Nystatin A Potential Seborrheic Dermatitis Treatment

#13

Hi Maciej,
I can’t find a photo that shows the facts, and the only websites I can find are in German, but I’ll translate:

“1 g creme contains as the active ingredient: 100.000 IE Nystatin corresponding to 22,73 mg dry-matter.
Other Ingredients: Macrogol stearat 1000 [a different name for polyethylene glycol], cetostearyl alcohol, isopropyl myristate, glycerol 85%, sorbic acid (E200), lactic acid (E270), sodium hydroxide, purified water.”

But this is not meant as a moisturizer. The point of nystatin is not to avoid feeding the malassezia yeast, it is to use an anti-fungal to kill the yeast, so you don’t have to worry about moisturizing. I don’t know why the first anti-fungal I tried didn’t work (specifically miconazole combined with hydrocortisone in a creme). I read somewhere on wikipedia that their ways of killing the yeast are different. The azoles are lanosterol 14
alpha-demethylase inhibitors, while nystatin works by ergosterol binding - it has to do with their cell membranes. Anyhow, the details are not important to us, the important thing to learn from this is that “anti-fungal” is a broad term and it would be a mistake to think no anti-fungal will work simply because one didn’t. So try another angle of attack :slight_smile:

Personally I haven’t heard of sulfacetamide 10% and sulfur 5% or tried it on myself, but wikipedia says it is a suggested treatment. Maybe Michael has some experience with it?

#14

Hi Vincent,
it was the double-trouble of both flaking and red, inflamed skin. During flareups it would also itch to some extent. I had spots of it on my scalp, my forehead, the skin under and close to my eyebrows, the sides of my nose and parts of my cheeks and throat when it got really bad. I also had a small area of it on my chest, similar to where Superman would have his logo or where Ironman has his power-core thingy, although I didn’t feel very super at the time :slight_smile:
As I recall the shampoo alone got the inflammation on my scalp down. It would still flake, but the skin didn’t look red at least. But by just using the nystatin creme on my face it cleared up the rest of the flaking from my scalp (while still using the shampoo) and the area on my chest as well. To me that’s almost the most impressive thing.
What have you tried so far?

#15

I have tried many natural remedies and prescription drugs. Currently, I’m on 1% ciclopirox. I don’t have flaking, just red inflamed skin on my chin and nasal folds. 2 dermatologists have said it is seb derm. However, nothing has healed the face redness as of yet.

Joakim - How long did you use the Nystatin before you saw improvement with the redness? And how long until you experienced complete remission of the skin redness?

I really appreciate your help!

#16

Hi Maciej,

Not sure, but I believe I remembers stumbling upon the sulfacetmatide and sulfur products. Think I found them when I was looking for a Lotramin Ultra alternative for the face.

Personally I never ended up ordering any of the sulfacetmatide and sulfur products because I couldn’t find enough safety information. Also the main place to buy it was eBay (no listings on Amazon), so I wasn’t sure how the product was regulated/produced.

#17

Thanks a lot for answer. I have friend whos working in pharmacy and he could make me cream because in PL we dont have nystatin cream - nystatin is only in form granules and infusion. Unfortunately components from your cream arent avalible in pharmacys (only in larger production) but I hope that friend use good components - I told him to avoid from using oils.

I don’t understand second part of your post: “But this is not meant as a moisturizer. The point of nystatin is not to avoid feeding the malassezia yeast, it is to use an anti-fungal to kill the yeast, so you don’t have to worry about moisturizing.” Cound you write more clearly? My english is quite bad sorry.

#18

If I recall correctly I started using nystatin around December 8th and by Christmas Eve it was gone. I think I started seeing improvements after the first week or so. It was a pretty fast process of recovery, actually. I used it daily at the time. Now, I tend to forget 2 days a week or so, but in the beginning I was on point!
My dermatologist sounded very confident when he prescribed me the stuff. He was like “Try this and I bet you’ll see improvements by the end of week the. Otherwise come see me again.” Now I wonder what he would have done, had I come back. Maybe he was just reassuring me, and he knew I wouldn’t come back.
I’d recommend you trying it if you have the possibility. I also tried other anti-fungals that didn’t do it for me. I think ciclopirox and nystatin work differently, so there’s hope! :slight_smile:

#19

Hi Maciej,
I found a website that looks like it sends nystatin to most European countries - including Poland. Otherwise, it’s an over-the-counter drug in Germany, so if you go to Germany you can buy it without a prescription from your doctor. Anyway, here is the website if your friend cannot help you make it: http://www.apons.eu/nystatin-lederle-creme

The point I was trying to make is this: With nystatin you are killing the SD. The reason we should avoid oils is that we don’t want to feed the SD, but when we have already killed it then it doesn’t matter with the oils.
I have completely stopped using moisturizers since I got nystatin. I don’t get dry, red skin anymore so there is no need to moisturize (with or without the oils). I hope that makes more sense - otherwise just ask again if there is something you want me to explain better :slight_smile:

Best of luck!

#20

Hi Joakim,
Thank you very much:) I wrote to few eshops from Germany about ordering nystatin cream - we will see what they answer about buying from Polnad. Anyway thanks again for help.

