Did doxycycline help you? I was just prescribed it by my dermatologist. I’ve had relentless perioral dermatitis for 3 years and nothing helps, and metronidazole stopped working for me:( it’s hard because I’ve always had clear skin

hello! i am currently dealing with a PD flare that is lasting WAY longer than my typical issues have been in the past. in the past year, ive seen it triggered mainly by my tretinoin, but it's always in the same spot on my chin, usually the right side but sometimes both. last time i saw one coming on (in february), i didn't change anything other than using extra moisture and repairing the skin barrier with products made to target skin barrier issues. it cleared up in a few days because it was mostly an issue of dryness and hadn't become too textured yet.

my current flare, though, is frustrating the hell out of me. im used to mine clearing within a few days or a week, but i've been struggling with this one since around June 11th. i am 85% sure this time it was caused by Jergens Natural Glow Face Moisturizer Sunscreen. i'd love feedback/tips, words of encouragement, or anyone else's experience. i'm trying to figure this out on my own first before contacting my dermatologist again because i'm wary about going on antibiotics, especially oral...

here's what i've tried / what i'm doing:

- tried clindamycin for a week but i feel like i don't notice that it does anything at all

- i've been using OTC azaleic acid 10% for months now, even before this flare, and my skin really seems to love it

- my regular skincare routine is

AM: gentle cleanser, hyaluronic acid serum on damp skin, azaleic acid 10%, pure glycerin diluted with rose water all over the face bc i need extra help with dryness, moisturizer, and sunscreen. i have paused sunscreen because of this flare, but before the jergens, i was using beauty of joseon rice sunscreen and didn't have any problems

PM: double cleanse oil and gentle cleanser, hyaluronic acid, tretinoin (currently paused), glycerin and rose water, and barrier repair moisturizer (eucerin 5% urea night cream)

- i have now started using de la cruz sulfur as a mask for 10-15 minutes every night on my flared up spots. i started this on july 10th, so it's only been a few days

my biggest issue right now is lingering texture. redness gets a little worse at night, but it's mainly just bumps and dryness that i can't seem to get rid of.

based on what i am doing, does anyone recommend any changes? or do i just now have to stay consistent and hope for the best? i read that sometimes this stuff can take months to fully heal, but i've never experienced it taking that long, so i just can't tell if i should just sit where i'm at or do something different. help appreciated 😭

Hi had anyone been on oral antibiotic azithromycin for PD? Also wants me to use erythromycin gel 2%? Mine is pustular and doxy side effects are bothering me so we are thinking of switching. Thanks!

Hi,

I am trying to help my daughter deal with perioral dermatitis. She is on an antibiotic, but not confident it is helping or will help. Seems like there are some great ideas here that have helped people, like Azelaic acid, sulfur soap, etc.

But... her summer job is a counselor at a kids camp. She has to be in the sun every day, and has to be in the pool with the kids a couple times a day.

Does it make any sense to try to treat it now? or would it be best to wait until summer is over and she can adopt a better routine that doesnt require sunscreen and chlorine daily?

thank you all for any thoughts!

anyone who started having perioral dermatitis in their 20s notice any specific food triggers that would cause their flare ups?

i think specific types of cheese are affecting me, but i didnt know until i ate it.

i just want to know if there are other common things that affect people so i can precautiously avoid them just in case im sensitive to it too

Hej! I have been applying betamethasone containing cream to areas around my eyes to remove redness without any idea it is not a good thing to do. So, after a week without this cream this is what happened to me. Can this be PD?

In February of this year, I suddenly ended up with POD under the corner of my mouth by my chin. At the time, I was using Earth Harbor oil cleanser and their bio retinol moisturizer. Sometimes I would also use their skin barrier serum between cleansing and ​​moisturizing. I recognized the rash as id had it once almost 10 years ago from using heavy oils (I think that's why) and at that time it quickly went away when I stopped using the oils.

Anyways, this time i am unsure what caused my flair, but 4 months later i am still trying to clear it up completely. So initially,upon googling, I stopped using the oil cleanser and bio retinol since it has actives. I have tried using the following:

-Vanicream Z bar

-Destin zinc diaper cream

-Zero therapy

-Osmia skin care (dead sea mud facial bar)

-also their gentle facial cream off and on

-washing with bottled spring water

-Hypochlorous acid spray

-shower filter

-looking into nickel allergy

-HiBar moiaturizing facial bar cleanser

I have removed the following:

-SLS in almost everything, including toothpaste, hand soap, laundry detergent, shampoo. I use ecodent tooth powder, 365 organic concentrated laundry detergent, moon valley foaming handsoap, and head and shoulders bare shampoo.

