Nystatin A Potential Seborrheic Dermatitis Treatment

Thanks for sharing.

I live in Manila and am wondering if i could get Nystatin here. Is that the brand name? The ones i seen online are for vaginal infections. May i ask which one you used?

Hi Anna,

Nystatin is the name of the actual anti-fungal agent. There are many brand names for it.
Wikipedia has some details on it.

I have also sent Joakim an email with your question.
Hopefully he can help clarify which specific one he’s using.

Hi Anna,
sorry about the mix-up! I guess that goes to show that it’s always a good idea to double-check the helpful advice you find online, or to talk about it with a professional.
Anyhow, the one I use is called Nystatin Lederle Creme and contains 25 g per tube. Actually, it doesn’t say anywhere on the packaging that it’s for SD, it just says it for fungal-infections so there might not be a distinction between creme from oral-, topical- or vaginal application. My guess is that any creme with nystatin as the active drug will do the trick, but I’m not a doctor, so you’d better consult one anyway
I found an image of the one I have at home: http://tinyurl.com/k8xg7q9. Maybe that will make it easier for you to compare. They might not have exactly the same one in the Philippines or even the US. It might be possible to buy it online from Germany since it’s an over-the-counter drug, but I haven’t looked into that yet. Let me know if you can’t find anything locally, then I will look into the possibility of buying it online and having it delivered. It doesn’t make any sense for me to spread the word about this if no one can get a hold of the drug unless they are in Denmark or Germany
I hope you can find a similar one, though! I really think it will do the trick.
Best of luck,
Joakim

Thanks Michael,

My SD is not that bad but it is all over the lower half of my face. It’s quite debilitating as my profession needs me to meet with many people.

I guess I might as well bring it up here just in case you have any leads… any clues about the best make-up for people with SD?

Thanks for forwarding my message to Joakim.

Thanks for your reply Joakim.

I’ll definitely call my dermatologist, who by the way keeps on insisting on a cotrisol cream. I’ve given up on that since it doesn’t really make it go away completely plus it a few days later it get really bad after using it.

Wanted to share with you as well that at the moment, what I’m doing is the salt water treatment that I’ve been reading about online. It’s my 2nd day and it seems that the flaring has improved. It’s still visible and still inflamed but I think there is some improvement.

Also, would you know anything about DermaZinc? BHA Exfoliants?

Will let you know if I’m able to find Nystatin here.

Grateful for your help,

Anna

I guess that goes to show that sometimes you have to start digging around the internet for solutions when your own dermatologist can’t do his job! I’ve read countless times that the prolonged application of hydrocortisone is a bad idea, so that doesn’t give me a whole lot of faith in your dermatologist, I’m afraid. Tell him that it doesn’t work and that you want an alternative.
I’m happy to hear that the sea water treatment is working out for you. It’s such a relief to make some progress. I also recommend going to Palawan to get the full-on sun & saltwater treatment! That cured me while I was there

I haven’t hear about DermaZinc but it sounds like something that might work. I guess it has zinc pyrithione like my shampoo and head&shoulders. Generally, I’ve heard good things about that, but for me it didn’t change my face, and my scalp wasn’t really cured until I started using nystatin on my face: Only then did I get rid of the whole thing - it’s sort of weird actually.
I never tried exfoliants, so I’m not sure about it, but I had bad experiences trying to cleanse my way out of the flare-ups. It might just give the Malassezia yeast more room or better conditions, I’m not sure - but it probably wont kill it like your aiming for. Unfortunately.

But if both things are over the counter you might as well try them out. I had to go through a lot of trial and error, but it seems that a lot of people find different solutions, so DermaZinc or BHA might be it for you. I just recommend nystatin, since that worked for me. Other anti-fungals might work to the same extent, so if you cant find nystatin specifically, it might be worth giving something like sertaconazole or miconazole a shot. But now we’re getting to that part again, where I’m passing medical advice like I’m a doctor - which I’m not. I haven’t had experience with sertaconazole or miconazole, but desperate times calls for desperate measures. At least they’re some alternatives that you can discuss with your dermatologist.

