As you may have read in my previous posts, I used Quellada Lotion and Lyclear Cream but these are just two of the many Permethrin 5% preparations you can purchase over the counter and use off-label in your quest to eliminate the demodex mite.  

Because these two products aren't available worldwide, I thought I'd dedicate this post to brands available outside of Australia.

Manufacturer                       Brand

GlaxoSmithKline                    Kwellada-P
Actavis                                  Permethrin Cream
Perrigo                                  Permethrin Cream
Galderma                              Permite
Sandoz                                  Permethrin
Galenium                               Scabimite
Neoderm                               Lindell Lotion
Steifel                                   Nedax-5
SkinVenture                           Casthrin Lotion
Prestium Pharma                    Elimite Cream
Renaissance Pharma               Permethrin Cream
GlaxoWellcome                      Nix Dermal Cream
Amideep Pharmaceuticals       Permarin
Tomar Medicines                    Skabi-Rid
Glenmark                              Glenper Cream
PSM                                      Lyderm Cream        
             ...and many more.  

If none of the above are available in your particular country, internet search "permethrin 5% scabies" and your search engine will bring up a brand available to you locally.

Read the ingredients on the box or bottle to confirm that it contains 5% Permethrin.  The other ingredients will consist of the carrier and preservative.

Best wishes
Kate

Itchy but not bumpy!

So itchy!  Aaaagh!

I'm feeling like I'm being eaten alive.  Mostly it's my body and scalp - in small patches on my face or throat.  I wonder if the TTO routine and pryrethrin is doing little more than just annoy the mites.  I'll take an anti-histermine and consider another course of action.

Regardless of the lack of calmness in my complexion today, my face hasn't developed any new bumps or pimples so I am going to view this as another positive advancement.  ...You can cover up redness with makeup but you can't disguise lumpy skin.

I was reading today about Ivermecton and also found some information regarding sulphur cream.  It might be time to have a chat with my GP to see if she has any thought regarding mite eradication.  Failing that, I'll go and see a vet!  

Another route I have considered as a "value add" is traditional Chinese medicine.  If the imbalances I am having are due to a lowered immune system, and my current diet (which isn't all that bad) can't rectify the situation, then perhaps some acupuncture can assist. 

Progress and some new ideas.

My skin was not as calm this morning.  I woke with a mild headache and delayed my routine for an hour or so.  I decided to take a steamy shower in the hope it would help with my headache.  Since the bottle of Pyrenel Foam was still where I had left it, I added it to a washer and lathered my entire body for a few minutes but used only the TTO Foaming Cleanser on my face.    

The itching sensation died off again.  If my rosacea is related to demodex mites, then it seems that they are not easily eradicated.  A regular application and perhaps some different insecticides will be required.

I searched for insecticides which use different active ingredients other than pyrethrin and came across scabies and body lice medications:

• lindane
• crotamine
• benzyl benzoate
• clotrimazole
• permithrin

Another visit to Chemist Warehouse!  I found a plain brown bottle on the bottom shelf labelled Benzemul Application (contains benzyl benzoate 250mg/ml).  I'll try this in a a few days time.

Another plain brown bottle I found was Hydrogen Peroxide 3%.  Mum (a nurse) always had a bottle of this at home when I was growing up.  As soon as it hits pus it fizzes and as a kid I always found it a little bit exciting to get the fizz on a skinned knee or sore.

And, I noticed in my photographs that I had some black pores at the sides of my nose and remembered a product I used to use called Biore Pore Pack.  Yes!  They still make them and I noted that they have extended their range into acne treatments as well.  

It wasn't a cheap shopping expedition.  I needed shampoo as well and I don't usually purchase it from a chemist but Thursday Plantation has a TTO shampoo and conditioner so I added that to my pile of experimental goodies.

When I got home, I rinsed my face and applied the pore packs to my nose, cheeks, chin and forehead.  After around 15 minutes when they had dried to a crisp, I gently peeled them off.  Mostly the papers were clean but the nose paper was pretty gross.  I took a photograph but really can't bring myself to share it.  I did a second application for the nose and again, more grossness but that's all my nose can handle for one day.  