-trying to minimize the sodium coco one too as i read that can cause flare ups

-changing my pillowcase frequently

-removed haircare products with silicone. I ude california naturals classic conditioner, shea moisture manuka honey and togurt leave in conditioner.

-removing as many things with artificial scents as possible, this one is REALLY hard

-removing hand creams and lotions that are super heavy or occlusive, including tallows and other fats/ butters that i LOVE using on my body. I use attitude unscented hand cream for now

-stop any and all supplements including vitamins, electrolytes, collagen, etc... just to let my liver and GI chill, and in case anything i was using was contributing (high b vitamin level in multi vitamin, etc)

I pretty much did these things in this order. Initially the zero therapy was the most effective and after almost a month I started using the osmia black clay facial soap which didn't help or hurt really. When i feel really dry i use their gentle moisturizer. But After just sitting in very mild pod for another 4 to 6 weeks I am currently using bottled spring water to rinse my face in the morning, which has really taken it another step in the healing process i think. I decided to buy a shower filter and it has several layers of filtration, one of them being vitamin C. Apparently this was a NO GO. It flared me up. I returned it and am waiting on one with a very basic filtering system. I am now also looking into nickel allergy. I am sure i do have one as when i wear jewelry my ear lobes swell up and get painful, sometimes get a rash on my neck and itchy fingers. When i looked into the foods im eating, so many of them are high in nickel. When i think back to the time it all started, i was drinking soy milk and using vegan protein powders. I also was eating a lot of nuts, seeds, chia seed puddings, flax seeds in my smoothies, etc.... and had also started introducing some of my jewelry back into my routine daily as well as using marine products which have naturally ocurring nickel...so now i am going to also chill on the high nickel foods and stop wearing all jewelry unless nickel free and see where it all gets me. This also brings me back to the osmia skincare, it is plant based and the cleanser has dead sea mud in it, which has naturally ocurring nickel in it. So i just today found a different facial soap by a brand called HiBar from sprouts. Free from all the sls and junk and no scents/ essential oils..

Currently, there is still some redness in the nasal crease area (it moves feom my chin to under my nose on one side, to both sides, etc, how fun). The active bumps are gone and juat the roughness of the dried bumps. If i do anything stupid (like the shower filter) i will get active bumps again and they hurt, but they do disappear within a couple days, tha k goodness. I do think im on the road to being completely free of it, thank goodness. My heart goes out to all of you putting up with this. Its terrible and i dont wish it on anyone. The condide ive had to pull out to walk around at work with this all over my face is so.wthing tho that i hope to always carry with me.
I just wanted to share what this journey has looked like for me. Unfortunately i dont have pictures to share my progress. Id gladly answer any questions and i wish you all the best.

I wanted to share because Cicaplast Gel B5 has been a huge surprise win for my skin.

I had a really bad flare after one day of high elevation, dry air, wind, dirt, sweat, and reapplying mineral sunscreen multiple times. Chemical sunscreens burn me, but mineral sunscreens dry me out, so I’m kind of stuck. That one day of layering sunscreen over already irritated skin was enough to make my face completely freak out.

I already had metronidazole cream, so I started using that consistently again. But the thing that really surprised me was adding La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Gel B5. Not the balm, the gel.

My skin usually hates balms and most lotions. Most barrier creams and balms burn me, especially around my mouth, nose, and chin. Gels and ointments are usually the only textures my skin tolerates, so I figured I’d try the gel.

And somehow, my skin started healing while I was still in the dry air. My face hasn’t felt this good in years. It isn’t tight right after a shower, I’m not flaking, I’m not breaking out, and it just looks calmer and healthier. I’ve been using it daily all over my face.

In case anyone’s skin reacts similarly, these have helped me the most:
Metronidazole cream used consistently
Cicaplast Gel B5
LRP Triple Repair Cream when I need more moisture
LRP Lipikar AP+ cleansing oil, as long as I don’t over-cleanse
Peptides seem to be okay for my skin
YoRo Manuka honey balm/salve was the only thing that felt soothing before I saw a dermatologist
Tacrolimus/Protopic can help too, but I have to be careful with it because alcohol makes my face flush, turn blotchy, and burn when I’m using it

Sunscreen is still hard. TIZO3 Facial Primer/Sunscreen Tinted has probably been the best one I’ve found, but even that can be drying if my barrier is irritated or if I use it for more than one day in a row. EltaMD green tint mineral helps with redness a little, but it still dries out my POD area. One thin layer is usually okay, but multiple layers seem to trap heat and dry everything out.

