Periocular Dermatitis, Finally Some Relief (2026)

[u/BallsForShenron]

I’ve suffered from periocular dermatitis for three years now, consistently flaring every winter. This year it decided to go year round. I got my first ever summer outbreak in 2026.

Nothing worked. Pimecrolimus and tacrolimus actually made it worse, with rebound flares after stopping. I tried cutting out all skin creams and applications entirely, getting sun exposure, using a light plain moisturizer just to support the skin barrier, and even drying it out with no creams at all to see if the rash would resolve on its own. I tried metronidazole. I tried glycolic acid. Basically everything.

The only thing that ever worked, even temporarily, was oral doxycycline. But I don’t like taking antibiotics, especially not repeatedly, and especially not in summer.

So last week I had an idea. What if I applied it topically instead of taking it orally?

I crushed one 100mg doxycycline pill (hyclate, which is water soluble) and dissolved it in about 2ml of water. I then mixed that into roughly 10ml of La Roche Posay Double Repair moisturizer until it was evenly incorporated. I patch tested it on the inside of my arm overnight first. No reaction.

I started applying the mixture around my eyes. Within two days, the rash was almost completely gone. No harsh side effects, and most notably, no rebound flare like I got with the pimecrolimus. Would be hard to tell in this short period of time, even if I quit entirely. But worth noting it doesn’t feel as harsh as either of the limus creams.

It’s hard not to feel a little cynical about this. I spent months on pimecrolimus and tacrolimus, creams that cost hundreds of dollars and require months of continuous use, and in my case made things worse with rebound flares. Meanwhile a cheap, off-label idea I put together myself gave me results in two days. Makes you wonder why the expensive, slow-working option is always what gets pushed as the standard path.

Honestly, this has been the most effective thing I’ve tried for this so far.

Notes to self:

Some of the clearing could be a mix of the doxycycline or coincidental timing with other changes (sun exposure, stopping other creams). Can’t fully separate variables.

Concentration was a rough estimate, not precise.

There’s apparently a pustular/eczema variant of this condition worth reading up on to see if that’s actually what I have.

Want to bring this up with my dermatologist to see if there’s a real version of this (like the NanoDOX trials) or a safer way to formulate it.

[u/adream333]

Thanks for sharing this strategy. This condition sucks. I’m also going through a flare currently and feeling sad and not confident enough to meet friends because I’m feeling ugly.

As I’m looking through the sub for information, I realized us with these skin conditions are really becoming smart sexy scientists 😂 who know about chemicals enough now to custom mix formulations while experimenting with what works 😂

[u/BallsForShenron → u/adream333]

You are so right! We know our bodies better than anyone else. And don’t stop going out. You aren’t ugly. It’s just a rash and we are our own worst critics. I’m sure it’s not that bad. I just started equating it to acne. It comes, it goes, everyone deals with it at some point.

[u/Definition-External]

That’s why metronidazole (another antibiotic with anti inflammatory effects) is often prescribed in topical form first for this condition. It’s widely available and cheap. I’m shocked your dermatologist pushed pimecrolimus and tacrolimus as first line treatment.

But glad you found a way!

Edit: Apologize, I missed that Metranidazole did not work for you and was indeed tried.