A google search regarding the use of hydrogen peroxide with rosacea brought me to a page where a mixture of the liquid with Baking Soda into a paste and applied to the face was getting results.  

...I know, I'm jumping all over the place with trying too many ideas at once but I'm eager to be rid of this redness.  You can tell I'm not a scientist!

Anyway, I mixed a toothpaste like concoction and caked it onto my nose, cheeks and chin.  It was a tingly, burning sensation but not unbearable.  The mixture was puffing slightly.  To keep it from falling off, I used the spoon to move it around.  Next time I'll add it and then lie down on the floor so it doesn't fall off.

I was feeling nervous about how my face would react to having the hydrogen peroxide on it.  I rinsed under running lukewarm water and my skin instantly felt very soft.  It was a little reddened but not uncomfortable.  A couple of spots had appeared overnight an I used a cotton tip to dab some undiluted hydrogen peroxide directly onto them.  They fizzed!  

I applied TTO antibacterial ointment and didn't get a chance to look in the mirror again for an hour or so but when I did, I was happy to see even calmer skin than I have for a long while.

Let's exterminate!

December 2, 2014

The itching sensation woke me up around 1am and I was so distracted by it I decided to do some more research regarding demodex mites.  In particular, their lifespan and how to eradicate them.  

The word pyrethrin stood out to me and I remembered seeing something like this in our medicine cupboard.  It was a bottle of head lice shampoo called Pyrenel Foam contained Pyrethrin and Piperonyl Butoxide.

At 7.30am, I was in the shower and used the Pryenel Foam as an insecticide.  It foamed beautifully in my hair and I used the lather to coat my entire body in foam.  I was careful to avoid my eyes but I applied it to the lower half of my face.  I stood in the shower (with the water turned off) and waited for 10 minutes before rinsing it off.

Perhaps it was overkill, but I then followed my morning routine of washing, blotting with paper towel, applying ointment and dabbing the pure TTO as needed.

Over the course of the day, I could feel a couple of new bumps forming low down on my right jawline and dotted the pure TTO during the course of the day.

For several hours I didn't experience any itching on my scalp or body but as the night fell, I started to feel like things were moving on my skin.  I will do the full body and hair treatment again in a few days time.

I readily researched rosacea.

November 29, 2014

I have 8 weeks until my next appointment and I am on a mission to present myself to her with a fresh face.

Thanks to Google, these are things which I have found particularly interesting:

• Demodex mites are in proportionately greater numbers on rosacea affected skin.
• Tea Tree Oil is a highly respected antiseptic.  Demodex mites don't really like tea tree oil.
• You can ingest diluted borax which changes the preferred habitat for the demodex mite.
• Human insecticides can assist in temporary eradication.  
• Deplorable witch doctors are taking advantage of  rosacea sufferers who are at their wits end.  Human nature, I suppose.

The easiest way to start was to take a look at Tea Tree Oil (TTO).  Tea tree oil has been claimed to be useful for treating a wide variety of medical conditions...(source Wikipedia, Tea Tree Oil). It kind of sounds a bit witch doctor-ish but I've done a lot of reading and confident that what I've read so far about TTO in correlation with demodex mites and rosacea at least needs to be considered.

Chemist Warehouse has a range called Thursday Plantation and I purchased three products:

• Tea Tree Facewash for Acne 150ml
• Tea Tree Antiseptic Ointment 30g
• Tea Tree Oil Antiseptic (100% pure)

Facewash first.  I wet my face over the basin and then spread two pumps worth over my face and into my brows (avoiding the eyes) and it felt so cool I decided to leave it there for a minute before rinsing it off.  

After rinsing, I blotted my face with two sheets of paper towel.  My face felt fresh.

Next, I generously applied the Antiseptic Ointment to my face.  The coating left me glistening and felt nice.

Finally, I dotted some of my pimply bumps with the pure TTO.  Since it was on top of the ointment, the fact that it was undiluted didn't concern me.  

And I took a photograph of each cheek.