Notice
The below is a forum entry made by one of our community members. If you want to know more about your condition, we suggest you read the following article written by a mental health professional on
Picking Scabs
White Stretchy Plugs
I've always squeezed bumps and blemishes on my skin, but recently I've gone through a period of work-related stress. I was off work for 2 months, during which time my picking and squeezing got worse. I had lots of blemishes on my chest which I squeezed and picked until I had a few nasty little wounds. One of them became quite deep, and I discovered that when I picked the scab off there were a few little white pinhead shapes under it, in the wound. They were screaming out to me to be picked out, but I couldn't do it by hand - I had to use tweezers. Sometimes I found I would need a wool needle to ease the white thing out a bit before the tweezers could get hold of them. When I pulled, a white elasticy thing would stretch and then come out. It was about 2mm long. It was VERY satisfying to pull it out, so I looked for some more in my skin. This made my picking worse, and I now find I am thinking of it quite a lot of the day. I am longing to pull more stretchy white things out of my skin. I put up with quite a bit of discomfort and pain just to get the satisfaction of pulling out these stretchy white plugs. To heal my wounds I use Savlon antiseptic liquid, and they begin to dry up quite quickly. But this is the most tempting time to pick - the scab becomes very crusty and itchy, and I see little white bumps underneath which could be those white plugs I long to pull out. They are itchy and I am dying to pull them out!
Oh! I have strangely become addicted to Manuka oil! Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha
I had this issue for over a year that I believe could be caused by a number of things.. yeast infection.. infection from a stray dog I got at the time it started, staph infection irritating my keratin production and pores, easily clogged hair follicles from sweat ect
.. either way the only way I got rid of mine after trying just about everything I read on here was having my baby at the hospital back in December
I had to be induced early due to high blood pressure. Here was what I think solved whatever issue it was.
They put me on an IV of magnesium , and I'm sure antibiotics to prevent any infection.
After a few days of that I never have had another issue at all. It cleared everything up completely. Including the bouts of bad body breakouts I would get.
So I have no idea if the magnesium killed off WHATEVER it was or the antibiotics. But I would say the magnesium body scrub I had beforehand used to help any sore or blemish I had heal faster and not get infected.
Idk if there's anything to that but I found it interesting.
It’s an internal cause. I was on probably ~20 rounds of antibiotics over 3 years due to MRSA. This started shortly after. It’s fungal overgrowth. It needs to be closely managed. As soon as I started the fluconazole I knew it was working. But the first week the sores seem to get worse (but trust me, they’re getting better!). Then it’s smooth sailing. They dry up and flake off like normal scabs. I thought I had healed, but the fluconazole seemed to bring to the surface the absolute worst of the nastiness as it was pushed out. If you’re having this issue, take a deep breath. First try to find a doctor who is understanding and willing to listen to you. Infectious disease specialists are better than derms for this. Then make sure whatever you’re putting on your face is 100% fungal-acne safe. Even if it’s an OTC antifungal. These topical products CANNOT penetrate the follicle (where the infection is rooted), so by slathering them on, you’re essentially just providing food for the fungus as almost every OTC antifungal cream has fungus-promoting ingredients. After you’ve checked your routine for anything fungus promoting, go through it again to limit yourself to pH-balanced, non-irritating products. You don’t want to be using products that are going to annihilate your natural skin microbiome. Your skin needs good bacteria to keep its natural fungal population in check. I recently started using a probiotic skincare regimen and will report back on that. But for starters, focus on low pH, skin-friendly products. Allow your good bacteria to thrive while eliminating fungal triggers. I previously recommended benzoyl peroxide but want to clarify that BP is not ideal for this because it too indiscriminately kills everything and irritates the skin. I strongly recommend incorporating a BHA into your routine though. Find a fungus-friendly BHA and give it time to work! Like 4-6 weeks at least. This will help keep the pores free of clogs and oil that the fungus thrives on. I’ve also eliminated Aczone! Anything antibacterial (without antifungal benefits) has gotten the boot. In addition to the fluconazole, I’ve been taking oil of oregano and caprylic acid daily. I do a ZPT mask 1x per week (Happy Cappy, which is fungus safe). DO NOT FEED THE FUNGUS! DO NOT TAKE OR USE ANTIBIOTICS! DO NOT USE OTC ANTIFUNGALS WITH FUNGUS-PROMOTING INGREDIENTS! Not sure about manuka oil, but I’m skeptical. I’m clear. I’m healed. I’m taking my supplements, prescription oral antifungal, water fasting, cut gluten and sugar, and have a fungus-safe routine that nourishes and heals the skin. I’m focusing on lifelong maintenance now for when I stop the fluconazole. @justsomeguy I do not recommend taking anything sporadically or without a doctor’s supervision. You do not want Fluconazole-resistant fungus!
Also I recommend Anasept Antimicrobial Gel for open sores. This stuff is amazing! Won’t clog pores or feed the fungus either but brings about rapid scabbing and healing. This saved me during my first week on the fluconazole when my face seemed to erupt!
Manuka honey was one of the only things that helped me heal. I had this all over my body randomly.. not on my face at all thankfully and not thankfully. It's hard because the worst two scars I have are on my naval and my left breast. All the Others are gone or barley noticable. I did go on keto diet for a good 6 months (didn't help with my skin but helped with everything else) until I got pregnant and it became to hard to maintain. I made sure to take b12 and vitamin c. Amongst other supplements. because I noticed if I don't get enough sleep or enough sun or enough to eat I took forever to heal. Vitamin deficiency or malabsorption of vitamins I think definitely has to do with it. Or at least why the wounds get bad an heal slowly.