Fingers crossed!

Joakim

Hi Anna,
The DermaZinc is essentially the same as Head and Shoulders. Previously I have tried similar products from Noble Formula (tried the bar soap and the cream), it’s basically identical to the DermaZinc and sold on Amazon as well. My results were mixed. It worked really well at first. For 3-4 weeks my face was totally clear. Then it just seemed to stop doing it’s job. Also it made the skin quite a bit less healthy looking in general and quite sensitive to the sun. The reviews on Amazon for this stuff are fantastic though and based on those lot’s of people find success with it (there are also some who describe same experience as me).

As for make up I have no idea since I’m a male. What I remember reading though, was that some women had great results with make up that contained UV protection. It is common to use zinc oxide as a UV protecting agent in skincare products. And zinc seems to actually benefit in reducing the SD.

Good luck and hope your progress continues.

Thanks guys!

Just so you know. I’ve been religiously washing the affected areas (jaw area) with sea salt and have been applying KETOCONAZOLE which my doctor says is the generic name for NYSTATIN. I don’t know if this is true though.

So far, the salt wash has helped tremendously in reducing the swelling / flare up. I just started Ketaconozole yesterday so let’s see what happens.

Grateful for your time.

Hi Anna,

Glad to hear your seeing some improvements.
Hopefully the Ketoconozole will help as well.

Strange that the doc said that they are the same as they are actually different.
For example here is a study that compares the two: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3905986

They are both anti-fungals and serve a similar purpose. Ketoconozole is actually the active ingredient in Nizoral dandruff shampoo. Here in Canada it is sold over the counter without any prescription. The shampoo didn’t work out for me as it was really harsh on the skin. However, I’ve read some people have great success with it.

Would be interesting to hear about your experience with it.

Hi, Could you upload photo of your cream facts? In my country this is of course prescription drug but there are many nystatin creams with different bases. As you wrote in another post seb derm like oils so what should be the base of cream to do not feed seb derm?

Sometimes I read in Internet about cream with Sulfacetamide 10% and sulfur 5% whitch helps a lot in seb derm and rosacea, Did you heard about it?

Thanks a lot for help, and sorry for my english.

Regards

Hi Joakim.

Thanks for sharing your battle with SD. What symptoms did you have on your face? Was it red inflamed skin or more mild flaking only? What areas were affected?

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

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?

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
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?

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!

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.

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.

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!

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

Best of luck!

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 You give me a hope to cure for this terrible disease!

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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!
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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

Hi Vero,

For the apple cider vinegar on brows, is it 1:1 apple cider vinegar and tea tree oil?

Hi Kepi - and thanks, Michael for the Sudocream tip - will buy some today.
For the eyebrows, dunk a cotton ball in any apple cider vinegar and rub over eyebrows - and slightly over and under. From my experience, this lasts a bit. Sometimes, when the eyebrows seem to tingle, I do it again. No more than once every 10 days or so. But this is too harsh on the rest of the face for me.

I have discovered (subjectively, they seem to be good for my facial SD) 2 more products

• for the inflamed red parts: a very cheap drugstore (Boots in the UK) branded ‘Boots Magnesium Sulphate’ Paste. It is for skin boils and infections and you just dab a very tiny bit, the size of a pin head, on the effected area overnight - stops the irritation and the flaking.

Another hopeful discovery is plain Listerine mouthwash. I rubbed my face with it last night and it did not sting like apple cider vinegar or tea tree oil or salt solution. Then put a mild oil-free moisturizer on (still not happy on the moisturizer front - any suggestions?) and the effect was very very good. Listerine contains not just anti-bacterial properties but also anti-fungal ones - so works on the oiliness of the skin as well. Will wait for the Nystatin and report back.

Hi Vero,

The Sudocream was best of the corners of the mouth when I had issues there. For larger areas it was quite difficult to wipe/clean off.
It would typically leave white residue on my face. Unless I washed it off with soap, but this would then bring back the SD quicker.

