Help Cystic Acne

[kyrsyan]

Fun and games. My family line has never had to deal with cystic acne before. It turns out that my son has it. We are dealing with our first bout of a deeply infected one.

I'm already going to up his intake of antioxidants for cysts in general as he has a couple of skin cysts. But I would like it if folks would share TNT herbal mixes that they have used for treating it. From what I understand treating it is a 3 prong approach. First an antibiotic that can reach the infection that has gotten much deeper in the skin than typical acne. (Maybe oregano oil) Second is something to handle the pain from the cyst material that forms in it. Third is to dry it out and to get the body to reabsorb and get rid of the material as well as the infection. And make no mistake, there is solid material in there. Oh, and above all, whiteheads can no longer be popped/cleaned out because that is what cystic acne appears as. And the simple pop and clean actually triggers a deeper, nastier infection. Especially in people who have staph on their skin like my son.

I am willing to use OTC stuff until I can get an herbal mix of solutions that will work for him but I'd prefer not to use it long term. And I'd really rather not have him on antibiotics continually again. He is also allergic to both classes of antibiotics that they typically use to treat this.

 

[Signwatcher]

Have you tried Tea Tree Oil?

 

[kyrsyan]

After talking with a friend who has it, tea tree oil, witch hazel and rubbing alcohol are going to be the starter steps.
Apparently there are two versions of these zits. One is just fluid with, maybe, a tiny bit of solid material. They are squishy and generally don't seem to give any type of head. He's got one of those on the back of his ear. According to her, eventually, the body will work whatever solid material is in there up to the surface so it can be removed. But until then, it's generally not painful just annoying and a "pressure" feeling.
The one we just dealt with is a second type. It ends up with some type of material in it. She called it fat. It's like the body tried to create a physical cyst within the zit. Unlike the stuff from other zits, this stuff doesn't dissolve and go away. The best hope is to keep the thing dried out so that when the body is ready for that to come out, it's much easier to get out and it doesn't make as big a mess. Mess as in the big yucky scab he has because the entire thing kind of collapsed in on itself once it was cleaned out. Fortunately the antibiotic seems to be boosting his immune system's response. Not only is the infection disappearing rapidly but the skin is healing rapidly. The only thing that hasn't really changed is the hole from the clean out. And she said it was better if that heals last. I agree because otherwise it could encapsulate a whole new infection.
Anyways, I'm trying to come up with a way to handle them while they are still small and not painful. I'm thinking of a few oils, like tea tree, added to the witch hazel or alcohol. And then another ointment containing some other stuff that might penetrate deeper if left on the skin. Oh, and I found an herb that was tested to be just as effective as tetracycline for handling skin infections - without the side effects. So I'll probably be ordering some to use in the ointment. My hope is that I can stop the zit before it starts forming cystlike material inside of it. Then the body can handle all of it without needing it to be cleaned out. She can handle cleaning out her own. I could do it if it was me. But he's a young man with severe disabilities. He barely tolerated me cleaning it out the other night. And only then because he realized that, despite the immediate hurt, I was making the bigger hurt go away.

 

[summerthyme]

kyrsyan... you might want to consider rose geranium or turmeric essential oils, mixed into the witch hazel/alcohol base, to be used as an "aftershave" (I don't think he's that old yet!) or astringent rinse after GENTLE washing with a mild, hypoallergenic soap.

The mistake many people with this type acne (all types, really) make is to "overscrub" their faces, which just causes more irritation and exacerbates the inflammation.

However, I'd start slow... not use a bunch of different oils all at once, or at least do a "homemade skin test"... dilute any oils you want to use 10:1 in a bland carrier oil... say, 10 drops of olive oil and 1 drop of the essential oil. Rub a bit into the skin on his forearm and check it once or twice over a few hours. If he doesn't develop any sort of redness, bumpiness, etc, he can handle that particular oil.

If I was making something like this, I'd probably use oregano (antibiotic), turmeric (anti-inflammatory) and lavender (soothing/healing) oils first. All three are reasonably priced.

Also, having him use colloidal silver as a facial rinse (after washing and right before applying the alcohol based treatment) can't hurt... it will kill off staph germs on the skin surface, at least, and hopefully keep them under control. For this purpose, you don't need to use distilled water to make the CS... just use decent clean tap water. It creates coarser particles than the true "colloidal" silver made properly from distilled water, but it works just fine for topical purposes.

Summerthyme

 

[kyrsyan]

Actually, he has just started having a beard with the last hormone surge. It's appearing very late and I find myself wondering if new hair follicles weren't part of the problem.
I have to dilute most essential oils 1:20 or more for him depending on which they are because he is extremely sensitive to scents. And I have a good mix of oils to use as a carrier. I make it and it absorbs quickly.
I was debating curcumin capsules rather than turmeric. There is one that, while expensive, is turmeric oil based and fabulous. A capsule or two can go a long way in a carrier oil.
I don't make colloidal silver (yet) but I was debating whether using some would help. Especially if I could get it to be absorbed. I hadn't thought about it helping with the staph. Honestly, you'd think that the staph would be gone given how frequently he's been treated for it.
No over scrubbing here. He won't tolerate it. The biggest challenge will be to recognize the bad ones early and keep him from scratching them open while I'm not able to clean them. Like at night after we've gone to bed. The longer he picks at it without me getting it cleaned, the worse it will be.
Keeping fingers crossed that we don't repeat this again anytime soon.
Btw, have you found a good cloth to make something like Wet Ones with? I tried paper towels, good ones, and they shredded. I would prefer disposable for this but I'm about to give up and make them from old tshirts. In this situation it would let me make a batch at a time and then teach him to get one and wipe his face.

 

[NC Susan]

Treat him internally before the problem erupts as a sign and symptoms
Acne comes from the liver


Take him off all canola shortening and Margerine and any other
Artificial fats

Put him on lard and butter and olive or grape oil only natural fats

 

[kyrsyan]

Treat him internally before the problem erupts as a sign and symptoms
Acne comes from the liver


Take him off all canola shortening and Margerine and any other
Artificial fats

Put him on lard and butter and olive or grape oil only natural fats

He's already there. He has multiple food allergies. As a result we tend to eat a lot healthier than most folks. We are actually having problems figuring out where the heck the acne is coming from period. So far we can only figure dirty hand and hormone shifts.
One of the changes I've made is to clean them out as soon as they appear. The end result has been no more big ones that need meds. The little ones take a couple of days to make sure they are empty but they heal up really fast with no scarring. I'm also using charcoal face wash for him and keeping antibacterial wipes on hand for quick clean ups. So far most of them are on his chin where his body is slowly developing a beard. But he's also had the behind his ears and in one armpit. Those are the ones I'mean keeping a close eye on because even antibiotics didn't wipe them out. Just reduced them.
Tomorrow I plan to make a salve to use on the stubborn ones. I'm just debating which oils I'll be using in it.