Now I understand you :slight_smile: You give me a hope to cure for this terrible disease!

:slight_smile:

#21

I am happy to help! But before I get your hopes up, I’d just like to clarify something: If this works for you it probably doesn’t mean that you will be cured. I don’t consider myself cured - not totally. I think SD comes from a problem in our immune systems; Everybody has the SD yeast on their skin, but most people can fight it naturally through their immune system. But we have some defect that can’t handle the SD yeast. So we need some help, and that help can be nystatin or ketoconazole or green tea or whatever works for people. But I think we will always have that defect, so we have to keep treating it - unfortunately.
So maybe we will never really be cured, but so far - after I started using nystatin - I look cured, and I guess that’s the most important thing :slight_smile:

#22

Hi Joakim, thanks for sharing this. I also have SD and planning to buy Nystatin Lederle creme soon!

#23

Hi, Joakim, MICHAEL , all

Thanks for sharing your story with us, i have SD(seborrheic dermatitis ) 10 years now and i have tried almost everything to control it. What i found to be effective was keep washing my face once daily(at night usually) with a no-soap cleanser which doesn’t dry my skin applying aloe vera moisturizer when my skin looks dry and when a rush appears using once daily ketoconazole cream(fungoral is the brand’s name) for 7 days. The first 1-2 days my skin reacts and doesn’t like it but then at day 2 or 3 it calms down and you couldnt tell i had a rush there.I also save every second day because if i dont my skin becomes flaky , and i apply fresh aloe vera from the plant to me face whenever i can.For my scalp i am using a shampoo that doesnt dry my skin out and ACV remedy some days per week.

I am interested on what you suggested (Nystatin cream) because i believe we should check all of our options and i am currently trying to find alternatives that work better than the solutions i’ve already found.

My questions are :

  1. how many times per day and how many days in a row did you apply the Nystatin cream)?
  2. what is your maintenance routine after you controlled SD?
  3. what other things are you doing in order to help your SD not coming back?

Thank you MICHAEL for this beautiful site and i am looking forward to your answear joakim
HopeDiesLast

#24

Quick tip for females: I have SD redness & flaking on nasal folds and chin and have found Bare Minerals Bisque Concealer the only thing that blends well and does not make the flakiness worse.
The pigment content is high - I use the version without sunscreen. You need to use a brush to blend it in but it works very well on spots too.


Hope this helps.

#25

Dear Friend,

Thank you for the positive comment. Glad to hear you found a way to partially control it.
Hopefully Joakim can provide you will some more details.

Similar to you I only wash my face once a day in the evening and always with cold water.
What cleanser are you currently using as a daily wash? (question was answered in another comment, HopeDiestLast uses La Roche Posay Toleriane).

All the best.

#26

Dear Vero,

Thank you for leaving the tip. This will likely benefit any female readers stumbling through this site.
Out of curiosity have you ever tried using the one with the sunscreen?

Much of the information I have come across suggests the zinc oxide found in the majority of sunscreens can actually help combat it as well.

Thanks again for the tip and best of luck.

#27

Hi HopeDiesLast,
I’m happy to hear that you have control over your SD. However, my experience with Nystatin has cured me to a degree where I don’t have any maintenance routines anymore - well, except that I still use Nystatin and a dandruff shampoo (containing zinc pyrithione and climbazole as described above) from time to time. So I recommend that you try it if you have the possibility.

  1. I apply Nystatin once every day after I shower - doesn’t really matter if it’s morning/evening/after workout. I’ve been using it since December (it took about two weeks for it to clear up my face) and I still use it on a semi-daily basis. I’ve gotten very forgetful for the past few weeks and that doesn’t seem to cause any trouble. The SD is under pretty good control in my opinion! And I wash my hair with shampoo maybe 2-3 times a week. Again, it’s not really critical to be super strict!
  2. Since I’ve gotten it under control I don’t follow any special routines. I still take the remaining supplements I have, but I don’t think I will restock once I eat all of them and I don’t think that will cause any problems. We’ll see. I’ll report back if I get horrible flare-ups once I stop with my vitamin-D! :slight_smile:
  3. Nothing really. I mean, I try to exercise and eat healthy, but sometimes I binge. And even before exercise would also be a bad thing! So all the previous no-go’s like coffee, alcohol, hot showers and poor sleep doesn’t do anything. I can go to work on a Friday, have several cups of coffee, meet up with friends afterwards and have several beers and party all night and have a nice hot shower in the morning without issues. My skin might feel a little tight after a night like that, but I just rehydrate and everything is alright.
    Oh wait, I guess I make sure I drink plenty of water every day, and I severely cut back on my milk consumption, but I don’t really think it would make a difference if I started drinking milk again. I still eat cheese, so I don’t see why milk would be a problem. I think that are the only real changes I have made.
    So even though you seem to have your SD under control I recommend that you try Nystatin, since I think it could give you a more care-free life without maintenance routines and occasional flare-ups!
    All the best,
    Joakim
#28

No problem, Ron! I am happy to hear that. Hopefully, you will see the same incredible recovery that I experienced. So far, actually, no one has reported back to me after I recommended them Nystatin, so I am still very anxious to hear if other people will have the same experience!
Where are you from? Have you figured out a way to purchase it? It could be helpful to other people if they are from the same country but are having problems locating a seller :slight_smile:

#29

Thank you, Michael, for this site.
It is really helpful to compare experiences.
I have not tried the products or sun screens with zinc oxide but will investigate which brands might be good. Since my skin is quite oily, I was happy to discover an oil free sunscreen by Jason - which has Titanium Dioxide - but I couldn’t find zinc oxide on it - could it be the same type of ingredient? Not tested yet though.
I have ordered Nystatin from Germany to be sent to me in the UK via www.parcemed.de - so will report back on how it works in the next weeks.