Haven’t heard of the Magnesium Sulphate paste stuff before. Might be interesting though.
The anti-fungal aspect of that is likely why it works well for the seborrheic dermatitis.

In terms of the Listerine, I’ve actually come across that approach as well.
However, I never attempted using it though. It seems like it’s the anti-fungal aspect at work here as well.

Look forward to hearing your update with the Nystatin.
Thanks again for updating and best of luck.

Any updates with Nystatin users?

And JOAKIM, even though you show no signs of SD, do you still apply the Nystatin cream on a daily or semi-daily basis? Im just trying to understand if you applied it initially, healed your SD, and now your not applying it at all now?

Adam

Unfortuntenly it doesnt work on me but I have been using suplements for 1week (biotin 10mg/ MSM 8g / capryl acid 2tabs and probiotics (acidophilus)) and my seb derm slowly disappears. If i’ll have more time I’ll write more information about this (my english is poor so I need time to write sth:P).

Hi Adam,
yeah, I still apply it on a semi-daily basis. I don’t know that I’m cured, because I keep applying it. I will run out of my first tube soon, though, and I might just stay off and see what happens. If I relapse I guess I can always just go buy another tube and have it disappear again - unless the new, recurring SD would develop a resistance to nystatin!!! Hah, that’s my worst nightmare o.O
So basically, I don’t know - yet - what will happen if I stop using it. I think it would come back over time. Especially since I’m not doing anything else to keep it away anymore: No saltwater cures, no strict diet, no nothing. As far as I know, it’s an ubiquitous yeast that is the cause of SD, so I don’t think there is any getting around it. At some point or another I will have it back on my nose, and my immune system wont know what to do. That’s my guess at least.

Hey Maciej,
that’s concerning news, I think. I’m sad to hear it didn’t work for you. Did you end up buying it from Germany, or did you have your friend make it? I just want to make sure that we have been using the same thing

Hi Maciej,

Sorry to hear that it didn’t work out for you. However, glad to hear the biotin combo is working.
When I gave a similar combo a try (zinc-l-cornisone, l-glutamine, msm, biotin), I had some strange reaction to the biotin (rashes and itchy skin all over).

Not sure if you have read over my most complete post, here.
The methods that finally helped me (at the bottom) seem to have worked for a few others as well (check the comments).

Thanks for taking the time to write, I understand it takes you time due to language barriers.
Look forward to any updates and hope things work out.

Hey there. I just wanted to do a little update on the nystatin. Last week I had my first flare-up since December. I think it was sparked by stress and probably also my bad habit of forgetting my daily appliance of the drug. Now, a week later, after paying more attention and never skipping a daily appliance it’s completely gone again. For a moment I was worried that the effect was wearing off, like others have experienced with other products. But I am still convinced that nystatin is very worth a shot, if you a still looking for a cure.
I’m still looking forward to responses from those of you, who posted that you bought it. How are you doing? Are you seeing some results?
Anyway, I wish you all the best in the search for your solution

Hey Joakim,
Thanks for the update. Hopefully some of the others manage to get good results as well. That should help in finding out if its applicable to everyone.
All the best.

Hi Joakim
Re: feedback on Nystatin. Thanks, Joakim, for the tip and for the photo of the product: Nystatin Lederle. Having ordered it (see earlier posting) I tried it for a week on the SD spots - chin, jawline, etc twice a day, morning and evening, and liked it very much.
It did not irritate the skin and I could use other products (moisturizer, blemish treatment) over it. The SD went after about 2-3 days, I continued using the cream for a week. The last evening, I just put moisturizer on without Nystatin and the SD returned in the morning so then I went cold turkey and did not put anything on these SD spots, except for using a mild soap. No moisturizer, no blemish treatment, no Nystatin. After that the SD went away completely after 2 days so I am keeping the Nystatin in case it returns. It has been over a week now without SD so that is great.
It worked well for me and there is a certain amount of relief that I have it on hand in case of an outbreak.
But it was the non-irritating qualities that I liked. Anyway, that was my experience. I had ordered a 50mg tube - so that could last me even with some light re-use for over a year.
It was a great tip so thanks very much.

