Life is a roller coaster, so hold on tight! I’ve decided this is my new motto. Which is kind of funny because as a family we love thrill rides (especially roller coasters!), but emotional roller coasters are just no fun whatsoever. Dealing with life-threatening food allergies on a daily basis is a never ending emotional roller coaster. And add in flares of severe eczema and folliculitis, random asthma attacks, and a vision impairment that leaves us wondering if our boys will even be able to get a drivers licence, some days I just wish I could tell the roller coaster to stop for a minute and let me catch my breath!
Josh has been struggling with folliculitis (inflammation of hair follicles) for 5-6 years now. It mostly affects his arms and legs, but the sores can show up pretty much over his entire body. We’ve been to several allergists, dermatologists, and even a psychologist after one doctor suggested the itching sensation was all in Josh’s mind. Of course I knew that wasn’t the case and was quite angry that she even suggested it, but in the end we decided to see the psychologist just because we had no where else to turn. And here we are, still dealing with folliculitis. The more he scratches at the spots, the more his eczema then also flares since we all know that eczema is known as the “itch that rashes”. Josh has been tested for all sorts of diseases including celiac, had a skin biopsy done, and even had patch testing done which came up totally negative. Bleach baths do nothing for him. Wet wraps do nothing for him. Antibiotics do nothing for him. Topical steroids do nothing for him. Oral steroids do help temporarily, but then as soon as he stops the medication the folliculitis is back within a couple of days. For a while we had found what we thought was a miracle cure for the folliculitis. About a year ago we started rubbing his entire body down with a washcloth saturated with hydrogen peroxide, and the sores started healing and disappearing. It was amazing! But then for some reason, after several months of having clear skin, the folliculitis reared it’s ugly head again and the peroxide has no affect on it any longer. Why??? We are now trying an antifungal ointment on the spots, but I’m not seeing any improvement with it. I can’t help but wonder if this is something he will have to live with his entire life now. I’m so sad and embarrassed for him. He pretty much lives in long pants and a sweatshirt. I can only imagine what the boys at school think and say behind his back when he has to change in the locker room for gym class. My heart breaks at the thought of him not having a girlfriend throughout high school, because honestly I can’t imagine many teenage girls looking past all the sores covering his skin and seeing what an incredible young man he truly is. I wish and pray with all my heart that we could find a doctor who can treat this skin condition. The eczema is bad enough, but adding the folliculitis on top of that is unbearable. Some days I really hate roller coasters.
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Hello Allergymom, I'm sorry to hear about your son and I completely understand how you both must feel. I have been leisurely studing holistic medicine for sometime and when my boyfriend was diagnosed with chronic folliculitis we decided to fight the bacteria internally (with the prescribed antibiotics) and topically (Natural medicine). The bacteria started on his leg and forearms and quickly spread through his entire body (ankles thighs, underarms, face, ears, head, EVERYWHERE). After some research we came up with a sea salt bath to fight the bacteria head-on. The bath hurts, ALOT! BUT IT WORKS and the itch subsides!!!!!! The sea salt bath consists of green tea for the swealling, Olive Oil to moisturize the skin, vinegar to elevate the skin's PH, sea salt (both fine and course granuales), and finely crushed zinc to aid in the repair of skin cells and ofcourse fight the bacteria. We also added cornstarch to soothe and prevent the least amount of damage to the skin. We add the above ingredients to a warm bath. We make a seperate dry topical solution consisting of: fine and course sea salt, and finely crushed zinc. While bathing he scrubs his entire body with dry solution counter clock wise (this procedure lifts the bacteria from the skin and hair follicles), beginning with the ankles and working his way up to and including his face and head. He adds additional olive oil on skin if needed. He is currently on bath #21, and his soars are healing and dissapearing at a fantastic rate. There looks like there might be some scarring and we will deal with the scars ounce the bacteria is completely gone. We saw quick results (approx bath # 12 or 13). In addition, we set aside some of the dry solution to apply it to itching areas thoughout the day. It contolled the itch and at the same time, repaired the soars. This worked for us! Good luck and I hope your son gets better.
Hello Allergymom, I'm sorry to hear about your son and I completely understand how you both must feel. I have been leisurely studing holistic medicine for sometime and when my boyfriend was diagnosed with chronic folliculitis we decided to fight the bacteria internally (with the prescribed antibiotics) and topically (Natural medicine). The bacteria started on his leg and forearms and quickly spread through his entire body (ankles thighs, underarms, face, ears, head, EVERYWHERE). After some research we came up with a sea salt bath to fight the bacteria head-on. The bath hurts, ALOT! BUT IT WORKS and the itch subsides!!!!!! The sea salt bath consists of green tea for the swealling, Olive Oil to moisturize the skin, vinegar to elevate the skin's PH, sea salt (both fine and course granuales), and finely crushed zinc to aid in the repair of skin cells and ofcourse fight the bacteria. We also added cornstarch to soothe and prevent the least amount of damage to the skin. We add the above ingredients to a warm bath. We make a seperate dry topical solution consisting of: fine and course sea salt, and finely crushed zinc. While bathing he scrubs his entire body with dry solution counter clock wise (this procedure lifts the bacteria from the skin and hair follicles), beginning with the ankles and working his way up to and including his face and head. He adds additional olive oil on skin if needed. He is currently on bath #21, and his soars are healing and dissapearing at a fantastic rate. There looks like there might be some scarring and we will deal with the scars ounce the bacteria is completely gone. We saw quick results (approx bath # 12 or 13). In addition, we set aside some of the dry solution to apply it to itching areas thoughout the day. It contolled the itch and at the same time, repaired the soars. This worked for us! Good luck and I hope your son gets better.
Thanks so much for your comment and details about the sea salt bath! I decided to add some Epsom salt to my son's bath a couple of days ago (after readings that it has helped others with folliculitis) and his skin actually looked better the next day. We will continue with this for a bit to see how things go, otherwise I will definitely keep your recommendation in mind! Thanks again!
I am definitely going to try your method. My teenage daughter's folliculitis is the worst one, and not getting any better. I will let you know how it works out.
desperate mother
Try apple cider vinegar (ACV) & warm water (abt 1/2 & 1/2 or 3/4 vin-1/4 water) compresses. Try Safeguard anti-bacterial soap & pat skin dry instead of rubbing skin. Also use cotton balls to apply mixture on skin when the itching sensation is bad. I keep a bottle mixed in an old baby shampoo bottle and apply as often as needed. Look more into maintaining healthy skin ph. Use olive oil (usually use q-tip for spot treatment) or coco butter lotion for dry skin. I've suffered for a while now myself. Only natural & alternative treatments have helped. Best of luck!
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