In case this helps others, here is what I have tried so far. This is not very scientific - just subjective.

  1. Lamilsil - a UK brand against athlete’s foot - fungacide terbinafine hydrochloride 1 % - this worked in getting extremely inflamed skin calmed down. Used it for a week but then the effect seemed to lessen or stand still.
  2. Clarity Superdrug Skin Rescue - (UK drugstore brand) for spots -with Salicyclic Acid. This is my favorite spot fighting cream as it does not dry the skin. Helps with oiliness, does not inflame SD.
  3. Oxy on the Spot (UK brand, GlaxoKline - with Benzoyl Peroxide. A bit harsher than Clarity so I use it only on spots.
  4. 100% Tea tree oil - not bad but too harsh for longer use. Good with 100% 1:1 tea tree oil / apple cider vinegar combined on a cotton ball and brushed onto (non-inflamed) skin. But overkill for sensitive skin.
  5. For eye brows only: 1:1 apple cider vinegar on cotton balls rubbed lightly over eyebrow areas. SD completely gone after doing this twice daily for 2 days. Too harsh for rest of face. No return of SD on eyebrows 3 weeks later - only used this method for one week but the effect has lasted.
    Face washes:
  6. I used to use Clinique Facial Soap mild, - fragrance free, unisex though marketed to women. I bought some for my brother who has the same condition and he liked it. It only takes 5 splashes of water to completely wash off - used at night for many years.
  7. With the sudden SD - needed something like it but more moisturizing - so found this African Soap
    -http://www.amazon.co.uk/Genuine-African-Black-Soap-90g/dp/B00DO59YS2/ref=pd_ys_sf_s_rp_a1_2_p?ie=UTF8&refRID=1W90Y4WJRZQSH633P30G
    which moisturizes and cleans oily skin - and only 5 splashes of water needed - my best SD discovery so far.
    I do think there is a link with the gut (my SD started after food poisoning) and I do have cravings for salt (make lots of popcorn).

I am grateful to this and other forums because for a long time I did not understand this delicate dance between oily skin and dry, flaking skin - and the product dance that goes with this. My SD is better now - much calmer - barely visible - and I look forward to testing the Nystatin. Am grateful to the contributors here.

#30

I am really happy about the conversation that we’re having here. For so long I was alone with my condition and I didn’t want to talk about it with friends or family. I just stayed in and hid when it got bad. I wish I had found this community sooner! It’s so nice to hear from other people fighting the fight - I think conversations like these would have kept be more hopeful when I struggled.

Good luck with the nystatin! I hope results will be good for you too, and I’m very anxious to hear from you, when you’re a couple of weeks into the treatment.

#31

Hi Vero,

Thanks for the kind comments :).

Titanium Dioxide is a bit different, but that’s actually the active ingredient in the stuff I used last summer.
The stuff I used was Ombrelle for Kids. It was very gentle, soothed the skin, but didn’t really absorb all that well (white coating was left).
What I felt it did though was help keep the skin from drying up from the sun while at the same time allowing me to keep my skin exposed to the sun for long periods of time (effectively killing any potential bacteria).

However, from all the stuff I read previously, Zinc Oxide stood out as actually being able to fight the SD directly.
This is actually one the active ingredients implemented in Sudocrem, which is commonly used for diaper rashes, eczema and other skin irritations. Here is a picture for reference.

Additionally thank you for all the other tips.
Look forward to any updates in terms of the Nystatin.
Hopefully your results are similar to Joakims.

In terms of the gut connection. Definetly something there.
Kind of gross, but I found the my faeces used to be somewhat sticky and often left a residue on the bottom of the toilet bowl.
Then in correlation to my L-Glutamine supplementation this went away. During the whole 8-9 past months in which my SD has been calm, I have not seen this issue.
When researching why this could happen, everything mostly pointed to undigested fat.

Thanks again for the all the information.
Hope you finally find a simple approach that works for you and take care.

#32

Hey Joakim,

Hope all is well with you. Thank you for taking the time to engage on here.

Agree with you 100% there. It was definitely hard not having anyone to really talk to about my skin.
It felt embarrassing and I really felt doomed since the common idea is that the condition is for life.

When things got bad, the easiest thing to do was simply hide away and keep searching the internet.

The endless supply of poor and incomplete information on this subject was quite a hurdle to get through.
Hopefully others can benefit from all the information that accumulates here.

Thanks again and all the best.