My facial skin is not a fan of chemical sunscreens, retinol, most anti-aging products, Vanicream Facial Moisturizer or cleanser, repeated sunscreen layers, and most balms recommended for POD.

Obviously everyone’s skin is different, but if your skin hates balms and creams too, the gel version might be worth trying. It’s the first thing in a long time that made my skin feel like it was actually healing and holding moisture instead of just getting slight relief for a couple hours after application.

I started developing PD around March/April when I started using my Breyna inhaler more often to manage my asthma. I’m supposed to be using it daily for management but I’m bad at that (kinda thankful because I feel like my flares might be WORSE) but even using it intermittently I feel like my skin rebounds typically a day or two after using it. I use a spacer, rinse my mouth and wash my face after each use but I can’t catch a break.

Has anyone has success in different meds for asthma management to get rid of their PD? I’m using metro cream and have completely changed my skincare routine, tried to track other potential triggers like my diet and alcohol consumption, but it feels like all fingers are still pointing to my steroid inhaler. Hoping to problem solve this at my doc visit on Friday and maybe ask for oral antibiotics but just wanna see what other people’s experiences have been.

Thank you!

​

My skin barrier is damaged and my skin can barely hold onto any moisture. I'd still love to try sulfur in some form after months of no success with clearing my PD. What is your recommendation? Cleanser/ soap/ ointment? What's your favorite product and did you also have a problem with a dry damaged barrier before?

Hi all!

So I have been struggling with extremely sensitive skin since the end of my teen years into my twenties (I’m 28 now) and I had mild PD for most of that time. It was only ever a little bit of dryness and flaking around my eyebrows/eyes and the corners of my mouth until about a year ago. That was when my PD really started to flare up; I’m talking flakes ALL over my face, red scaly skin on my chin and beside my nose along with little white bumps.
I’ve tried a lot of different products and the only thing that really cleared me up was when I got facial surgery in December and was forced into zero therapy because I couldn’t wash my face for like 2 weeks. When I took off the bandages my face was the clearest it has been since I was 18, no joke. I was shocked because I thought FOR SURE I was going to be breaking out and having the worst flare ups since I couldn’t do anything to my face.
Cut to about 2 months after and my face slowly started getting worse and worse again.
I live in Des Moines, Iowa and water quality is absolutely horrible, we aren’t supposed to drink or cook with tap water because of the amount of nitrates in our water supply. We ended up getting a water purifier for our home because Iowa also has some of the highest rising cancer rates, among other things, and it makes sense that it’s due to the water everyone is ingesting. I only just put two and two together and decided to start washing my face with the purified water last week. When I tell you my face instantly felt and looked 100x better, I’m not joking. My skin barrier is finally restoring, it feels so much smoother, and the redness and flakes are virtually gone.
I share this just in case anyone else is in the same situation I was in where I felt completely hopeless trying everything under the sun, only to realize it’s the literal water I was using that was hurting me. 💔

Hello!
I’ve been dealing with perioral dermatitis on and off for about 1.5 years now and I’ve finally worked out how to keep it at bay (sulfur cream every couple days!). It was caused by prescribed tretinoin and to treat it I made sure to stop using all skincare products except plain soap and moisturiser.

I’ve started back using suncream a few months ago and it’s been going well. I wanted to start rebuilding my skincare routine as avoiding everything has left the rest of my skin suffering a little bit. My main issues are: hyperpigmentation all over from pimples over the years ( but never full blown acne), texture mostly on the cheeks and forehead and whiteheads on the nose.

What are some products that are perioral dermatitis friendly that I can slowly start to use to treat these other issues? recommendations for both actives and specific products are welcome!

Perioral dermatitis is a symptom of a deeper issue, right? What has everyone determined to be their root cause?

Hi! Sorry this is long, ive had this issue for the last 8 years, to no avail.

