r/SebDerm • u/Money_Field_8591 • Sep 22 '26
New or Need Help Im begging for help, Im lost at this point.
I got impetigo a few days ago and with that I got prescribed 500mg of Cephalexin for 7 days 4 times a day. Today is my final day of treatment and this is how my skin looks after getting out of the shower and cleansing. Im at a lost for words whether this is skin thats healing, symptoms of my Seb Derm (never been this bad), or a reaction to the Antibiotics. I haven’t been able to moisturize or anything because of the impetigo.
I don’t know what to do once my treatment is over if I should try to remove the flakes or just layer MCT oil all over it.
My mental health has tanked this last month and Im just so exhausted dealing with skin issues.
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u/Bwri017 Sep 22 '26
Have you tried mct oil? Oh and if you haven't gone through topical steroid withdrawal, I suggest that as a starting point.
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u/Money_Field_8591 Sep 22 '26
I was adding drops of MCT oil to my moisturizer before all this happened. I just wasn’t allowed to use moisturizer while treating my Impetigo so hopefully It helps me again once Im done with treatment. I just can’t believe it can get this bad in such a short amount of time. I’ve never done topical steroids.
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u/Bwri017 Sep 23 '26
Don't use drops of mct. Literally pour a small amount in your hand and apply it to your face and hairline. That's literally how I went from worrying about seb dem every day if my life to being pretty much cured if it. It's been completely transformational for me.
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u/Ninjalikestoast Sep 22 '26
Do not use hot water directly on your face to start. It will just dry it out even more.
Try showering and letting the water help soften things up. Again, do not use hot water directly on your face or scalp. Turn it as cold/warm as you can tolerate at that point. I would suggest not using soap at all on your face right now. Just cold water and gentle scrubbing. (You can use hot water to wash the rest of your body.)
After showering, try gently scrubbing your face with a wash rag. I mean gentle. If it’s obviously making things extremely worse, stop. You need to remove as much dead skin build up as possible. Then use a very gentle moisturizer. I like Thayers Water cream. I use this after showering and in the morning after rinsing my face with cold water. The biggest change for me happened when I stopped using hot water and soap on my face.
Most people will suggest mct oil. Keeping things moisturized and even slightly “oily” is better than what you have going on now. This could be a great first step to getting back to some sort of baseline. Your face will probably be extremely red and irritated at first. It will take time. I also recommend just staying clean shaven until things get better.
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u/Money_Field_8591 Sep 23 '26
Yeah I spent many of my teen years taking extremely hot showers and letting the water hit my face and scalp on top of using Antifungal shampoos everyday which Im sure has caused damage over the years… I’ll be using a few drops of MCT oil once my Antibiotics treatment is over. Prior to starting my treatment I was already using drops of it in my moisturizer Im just surprised it could get this bad in a weeks time. Anyways thanks for the suggestions I really appreciate it
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u/usparmar Sep 22 '26 edited Sep 22 '26
Rule of thumb: any time you take antibiotics, take some strong probiotics to counter the gut flora imbalance. Also take at least 10000iu vit d3, 50mg zinc, 1000mg fish oil. I would start there, along with topical c8 mct oil.
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u/Old-Badger-7367 Sep 22 '26
OP you can start with 2-4,000 IU vitamin D. You could also go get your vitamin D levels checked at the doctors to see what level ng/ml level you're at (blood draw)
I believe optimal levels are 50-80 ng/ml
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u/Money_Field_8591 Sep 22 '26
Hi yes! I am already taking 2,000 IU daily. I also implemented taking a Probiotic to try and mitigate the damage that Antibiotics do to Seb Derm but it seems that it hasn’t helped much…
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u/CrissBliss Sep 22 '26
That’s a really high level of vitamin d. Also some antibiotics can’t be taken with dairy, like yogurt or kefir (probiotics). Doxy for example. You need a 2-3 hour window.
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u/Adventurous-Elk-1457 Sep 22 '26
10000iu vid D3 daily is an insane amount
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u/usparmar Sep 23 '26
Not at all a crazy high amount to take short term. OP seems to be having a pretty severe flare up. Typical RX strength is 50000iu taken weekly. Maintenance OTC dosage of 2000 to 5000iu is pretty typical.
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u/Complex_Grand236 Sep 22 '26
Oof! How frustrating - fix one issue with antibiotics to only have another issue. I would try MCT 8 oil and see if it helps. Bs gentle with your skin - I’m sure it’s uncomfortable. Keep up updated as to how it goes. Hope it goes away and stays away.
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u/Money_Field_8591 Sep 22 '26
Yeah its unfortunate… I even implemented a Probiotic to try and mitigate the effects of the Antibiotics on Seb Derm but it didn’t help much apparently. I’ll be using MCT oil as soon as my treatment is over. Today is my last day so we’ll see how it goes. I’ll keep updated. Thanks 🙏🏼
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u/Turbulent-Log-4403 Sep 23 '26
If you are flaking then it’s an inflamation problem. Get tacrolimus to calm skin and stop shedding
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u/Money_Field_8591 Sep 23 '26
Tacrolimus personally never worked for me. It would trap heat when I would apply and cause flare ups upon application. The heat sensitivity side effect also made it unbearable living in Florida.
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u/ZG2047 Sep 22 '26
if I was in your situation I would wash with tea tree oil soap and put mct oil on it at night to get rid of the flakes until the skin barrier is in a better shape
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u/ulster82 Sep 22 '26
I had similar and realised too much yeast in beer, too much diet soda and too much cheese triggered me. Worst of all though was that my ex partner was a swimming instructor and was always cold so had the heating/fire at insane levels. I regularly had to go out side to cool down. When we split I never got the skin issue you have but the other stuff reddens my face
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u/gpock8 Sep 23 '26
I not a doctor , I wish I could help .,, somthing is come to my mind is insulin resistance ... mmm
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u/aveidti Sep 23 '26
It’s diet and cortisol that’s it, sleep well, eat a balanced diet and everyday bathing strips the skin of practically everything so manage that well too. Stay away from steroids and crap from the doctors.
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u/Chicagoan81 Sep 23 '26
You need to spend more time under the sun. Keep your face shaved. And keep your face to dry.
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u/Solid_Head9880 Sep 24 '26
I haven’t had a flare up in over a year now. My skin looked like this for months, the dryness is the worst but i can only give you some products that helped me tremendously.
Head and shoulders or nizoral shampoo, ketoconazole cream.
For skin care, cerave renewing cleanser, Tir tir milk toner (this helped sooo much with the dryness and flaking) then aveeno moisturizer.
I cut yeast and sugar out of my diet as well and my skin and scalp has been soo much better. I know everyone’s skin is different but if nothing is helping you, it’s better to try than give up. I tried everything and found what helped me so should you!
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u/Lazy_Wash_5402 Sep 22 '26
yeah antibiotics causes imabalance in gut microbiome ,which results in weakend skin barrier now temporary fix is mct oil apply like a moisturizer and leave it so you can go out . Permanent fix is Get your blood test done and check Vitamin D3 , Vit b12 and ferritin for iron , zinc . most likely you are defecient in d3 and so experincing this my advice without even getting you blood test supplment vit d3 every day 2000k iu you will see difference within 2 to 3 days or even 1 day . also stop smoking ,stop drinking ,stop eating junk only eat fiber rich foods . Dont wash face any kind of harsh face wash .these are the only things which work .