

Op, are you ovulating by chance? Outbreaks often come with periods, or is it after, perhaps you are post-ovulated?

R42 ‘s video is why your mother told you to wash behind your ears.

R42, that was disgusting, but I couldn't stop watching. What part of the body was that? I imagine someone overweight, a sedentary life, and rolls of sweaty fat developing blackheads, pustules, and pimples like that.

It looked as if they were extracting slugs!

Mmmpox?