NOTE: THE FOLLOWING PICTURES MAY BE GORY FOR SOME. VIEW AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED! THIS POST IS NOT AN AD.
Okay, time for my acne report!!
In the past few weeks, I've done all sorts of things that any girl could imagine to have better skin: facial extractions, chemical peels, acne acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine therapy.
With the knowledge I armed myself to battle my rather stubborn acne, my face is almost clear with the exception of two spots here and there, thanks to the gunk that was brought up by the regular acupuncture sessions (Three times per week!) with Dr K.
However, something else was bugging me this time: Pityrosporum Folliculitis.
Okay, its a "fingerful" to type the entire name in the next few lines. So, I'm going to call it PF.
Now, what exactly is PF?
1. It's a fungal/yeast infection caused by the same bloody thing that causes dandruff called M. Furfur (Nice name but nasty fungus)
2. It can happen anywhere on your body, including your face but it does not occur on padded areas of your body (i.e. palms)
3. It is easily mistaken as acne if it appears on your face - it has similar characteristics to microcomedones aka whiteheads but it contains nothing if you pop them. Also, it ITCHES, ESPECIALLY AT NIGHT.
4. It's contagious - it can spread throughout your body.
Who is prone to getting it?
1. Have you had bad case of dandruff? Or currently having dandruff?
2. Do you live in a hot and humid area?
3. Do you have severe acne?
4. Are you on antibiotics?
5. Are you very stressed?
If you answered "Yes" to any one of this five, your bumpy skin might just be PF.
How does it look like?
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| Do you see those bumps clustered on the left side of the picture? |
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| PF spread to my entire face - my nose was the only unaffected area. |
Can it be cured?
Topical or oral treatment of broad spectrum antifungal/antibacterial creams (i.e. Daktarin Gold, Nizoral). Most of the antifungal creams contain the same active ingredients used to treat thrush. However, it is wise to treat the affected area for two weeks even though it is gone! YOU DO NOT WANT THOSE BUGS TO BE BACK!
A course of Chinese herbal medicine works too! (Yes, I spoke to Dr K about my condition)
Prevention tips:
1. Suntan your pillows, toys etc. Place them in a black garbage bag and roast those toys/ pillows under the scorching sun! (Dr K. taught me this)
2. Don't touch your face! You might spread the infection to your face (i.e. you have PF on your arms and you touch it, and then you touch your face!)
3. Stay away from pets.
4. Try not to place anything with cotton or goose feathers on your bed. Polyester or microfiber only.
5. Wipe away sweat on your face.
How did I discover that I have PF?
Since April 2011, I had been getting itchy skin. Each time an angry pustule or papule forms on my skin, my skin would itch like nobody's business. Only BHA (salicylic acid) would keep the itching at bay. Moreover, after a series of BHA peels, my skin quite smooth save for the remaining whiteheads. So, I associated the itching with the growth of new pimples.
Fast forward December 2011...
I've performed all the necessary steps to get rid of my acne and my face is almost acne free, save for the standard blackheads and some occasional whiteheads. However, what I noticed was that there were bumps on every milimeter on my face. I told my aesthetician about this twice and she said that it is probably transient stuff. I ignored it for quite some time but the itching was still there. Now, I have no more new acne so how can there be itching?
So, I decided to take things with my hands. I did a google search and came across several options: Was it contact dermatitis from the chemical peels I've done? Was it the facial extractions? Is it normal because my acne scars are healing?
Then, I discovered this message board that I've came across on April 2011. It read "Small bumps, plugged pores could be fungus". I saw the words "folliculitis" and quickly looked it up. And I came across this article on folliculitis, which read: "It looks like acne but it's folliculitis".
And I compared the picture that the latter website had with my own close up shot and it got me thinking: "Holy schmoly! I have this!". Even the symptoms were similar! (Read the symptoms here)
I told my mom to bring me to a pharmacy. I spoke to the pharmacist and asked her to pescribe me some antifungal cream. Initially, the pharmacist was reluctant to do so because she could not see anything on my skin. I showed her the close up shot and she said, "This is quite bad but it may be sweat rash".
To be on the safe side, she prescribed me a bottle of calamine lotion. Now, calamine was great. It soothed the skin. Got rid some of the bumpiness. I was, too, convinced that it may be sweat rash. My mom said that I was over thinking things.
Guess what? I was not over thinking. I DID HAVE P. FOLLICULITIS.
I did mention that PF worsens when the weather gets really hot and humid. Now, KL has been pretty hot the past few weeks due to the lack of rain. This was when things started spiralling downhill. My skin itched like there was no tomorrow and calamine did not stop the itching at all.
So, I went to another pharmacist (the pharmacist that I saw initially was on her Sunday break) and was prescribed Travacort. Now, I do not really recommend Travacort as it contains steroids, which may thin out your skin. However, I used it anyway. After four days, my skin was super smooth! Super happy can!
Then, I switched to Lamisil (I wanted Daktarin Gold but they ran out of that), which is a broad spectrum antifungal without corticosteroid. I am advised to use it for another 10 more days to ensure that the yeast does not recur because IT CAN.
Anyway, I was going through my old pictures today (It still pains me to see my face this way) and discovered that amidst the sea of Angrybirds-red pimples and pus filled boils on my forehead, I actually had PF since then. That "then", was April 2011.
I'm glad that I found out that I have PF. According to the forum mongers on Acne.org, even top dermatologists tend to misdiagnose P. Folliculitis as acne.
So, if you have bumpy, itchy skin, take a macro shot of your face under natural lightning, compare them with other PF sufferers, and finally, show them to the pharmacist to get some advice.
I hope this message helps.
TO FOLLOW MY JOURNEY WITH ACNE, CLICK HERE.