Hi Joakim,

Thanks for the detail. I used Ketaconozole for a while but I guess my skin got used to it becuase I had to use it daily.

Seems like the same thing happened with your Nystatin. I stopped using Ketaconozole because I didn’t want to use creams and wanted to use homeopathic / natural treatments like sea salt or apple cider vinegar that wouldn’t cause long term damage.

My question: is Nystatin bad to use long term like hydrocortisone or Ketaconozole? Will it thin out skin like these other products?

Read a lot here, nice to find you all. I think the answer is out there but the dermatologists won’t tell us. I bet we find it though. I tried the listerene protocol last year and killed my scalp sd for months…but fall came and so did sd…and I can’ t get a handle on it again. ( I put listerene on scalp, put shower cap on and left it several hours). As a female I have lots of hair these protocols screw up trying to get at my scalp. Do NOT trust presc. Strength Nizoral…it fried my hair texture (actual side effect). Any Nystatin for scalp treatment…oral?

Hi Vero,
sorry, I didn’t notice your reply until now! I am so happy to hear that it worked for you. It’s very nice to get some positive feedback, so we know it works for more people than me I’ve also been reaching out to people on Reddit, and just like you they have had positive results as well. So I’m more confident recommending it now!
I am happy to help. Hopefully you can keep it under control. My dermatologist said that I could use it indefinitely - unlike hydrocortisone, which you should only use for 2 weeks at a time - so if you do have outbreaks then I think it would be okay to apply it daily. That’s what I do at least. But I understand if you want to keep it at a minimum
All the best to you and your new, pretty face!

Hello Mr. President

I don’t think the effect wore off in my case. I guess it was simply because I became too confident, thinking that maybe I was cured and that the SD wouldn’t come back if i stopped using nystatin. It did though But, like I said, after a week of using it properly again the SD disappeared and I have had zero problems since then. So so far I’ve only experiences that one outbreak since December when I started using it.

I’m still using it almost daily, so I really, really hope that it doesn’t cause long-term damage! But my dermatologist told me that I could use it daily and that I basically couldn’t use ‘too much’, so I don’t believe that the continued use is an issue. It even says so on the box from the pharmacy: “Can be used for a prolonged period of time against chronic rash in face”. Roughly translated In the note that comes with the nystatin it says that you can apply it two to three times daily. It also says that the effect should be visible in 6 days, and that you should use it for 8-10 days afterwards to be sure to be rid of the infection. It doesn’t really say if there is a maximum of recommended use. Only that you should do, as your doctor has told you. And in my case he said ‘go ahead’.

So I think it’s fine. In any case it is nothing like hydrocortisone. And it doesn’t feel rough on the skin like my ketoconazole-shampoo did. Like Vero said in the post above it feels non-irritating. That and the fact that my doctor and pharmacy both know that they are treating a chronic disease makes me say that you can use it long term.

Do you know where to get it if you decide to try it?

Hi Valerie,

Thanks for checking in. Strange enough I’ve never actually tried the listerine myself. However, I have heard of others using it.
Definetly agree with you on the Nizoral. That stuff is intense. After just one single use I knew that it was overkill. It felt like I just nuked my skin and killed every single living organism on the surface. Hair felt like dry hay.

Is your seborrheic dermatitis strictly limited to the scalp?

Thanks again for checking in.

Hey Joakim,

Thanks for checking in and keeping up to date on the comments. Glad to hear the Nystatin got things back under control so quick.

Similar to you, I almost had a strange rebound a few weeks ago. The spots that had issues before became inflamed for a few days. Personally I got a little scared. For me, it seemed to be trigged just by being overwhelmed from school/work/life. Fortunately I was able to quickly bounce back and everything is back to normal now.

Still working on a more integrated discussion part to the site. Haven’t had time with work, but hopefully I can add it soon. Will let you know as soon as it’s up.