I also have Ehlers–Danlos syndrome (please everyone look this up if you don't know what it is) it can have MANY varying symptoms with chronic pain and joints and skin including sores and skin issues that are tedious to heal. Hair follicles getting inflamed easily and keratin issues which can cause lessions
There is so many varying factors and everyone is different. We have the same or very similar sores and lessions but they are brought on by more than one thing which is why it's so hard to pinpoint an exact one size fits all cure.
Well as you stated manuka oil . or gel there are several kinds thst work fine manuka is great. And i forgot the antimicrobial gel and hydrocollid bandages helped me with the deeper wounds so they would starting heal and not get bigger. I think my biggest one was about an inch and a half. So i started getting worried.
I honestly dont know much reasoning on the magnesium or why it may work but i swear its what curred me quickly for good..maybe ita an antifungal ill have to read about it
But ita not as if you can just get an iv of magnesium on request so mine was a coincidence find.
Thank you everyone. I am still on the mend. Having a great, pain free day today. I have finished all of my oral meds. My wound is slowing healing over. Also trying to limit what I put on the wound, restoring the skin balance sounds like a great plan. Thank you again. :-)
I’ve had these same plugs on my face for aprox. two years they get some better but never heal. I saw a post on this site and the lady had a picture, it was exactly the same that I was seeing on my face. She suggested oral Ketoconazole 200 mg and same thing in a cream. I was able to get my Dr to prescribe the same for me. It took about a week to start working but is showing some signs of retreat. The plugs are coming to surface and then I remove with tweezers. As stated the pain is terrible until you pull out the plugs. The thing Is I wasn’t seeing results until I started adding zinc ointment at night, by morning the plugs are easy to pull out. The zinc kills the yeast on contact I’ve noticed since taking the meds. It was Malassezia yeast. Just saying!
So I seem to be out of the ‘die off’ stage and am finally healed. My doc extended the oral antifungal for a full 60 day treatment. Then we’re doing maintenance treatment for 6 months. If you like manuka, some people with seb derm (also fungal) report good results with high UMF manuka honey. Personally I love Dr. Nordyke’s Wound Honey. I found that the sores thrive on moisture/occlusion:(, so I couldn’t use oils or hydrocolloids. Keto diet is definitely very effective for this because the fungus feeds on carbs/sugar. There’s a lot of info online about anti-candida diets and lifestyles, and I think those are really helpful for this. But I want to say that the sores definitely seemed to get so much worse the first two weeks. It’s helpful to carefully debride them during this time. Clean the affected area, do a warm compress for 10-20 mins, then with a muslin baby cloth wipe away any goo/white dots. The ones that are embedded can be carefully plucked out with sterile tweezers. Be careful not to push or apply any pressure, and avoid healthy tissue of course! Just very lightly clean any unhealthy tissue from the surface of the wound. Not all white spots are bad btw. Some are just part of the newly healing tissue. The ones that were bad were painful and surrounded by redness and inflammation. But don’t pull out perfectly healthy granulation tissue! I feel like debriding the newly purging sores 2-3x as slough built up really helped them heal without scarring. It’s amazing. You would never know these spots are where sores were recurring for 3-4 years. I’m also very careful with sun exposure and think that helped prevent scarring. I’m so thankful this nightmare is finally over
Hmm. I am finding I am now having troubles with in-grown hairs. Small hairs stuck under scar tissue. Well, at least there are hairs growing. Still struggling. Also saw that calamine lotion has a high zinc content. I have been applying some at night. Using a lidocaine cream and ibuprofen to help with the pain. One day at a time. At least we have accomplished something, found out what this is. Great job and thanks again.
That's my issue...even though I don't have male facial hair.
My latest find...urea. I started with 22% mixed in a versa base gel...compounded at my pharmacy. Expensive, but I went up to 30% and then 40% a month at a time. I'm now alternating between 22% and 40%...depending on the area. Check into that possibility.
Will do snipzie! Many Thanks :-)
Have you tried incorporating a BHA lijke salicylic acid? Zapzyt Acne Wash is gentle/fungal safe w/ 2% SA. I also use Garden of Wisdom’s 2% BHA. SA can def help with ingrowns. I’m taking 1 tbsp pure caprylic acid MCT oil now daily, usually in coffee. It’s an amazing antifungal. I haven’t felt this good in years. If you use start small because it can cause GI effects. My ‘rosacea’ is also gone since I started the caprylic acid
Hello All! I have had a few setbacks in the past couple of weeks with my ingrown hairs. These hairs are appearing in the area where I had my two biopsies. Chocking it up to the scarring. I am still about a month away from a total recovery, just wish to say hello. I am applying O'Keeffe's working hands cream. Contains urea. This cream is working well for me. Not having to use the lidocaine as often. Keep forgetting to take my magnesium pills - lol. Today, I can honestly say is the first day my wound has healed over. I will return here one last time. Again, I can not thank everyone enough. :-)
Yep...that damn scarring!!!! Got something new as a suggestion from a friend. When she was younger, she was prescribed coal tar for acne. I've never tried it, but it might be something if you havent already. Definitely I'll be putting it as a try....figuring that it will lessen the scarring since it sloughs skin. Don't leave yet...the game is still afoot!
Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha - you bet snipzie! Lol Too funny! :-)
Glad you guys are hanging in there. I am battling a small breakout from sweating/heat. I am trying my best not to pick. Hopefully they dont get worse. I've realized sweat is def a trigger and the masks dont help.
I just wanted to say I too am having problems with ingrowns (even very light hairs) from scarring. I do believe we are indeed all battling the same thing.
"Don't argue with stupid people. They will just bring you down to their level and beat you with their experience." Mark Twain
Had tough weekend. Did purchase a few more flucozonale tablets. Sticking with the calamine lotion and lidocaine. Having a very good day today. Still fighting. You guys had better be too! Check back soon. :-)