Beauty Tips For Body Care
I wanted to share my story about what I tried, what worked and what didn’t in my two-year long battle against tinea versicolor in hopes that it will help someone else struggling with this. This is a heck of a beast to destroy, but not impossible.The winter of 2014/15 was a bad one for me – I was on two different antibiotics (Cephalexin & Amoxicillin) 4 months apart for strep throat and then a sinus/ear infection. When I picked up the antibiotics - the pharmacist warned me: “This will clean you out completely. You will have to rebuild your gut flora after this.” I thought, no problem – I eat a good amount of yogurt and fermented foods, and I can supplement with probiotic pills. I really had no idea the effects these antibiotics would have on my system.The following summer, in around June of 2015, I spent a few days outside in the really hot sun, and noticed an itchy red rash forming in one of my armpits. After googling “armpit yeast infection”, I diagnosed myself and quickly cleared it up with a tube of Canesten cream. At that point, I started to notice reddish-brown spots, between pea-sized and dime-sized forming on my back. I assumed this was also a yeast infection, and started putting the Canesten on my back & went through two more tubes before I realized it wasn’t going away. I went to my doctor, who (mis)diagnosed me as having Pityriasis. She said it’s benign, there’s nothing you can do about it, and it will go away on its own in 4-6 months. She gave me a prescription for Lamisil (Terbafine), which is an antifungal, and Betamethasone cream (a cortosteroid), which she told me to mix together and apply to my back to help with the itchiness. The rash went away for as long as I was using the mixture, but the second I stopped – it came right back.I tried a myriad of topical home remedies – apple cider vinegar, coconut oil, oil of oregano, Thieves oil – you name it, with no success. All seemed to fade it somewhat but it came back in full force. After 2 years I was fed up and decided to pay to see a naturopath (by then it was April 2017). She didn’t think it was Pityriasis, but rather Tinea Versicolor, and prescribed me Prime Chlorella (cracked cell) – which I had to take 15 of every day just before lunch (each tablet was 200 mg). She explained that sometimes the body has trouble getting rid of toxins and other junk, and it pushes it as far as the skin and it sort of stays there where fungus feeds off of it. She said the chlorella binds to the toxins and allows you to eliminate it, killing the fungus. I was pretty stoked to imagine being finally free of this unbelievably annoying rash – which at this point went from my belt-line up to my shoulders, and was starting to creep around the tops of my shoulders and onto the sides of my neck. It really seemed to work, and when I reached the end of the package of Chlorella (about 1 month later), it was faded somewhat, but still there. I went back to my naturopath, who then gave me Actifungi – a copper- based antifungal cream that she said will clear up the rest of it. It smelled bad, and although helped with the itchiness, it didn’t work. My rash was still there. Bugger.So now I’m feeling hopeless, because my amazing naturopath – who seriously knows everything and has helped me with many a mystery illness – was stumped. Some people online were saying they had TV for over TWENTY YEARS, with no success in eliminating it. I read that and freaked out a little. I started doing hours of research online every day, taking notes about what could be at the root of this. Was the problem in my gut flora? My eccrine sweat glands? My PH levels? Then an idea occurred to me. A friend of ours does Bowen Therapy and my hubby and I have both gone to her for treatments in the past. After our treatments, she always gives us an 8oz canning jar filled with powdered PH+ which she learned in school helps pull lactic acid from your muscles when poured into a bath (don’t wash your face or hair in it – just soak). Once, my husband soaked in this mixture and forgot about a Band-Aid he had used to cover a gigantic wart on his elbow. The next day – he remembered it and peeled it off and the wart had TURNED TO MUSH. It was the most disgusting/interesting thing I’ve ever seen. This made me wonder if using PH Reducer would help my rash. I bought a tub ($10) and started soaking in it for about 20 minutes every other day. Again – it seemed to help fade the rash, but not eliminate it completely.Around the same time I called a compounding pharmacy and chatted with the pharmacist to see if she had any ideas. She said she would do a bit of research and would call me back. About 5 days later, she called me and said she had talked to an MD in Texas who sees TV all the time (very hot and damp in TX) and has had great success with a solution of 2% Clotrimazole and 2% Ibuprofen. He didn’t know why those two components worked well together, but said it got rid of TV once and for all in 95% of the cases. All I needed was to go back to my MD and get her to give me a prescription for it. Easy, peasy – right? I wrote it down, made the appointment and pleaded my case. She decided that was a ridiculous prescription and gave me the Lamisil and Betazone AGAIN. I kept asking her over and over if she would just let me try it –what’s the harm? She said Lamisil and Clotrimazole were the same (they’re different) and there’s no need for the Ibuprofen because I don’t have pain with the rash. I decided I was going to fill the prescription, use it and prove her wrong. And… it worked. I mixed the two creams together and applied twice a day for 10 days, then continued with the Lamisil alone for another month. My rash is totally gone, and even after many hot days in the sun this summer – it never came back. I still look over my shoulder every time I come out of the shower, and I do expect it to come back one day, but for now – it’s completely gone.Ultimately, it was the Lamisil + Betazone mixture that got rid of my Tinea Versicolor, but I can’t help but believe that it was all the therapies I tried combined that ultimately kicked this persistent SOB in the ass.Obligatory disclaimer: I know some people may have issues with some of the claims made in this account – so please check with your doctor when trying different treatments for tinea versicolor.
Girls Blog 2015
Submitted by Not_Ursula
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