rosacea success story !
Bennett Weinstock
Dear friends,
I have had rosacea since I was about 16 (I am 33 now). My family has a
history of it (my sister,my father and few uncles have had varying
degrees of rosacea). I have been treated by half a dozen "top"
dermatologists--with tetracyclines (to which I am now allergic);
metrogel (fair results); steroid creams (made my rosacea worse); and a
few other creams that I don't remember the names of. I would have to say
that my rosacea had sort of plateaued--not better, not worse--for a few
years. I was using a 5% benzol-peroxide cream which helped a bit (10%
was irritating). However, I recently had a severe flareup, out of the
blue.
Instead of running back to the MDs, I did a check on rosacea on the
search engines and read about all of the research concerning demodex
mites (some of this reasearch goes back for many years !), and that
permethrin is probably the best and safest way to kill them.This seems
to be a recognized treatment for rosacea in several European countries,
but evidently is not popular here in the USA. Further research on the
web revealed that a shampoo called NIX, used for lice, contains
permethrin. I figured I had nothing to lose--I spent $12 for it, got it
home, washed my face and applied a thin bead of it to my nose and
cheeks. It was on for only 10 minutes--the manufacturer advises that it
should be on the hair/scalp for only 10 minutes as it is potent. At
about the 10 minute mark I experienced a little headache (the package
says that people with asthma should use it with caution--be careful if
you are asthmatic). I washed it off, and did not apply anything else.
The next day I awoke to find that the redness on my nose and cheeks was
about 50% less. A few days after the application (I used it only that
one time) I realized that there are now patches of skin on my nose and
cheeks that look normal--as opposed to my usual uniform redness. The
areas that had been very red are now sort of pink. Also, the oiliness is
significantly decreased too. Overall, not a total cure but a dramatic
improvement.
I am guessing that I probably had a significant demodex infestation,
and the various meds applied over the years worked temporarily to a
small degree by decreasing the mite population by disturbing their
environment. But none of the agents had a SPECIFIC miticidal activity
the way permethrin has.
I am sharing this with you rosacea-sufferers out there in cyberland...I
hope that some of you benefit from this (BTW, according to the 1997
Egyptian study about 80 % of those treated with permethrin had either
very good or good results, but about 20% did not have any improvement.)
Ben Weinstock
<Benwei...@worldnet.att.net>
Ronbo
Thanks Ben for sharing your experiment. I have had Rosacea
for 5 years and have tried all kinds of remedies. If NIX holds
up as an improper to your condition then I will give it a try. My
Rosacea outbreaks are also accompanied with super oily skin.
Currently I am taking 500mg of Tetracycline a day to keep the
Rosacea more or less under control although it flares up for
no apparent reason every so often.
As soon as I read your NG post I starting searching the Internet for
permethrin and ran across the Sept. 95 issue of Cutis magazine.
08 Cutis
56:3 September 1995
A pilot study of 5 percent permethrin cream versus 0.75 percent
metronidazole gel in acne rosacea
R.J. Signore
177
Unfortunately I could only locate the title and not the complete
article. I have sent an email to the editor of Cutis asking
for help in obtaining an reprint. Will post to this NG when
I receive it.
Best of luck,
Ronbo
---------<Benwei...@worldnet.att.net> wrote in article
<6f1gsr$a...@bgtnsc03.worldnet.att.net>...
> Dear friends,
snip
snip
Ronbo
Update: A kind lady at CUTIS has notified me that
the artice I requested should be in my mailbox by
March 27th. I will post it to this NG when received.
Have a great week,
Ronbo
Ronbo <k7...@postoffice.worldnet.att.net> wrote in article
<6f4fns$q...@bgtnsc02.worldnet.att.net>...
snip
jtd
Hello. I'm over from alt.baldspot where we've had talk about lice shampoo
to rid the scalp of demodex mites. The next advancement along these lines
will be Nioxin's semodex shampoo line. This rids the scalp of an enzyme,
which basically does not permit the mite to digest, and subsequently dies.