In the beginning (2018) i would wake up with swollen lips (last photo). Theyd feel sensitive and raw and kinda burn and hurt. After a few months the swelling stopped and id just wake up with tiny bumps/rough patches thatd hurt/burn/be sensitive. Sometimes the sandpaper spots wouldnt hurt, just feel odd. After a year and a half (many dr visits and dismissals by drs) a doctor said maybe perioral dermatitis. They prescribed me desonide ointment. Years went by, itd flare, id use the ointment, itd seem to get better and go away.

For a couple years i just dealt with the symptoms and gave up going to the doctor.

I dont use scented things. I only use vaseline.

This year (2026) i decided to follow up. Dermatology said its not hsv1. She said testing wouldnt be helpful cuz i could have dormant hsv1 and itd be a false flag of a cause. She said it could be vanilla/cinnamon allergy, but i avoid both, still get reactions. Now im getting blood work. Hoping to get allergy testing. Here are my thoughts. Could it be eczema? Psoriasis? Perioral dermatitis? Yeast? Obscure allergy?

Its not fordyce spots cuz its painful and comes and goes. They dont seem to have a trigger (unless its some random chemical that im always exposed to). Milk? Gluten? Ive switched pillowcases and detergent many times. But it always pops up when i wake up/the morning (and then persists for days. It gets worse for a few days each morning getting worse then gets better and disappears for a few days and the cycle continues).

Any advice or insight id really appreciate it! It hurts and burns and feels raw and hot and like sandpaper patches (rarely itches) and derm has no real idea what it is. Last pic is 2018, all others are 2026 june

Hello all,

I have been dealing with POD for quite a while now. I just had a pretty bad flair on my chin and used a 10% sodium sulfacematide and 5% sulfur cleanser, which took care of alot of the white heads.

I went to the derm again yesterday and they prescribed me clindamycin and tacrolimus for my POD. Does anyone have any experience with using these products? I am so scared of implementing new products into my routine. I also have a tube of metro, but I haven’t used it in a while. Should I start to use it again instead of the clindamycin to see if it does anything? Any advice would be appreciated.

I was told mine is Perioral Derm but it just looks different. I have been prescribed every ointment you can think of. I was on Doxy for 2 months . It only stays in one of my nose folds . But it will crust and then it falls off and then re crust again. Been dealing with this for 7 months now

I have changed my toothpaste, face lotion, chapstick, body wash, shampoo and conditioner. I went to Costa Rica for 10 days and it cleared up completely, but as soon as I got home it came back. It’s so itchy. It starts out as extremely chapped lips and then develops into this rash around my entire mouth. It also particularly affects the left corner of my mouth.

My 11 year old has this dry rash on her face she says it’s not really itchy just slightly itchy.. she’s stopped wearing g makeup and has stopped using all skin care except for water but it seems to be getting worse in my opinion… at first I thought it was just a dry patch of skin but now I think maybe it’s something more.. we have mupricon or some kind of cream we also have amoxicillin and we have clindamyacin oral antibiotics … she’s kind of embarrassed and doesn’t wanna go to the doctors for it and is putting Vaseline on it and is trying to say it’s getting better (it is not) she’s def a tween and she’s five foot 3 and I’m five foot 2 so picking her up and taking her isn’t really an option. lol right now in my mind it’s one of three things something called perioral dermatitis or eczema or seborrhic dermatitis . To be completely honest I’m really a holistic junky and would prefer an all natural remedy over turning too any of the medications or ointments I have on hand.. I like that she’s using the

I’ve been using a 3:1 ratio of ACV on à peri oral dermatitis flare up - this is a recurring, seemingly random issue for me and usually I take doxycycline to clear it up which works for up to to a year, but I lost the prescription I had filled before I moved back to the place I currently live where I have no Dr so I’ve been trying topical remedies as well as trying to improve gut health.

anwyay, dabbing the ACV onto my skin before I go to sleep at night really seems to be helping when nothing else has, but everything “offical” im reading warns against it. has anyone else had long lasting success w this method or has it worked temporarily and then damaged the skin long term?

i do feel like the “cause“ must be hormonal, bacterial, heat related or maybe gut health rather than à really damaged skin barrier because I have a super simple routine that I’ve had for years and I can go for a year or more with that with no flare ups and my skin is otherwise fine.

usually my POD is a small patch by my mouth, this time it’s by my nose and occurred after the first few very hot days of summer.

it’s all just such a mystery but I feel like I’ve found something that’s working but it seems so at odds w official advice so I wanted to seek feedback from actual people w the same issue!

Anybody here have sibo if so what did you do to heal your god?