Posted by Taylor (Nashville, Tennessee) on 04/18/2011
★★★★★
I was recently diagnosed with perioral dermatitis by a dermatologist. It seemed to come out of nowhere, and was just around my mouth area next to my chin. My doctor gave me 1 month antibiotics, which has been tearing my stomach up. I had been on the antobiotics for about 10 days when I became angry that I hadnt seen any results, in fact, it looked worse.
A co-worker suggested I try tea tree oil as her daughter suffered from POD too. Four days later, my POD is about 85% gone!!!! No new bumps have formed since using the tea tree oil.
Since tea tree oil is VERY potent, it is recommended to dilute the oil. I diluted it with water by moistening a cotton pad with water, squeezing out the excess, placing about 2-3 drops of oil on the pad, and then adding a few more drops of water. I then pressed the pad on my affected areas 2-3 times a day. It started drying up immediately!
I even used a drop of straight tea tree oil on a huge pimple that I got (due to the stress of the POD), and the bump completely vanished within 12 hours!
I am now convinced that some of the best remedies are all natural!
Posted by Pik (Singapore) on 02/17/2010
★★★★★
I was diagnosed with Rosacea and given Rosex Gel which didn't work. Then another doc said I had perioral dermatitis which would take months to clear and gave me minocyclin (potentially for 3 months!) Alarmed by this prospect, I googled and came across this site and read about how Tea Tree Oil has helped some people with Perioral Dermatitis. Lo and behold! A few days into the treatment and my red pimply spots stopped spreading and began drying out. It looked bad because the skin of the affected areas was very dry and flaking off in large pieces by a week later, I was cured!! Now what is left is slight hyperpigmentation (scarring due to the pimples?) but barely noticeable. Thank you to all who posted this fantastic cure.
Posted by Shannon (Stillwater, OK) on 04/21/2008
★★★★★
I have been battling perioral dermatitis for about 6 months. I went to a dermatologist and was put on minocycline, which did clear it up. After 3 months of taking the medication, my doctor put me on doxycycline, due to concerns about negative side effects of long term use of minocycline. I could not tolerate the doxycycline, it made me nauseous and just made me feel weird, so I quit taking it and decided to look for a natural treatment. I found this website and began using a combination of remedies. I began taking pro-biotics, and evening primrose oil. I began washing my face with apple cider vinegar and baking soda. I also used evening primrose oil topically on the area of dermatitis. It seemed to be ok, until I got a cold. The area of dermatitis is around my nose, and blowing my nose constantly while I had the cold irritated it. The dermatitis began to spread.
I found a post somewhere about using tea tree oil. I had an old jar of Desert Essence Tea Tree ointment, so I began using it. I have used it for 4 days now, keeping the area covered constantly with the ointment, and the dermatitis is almost gone! It looks as good as it did when I was on minocycline. I think the probiotics and evening primrose capsules that I am taking may be helping too, but the tea tree oil was my "magic bullet." I have noticed that when I drink alcohol, the area becomes more inflamed. I'm not sure if this is due to dehydration, or the destruction of healthy bacteria in the intestinal tract.
I want to mention too that I have been under a great amount of stress, trying to finish grad school,and the dermatitis appeared during this time. I really believe stress and unhealthy eating habits/drinking alcohol contributed to the problem.
I hope this helps someone else out there. I love this website!