This line will be available in April. The advantages of this over lice
shampoos is that it is (1) less toxic, and (2) designed for mite removal and
maintenance. I figure a quick and easy way to test it's efficacy would be
someone testing it on their rosacea. Can someone try this out, and update
me when Semodex is available? Please feel free to email me if you have any
questions.
Thanks.
Bennett Weinstock wrote in message <6f1gsr$a...@bgtnsc03.worldnet.att.net>...
>Dear friends,
>
> I have had rosacea since I was about 16 (I am 33 now). My family has a
>history of it (my sister,my father and few uncles have had varying
>degrees of rosacea). I have been treated by half a dozen "top"
>dermatologists--with tetracyclines (to which I am now allergic);
>metrogel (fair results); steroid creams (made my rosacea worse); and a
>few other creams that I don't remember the names of. I would have to say
>that my rosacea had sort of plateaued--not better, not worse--for a few
>years. I was using a 5% benzol-peroxide cream which helped a bit (10%
>was irritating). However, I recently had a severe flareup, out of the
>blue.
> Instead of running back to the MDs, I did a check on rosacea on the
>search engines and read about all of the research concerning demodex
>mites (some of this reasearch goes back for many years !), and that
>permethrin is probably the best and safest way to kill them.This seems
>to be a recognized treatment for rosacea in several European countries,
>but evidently is not popular here in the USA. Further research on the
>web revealed that a shampoo called NIX, used for lice, contains
>permethrin. I figured I had nothing to lose--I spent $12 for it, got it
>home, washed my face and applied a thin bead of it to my nose and
>cheeks. It was on for only 10 minutes--the manufacturer advises that it
>should be on the hair/scalp for only 10 minutes as it is potent. At
>about the 10 minute mark I experienced a little headache (the package
>says that people with asthma should use it with caution--be careful if
>you are asthmatic). I washed it off, and did not apply anything else.
> The next day I awoke to find that the redness on my nose and cheeks was
>about 50% less. A few days after the application (I used it only that
>one time) I realized that there are now patches of skin on my nose and
>cheeks that look normal--as opposed to my usual uniform redness. The
>areas that had been very red are now sort of pink. Also, the oiliness is
>significantly decreased too. Overall, not a total cure but a dramatic
>improvement.
Ronbo
I will try it as soon as I can get my hands on some.
Ronbo
jtd <jtd...@applied-digital.com> wrote in article
<6f9c0h$9...@bgtnsc03.worldnet.att.net>...
> Hello. I'm over from alt.baldspot where we've had talk about lice
shampoo
> to rid the scalp of demodex mites. The next advancement along these
lines
> will be Nioxin's semodex shampoo line. This rids the scalp of an
enzyme,
> which basically does not permit the mite to digest, and subsequently
dies.
> This line will be available in April.
snip
jtd
Here's some fun stuff. This all depends on if you like using lice shampoo
or not. But an easier application is to take a bottle of "deep woods off"
or equivalent bugspray, and moisten a cotton ball. Then just wipe the
cotton ball over your rosacea area. This should probably be as effective if
not more so than the lice shampoo. Probably you would want to repeat this
once a week.
There is also a mite spray for birds. It contains either pyrethrins or
pymethrum (sp?). This probably is a little less potent than either lice
shampoo or "off". You might want to experiment with cotton balls of this.
Then of course I mentioned Nioxin's line (semodex) which should be available
sometime this month. Nioxin is non-toxic. They clean away a lipase enzyme,
and interfere with the mites digestion. I have no idea how effective this
is.
Has someone mentioned how the lice shampoo seemed to get rid of their facial
oiliness?
Anonymous wrote in message <1998032522...@basement.replay.com>...
>In a previous post, I described how I'd used a lice shampoo twice on my
>REDDDDDDDDDD face, and had seen some improvement quite quickly.