Also I’m slowly starting to write a post discussing the potential psychological part of seborrheic dermatitis. Do you think it’s possible that our strong belief in our current methods can play a role in how effective they are for us. Also on like how when things were bad, we were always second guessing ourselves, thus bringing stress and inflammation into our daily lives.

Or do you think it’s a just a simple bacterial infection that we have managed to control?

All the best and thanks again.

Hi Michael,

it’s an interesting discussion, and the easy answer is that there is probably not a simple explanation

I read a comment on one of the other discussion boards that basically said that all the stuff we try and apply to our faces doesn’t work, and that you should only worry about being happy and try new stuff. In that particular post watching good TV shows could make your seborrheic dermatitis go away. That’s not entirely untrue, but in my opinion there is so much more to it than just a state of mind.

It is true that it helps: I experienced it in the Philippines on vacation, but aside from my mental well-being I think it was the sun and saltwater that did the trick. And I’ve also often seen a correlation between stress and aggressive flare-ups. So, it does make a difference. I think I’ve also heard stories that cancer patients who believe they will win the fight have a better chance of actually surviving cancer, rather than just giving up and giving in. This is also the reason why I looked into meditation when I was still unable to treat the seborrheic dermatitis. So I definitely think that the body and mind are connected on a level we don’t fully understand, but to say that it is the only factor is also naïve in my opinion. Modern medicine may have it’s short-comings, but to completely deny everything they have shown is a ballsy move.

The body is a complex structure where many, many, many parts of the machine can malfunction and a lot of parts are connected in a chain, so that if one cog isn’t spinning like it’s supposed to, then it will impact something further down the line. I’m thinking genetic predisposition in one way or another to the yeast Malassezia, proper development and functioning of the immune system, healthy gut flora, proper hygiene of the skin, and probably also a calm, optimistic state of mind.

I was very skeptical when my dermatologist handed my this ‘miracle drug’ and told me the SD would be gone in one, maybe two weeks time. I had already tried this approach and it didn’t work. So at the time I was actually looking for a cure to the root of the problem, not just treat it when it appeared. My point is, it wasn’t my optimistic, strong believe that made nystatin work in the first place. I’m a strong believer now, and the knowledge that I now have a reliable tool to treat the SD probably gives me a more relaxed mindset that, at the end of the day, is a more healthy one that will contribute to keeping the SD down.

I’m not convinced that it’s only a matter of psychological well-being, but I guess it comes a long way. There is some microbiological stuff going on right under our noses, so to speak, and nystatin is known to bind ergosterol, which Malassezia apparently needs in its cell membrane. I believe in the scientific facts, but I am also very open-minded and fascinated by the alternative treatments, be it natural remedies or meditation and psychological well-being.

Fun story: When I was little I hypnotized or meditated a foot wart away. I have heard that they are usually really difficult to get rid of and the treatment is quite rough (it was back then anyway), so my doctor suggested that I try to meditate and focus my mind and imagine all sorts of unpleasantries on the wart. Every night I would sit for 10-15 minutes and wish it away. Within a couple of weeks it disappeared and I haven’t had any rebounds. So I do believe in the power of the mind, but in this case with the SD I tried just about anything and nothing worked except nystatin. (except lots and lots of sun and saltwater )

That’s my two-cents!
Thank you for running the site, Michael. It looks like a lot of people are finding helpful information here. It’s a good community.

Hi Valerie,

I’m not sure that the is a nystatin treatment specifically for the scalp. One guy on reddit, however, told me he had used the creme in his ears and on his scalp, where he could apply it. I think he had good results. So I guess you can just apply it where-ever is accessible.

I don’t know about the oral treatment. I think it is different at least. I wouldn’t be allowed to donate blood if I used the oral treatment at least. But it’s outside my knowledge, so I can only guess. I recommend talking to a professional

For me, I never had to use it on my scalp. I applied it to my face, and somehow that made the stuff on my scalp and on my chest disappear as well. I only use a shampoo containing zinc pyrithione and climbazole and a conditioner also for sensitive hair and scalp.

All the best.