Can I do anything except submit to my skin's yeast intolerance?
February 27, 2011 10:54 AM Subscribe
I am on a self imposed yeast free diet after I realised it really triggers the seborrheic dermatitis-like condition that I have on parts of my face. Am I going to have to eat like this forever?
When I don't eat breads and drink alcohol the redness and itchiness is really reduced. Not totally gone, but barely traces left. I have had the condition for about eight years now since I was 13, and this recent discovery is the best treatment I have found after too much time messing around with ineffectual steroid creams that just treat the redness and not the underlying cause, amongst other products.
Yesterday I ate one sesame seed bun and today it is back in all the usual places, looking red and being pretty itchy. Fine, I learnt my lesson and won't eat the bread again, but is this really how it has to be for the rest of my life? I love pizza, I love bread, I love beers and wines. I feel sad that these delicious lovely things are going to have to be severly restricted if I want to have a not even great skin condition rather than terrible. Is this it? Is there some thing I can do to build tolerance in my body to eat these foods and my skin not go crazy? Or am I going to be yeast intolerant forever?
When I don't eat breads and drink alcohol the redness and itchiness is really reduced. Not totally gone, but barely traces left. I have had the condition for about eight years now since I was 13, and this recent discovery is the best treatment I have found after too much time messing around with ineffectual steroid creams that just treat the redness and not the underlying cause, amongst other products.
Yesterday I ate one sesame seed bun and today it is back in all the usual places, looking red and being pretty itchy. Fine, I learnt my lesson and won't eat the bread again, but is this really how it has to be for the rest of my life? I love pizza, I love bread, I love beers and wines. I feel sad that these delicious lovely things are going to have to be severly restricted if I want to have a not even great skin condition rather than terrible. Is this it? Is there some thing I can do to build tolerance in my body to eat these foods and my skin not go crazy? Or am I going to be yeast intolerant forever?
GIS dermatitis herpetiformis. It's a symptom of celiac. If your rash looks similar, you can get an active lesion cultured by a dermatologist.
posted by sugarfish at 11:00 AM on February 27, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by sugarfish at 11:00 AM on February 27, 2011 [1 favorite]
What works for me really well is washing my face twice or thrice a week with Selsun shampoo. I tried this based on my dermatologist's advice. Since then, I rarely use steriod creams on my face. I never changed my diet.
posted by hariya at 11:01 AM on February 27, 2011
posted by hariya at 11:01 AM on February 27, 2011
Response by poster: -sugarfish
My rash doesn't look like that, and when I google image seborrheic dermatitis (which I don't recommend) it is nowhere near as severe as those examples. It is like an underlying mild redness and the actual skin doesn't change much except become a little harder. If it isn't seb dem, it is still definitely a reaction to yeasty type foods.
posted by tumples at 11:11 AM on February 27, 2011
My rash doesn't look like that, and when I google image seborrheic dermatitis (which I don't recommend) it is nowhere near as severe as those examples. It is like an underlying mild redness and the actual skin doesn't change much except become a little harder. If it isn't seb dem, it is still definitely a reaction to yeasty type foods.
posted by tumples at 11:11 AM on February 27, 2011
I've been on a low-starch diet for the past 5 years, because it's a trigger for my arthritis. It seemed impossible at first, but frankly, I was surprised at how quickly it became normal. This is straight-up classical conditioning: innocuous event (bread) plus negative event (pain) equals a strong association between the innocuous event and negative consequences.
In short: if you keep it up, your body will train you not to want bread and pizza. As for the beer and wine, this would be a great time to cultivate a taste for hard liquor... anything 80 proof or above should be yeast-free, even if it had yeast in it originally.
posted by vorfeed at 11:43 AM on February 27, 2011 [1 favorite]
In short: if you keep it up, your body will train you not to want bread and pizza. As for the beer and wine, this would be a great time to cultivate a taste for hard liquor... anything 80 proof or above should be yeast-free, even if it had yeast in it originally.
posted by vorfeed at 11:43 AM on February 27, 2011 [1 favorite]
Synalar is a steroid that works for me. But doctors look at me like I'm a reckless drug abuser when I tell them.
posted by Obscure Reference at 1:46 PM on February 27, 2011
posted by Obscure Reference at 1:46 PM on February 27, 2011
Well, wheat and yeast often go together, and skin conditions are a part of celiac.
Have you been to the dermatologist? If it is seborrheic dermatitis, you can get medication for it. I have a relative who does just that. He puts the medication on and after a few days it goes away. Then you'll be able to eat what you want.
posted by sugarfish at 3:20 PM on February 27, 2011
Have you been to the dermatologist? If it is seborrheic dermatitis, you can get medication for it. I have a relative who does just that. He puts the medication on and after a few days it goes away. Then you'll be able to eat what you want.
posted by sugarfish at 3:20 PM on February 27, 2011
I have Celiac Disease (man, do I start a lot of answers with that) and I also get skin like you describe, on my legs not on my face. When I get gluten though all my skin conditions worsen. All of them. My face breaks out like I was 16, I get these patches on my legs that are just like you describe, and I get Dermatitis Herpetiformis across my back and chest. Along with all the gastrointestinal complications and a whole host of other things. It's pretty awful.
I wouldn't rule out Celiac Disease if I were you. Get checked just in case.
posted by TooFewShoes at 4:31 PM on February 27, 2011 [1 favorite]
I wouldn't rule out Celiac Disease if I were you. Get checked just in case.
posted by TooFewShoes at 4:31 PM on February 27, 2011 [1 favorite]
I have SD on my face and I keep it almost completely under control by washing my face with Nutrogena T-gel shampoo and making sure I get enough sleep. T=gel is expensive stuff, but worth it to me -- life without pizza and beer isn't worth living.
This was also on the advice of my dermatologist.
posted by M.C. Lo-Carb! at 4:52 PM on February 27, 2011
This was also on the advice of my dermatologist.
posted by M.C. Lo-Carb! at 4:52 PM on February 27, 2011
You might try going gluten-free. Gluten can do some wacky things to people. Yeast sensitivity is much less common than gluten sensitivity; at least 30% are gluten sensitive.
posted by Earl the Polliwog at 8:25 PM on March 1, 2011
posted by Earl the Polliwog at 8:25 PM on March 1, 2011
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posted by tumples at 10:56 AM on February 27, 2011