>
>Last night I took a prolonged and VERY hot bath. When I got out of the
>tub, I was quite startled. I'd happened to glance in the mirror and my
>nose was my NORMAL light olive skin tone. Upon closer examination I did
>observe a few areas of brown discolorations --- I don't know if they are
>the result of tinea versicolor, or if they are iron deposits which
>result from inflammation.
>
>Anyway, it was a shock to see ANY part of my complexion as NORMAL in
>skin color ---- it's been so many years, I almost didn't recognize
>myself!!
>
>
>
>
>
>
>______________________________________________________
>Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
Suedusty
In article <6f1gsr$a...@bgtnsc03.worldnet.att.net>, Bennett Weinstock
<Benwei...@worldnet.att.net> writes:
>Subject: rosacea success story !
>From: Bennett Weinstock <Benwei...@worldnet.att.net>
>Date: Sat, 21 Mar 1998 17:58:40 -0500
>
>Dear friends,
Bennett:
.
Thanks for sharing that information about "permethrin" with us. I have had
rosacea for 3 years and thought I had done research to find out what is out
there to treat rosacea, but I had never heard of "permethrin." I will look
into it. (I had heard of those mites, though.)
However, I did want to ask you if you have the pimply kind of rosacea or the
flushing kind? It appears that there are 2 kinds of rosacea--some people
(like me) flush bright red and can feel it coming on and it can last for hours
and some people get the pimply kind--like W.C. Fields. I was thinking that
maybe the "permethrin" works best with the pimply kind of rosacea.
Thanks also for pointing out that there may be a connection betweeen dizziness
and tetracycline. I have been on tetracycline now for over 3 years and am
always concerned about long term side effects. However, I also have ocular
rosacea and I fear the damage to my eyes if I don't take the tetracycline to
keep the rosacea under control. When you say tetracycline I suppose that
covers all of them--doxycycline and minocycline and whatever others there are?
Thanks again for the information you posted.
Sue
Bennett Weinstock
Dear group,
Yes, my facial oiliness has decreased about 90% since my first
application of permethrin for rosacea. I think that a lot of the
oiliness was my body's reaction to the mites !
Let's keep up with the great postings and help each other out.
Ben
Bennett Weinstock
Dear Sue and group,
Suedusty wrote:
>
>
> Bennett:
>
> .
> Thanks for sharing that information about "permethrin" with us. I have had
> rosacea for 3 years and thought I had done research to find out what is out
> there to treat rosacea, but I had never heard of "permethrin." I will look
> into it. (I had heard of those mites, though.)
>
> However, I did want to ask you if you have the pimply kind of rosacea or the
> flushing kind? It appears that there are 2 kinds of rosacea--some people
> (like me) flush bright red and can feel it coming on and it can last for hours
> and some people get the pimply kind--like W.C. Fields. I was thinking that
> maybe the "permethrin" works best with the pimply kind of rosacea.
I would describe mine as a combination of the 2 types--flushing would
last for hours, but not bright red; not too many pimples, but enough to
annoy me (maybe a few a week). To sum it up, I've had enough redness and
pimples over the years to prompt a lot of stupid remarks from I can't
tell you how many stupid people over the years--Are you an alcoholic ?
What's wrong with your face ? etc.
I'm happy that a few people have tried permethrin and gotten good
results so far...I have made 2 applications of the permethrin in the
past week, and today I noticed that my skin is really starting to look
good ! However, EXTREMES OF TEMPERATURE still seem to cause increased
redness-- my rosacea will probably never be eliminated completely , as a
component of it is the vasodilation of the blood vessels. I saw some
article (or was it a posting ?) about increased VIPs (vasoactive
intestinal peptides) in the skin of people with rosacea. I haven't
checke this out in too much detail, but I know that these are chemicals
which cause vasodilation of blood vessels.
>
> Thanks also for pointing out that there may be a connection betweeen dizziness
> and tetracycline. I have been on tetracycline now for over 3 years and am
> always concerned about long term side effects. However, I also have ocular
> rosacea and I fear the damage to my eyes if I don't take the tetracycline to
> keep the rosacea under control. When you say tetracycline I suppose that
> covers all of them--doxycycline and minocycline and whatever others there are?
I was on minocin and on tetracycline. I think that the others are
variations , which fit into the same class of drugs. Check the
Physicians Desk Reference or similar books/databases for side effects.
Remember, everybody has their own body chemistry and their own
side-effects ! The drugs might be bad for me but safe for you.
>
> Thanks again for the information you posted.
I'm happy to help !!
Ben
anon
Anonymous wrote:
>
> Hey, Ben-----
> Thanks for sharing the results of your experiemnt. I was about to begin
> day four of my own experiemnt with Betadine, which had produced a bright
> pink, as opposed to REDDDDDDDDDDDDDD tinge to my complexion.
>
> However, after reading your post, I went to a drugstore and purchased a
> similar product, but with a different pediculicide. It cost less than
> half of the other brand name lice shampoos. It is called "Bio-entry
> Maximum Strength Lice Killing Shampoo."
>
> The smell was pretty awful while I had it on my face, but I did not get
> a headache.
>
> The active ingredients are:
> ***Piperonyl Butoxide, Technical 4.0%
> ***Pyrethrum Extract 0.33%
>
> The instructions for this product say to use it again in 7-10 days.
>
> I'll be curious to see if there is any impact on my complexion by next
> mid-week. However, I have never been diagnosed with rosacea; I believe
> that my miscellaneous and sundry skin conditions are purely indicative
> of long term, undiagnosed, (& misdiagnosed), untreated Lyme Disease of
> almost 2 decades.
>
> Keep us posted of how your experiment continues.
>
> Thanks again.
>
>
>
> ______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
This is great news for both of you I'll have to try this. Is this stuff
available in the UK or is there a similar product
available?
My red-nose problem is purely restricted to my nose and doesn't
affect my cheeks at all. It also is calm for a few weeks and
then goes mad, however it doesn't last hours as mentioned above but
usuall lasts jsut over a week. It makes me pine for the usual mild
pinkness I usually. If the first stuff mentioned doesn't work, does
anyone have any recomendations to reduce the
really hectic flare-ups, my skin goes amazingly bright red and
I'm too ashamed to even leave my house. For some reason it seems
to be happening much more often this year, so anything that could
calm it down would be appreciated. I've got the usual triggers,
especially temperature but I still haven't worked out what it is
that occurs overnight that causes these terrible flareups.
Jim
Ed Anderson
Bennett Weinstock <Benwei...@worldnet.att.net> wrote:
> Yes, my facial oiliness has decreased about 90% since my first
> application of permethrin for rosacea. I think that a lot of the
> oiliness was my body's reaction to the mites !
>
> Let's keep up with the great postings and help each other out.
OK. I only had a serious bout with rosacea once after overuse of
lotrimin on my face. I'm intrigued by your success with permethrin so I
did some digging on rosacea and follicular mites. A Medline search finds
some interesting abstracts, including one article on overuse of steroids
causing roscea due to demodex mite folliculitis.
Here's a link to some Medline journal abstracts:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/htbin-post/Entrez/query?form=4&term=demodex+rosacea
Also a fact sheet on permethrin:
http://infoventures.com/e-hlth/pestcide/permethr.html
There's an online article about rosacea being cleared by treatments to
clear heliobacter pylori, the cause of stomach ulcers. It shows a biopsy
slide of the demodex mites on a follicle, but I can't identify them:
http://www.ama-assn.org/cgi-bin/AT-movedallsearch.cgi?search=rosacea
I keep a searchable archive of this group at http://www.pinch.com/skin/
You're definitely onto something worth investigating.
-- Ed