I usually tell if it’s fungal if it’s both itchy and gets worse with moisture. Most of my other conditions improve with moisture.
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(Also, basing off of being legitimately diagnosed several times in various places; athlete’s foot, jock itch, yeast infection, fungal dandruff—you name it, I’ve had it.)
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I also get stress hives sometimes when I am really stressed or tired. Yes, my body gets allergic to itself having a bad time. My skin is so fun.
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Weird, I have tinea versicolor (common fungal infection) and while the moisture (mostly sweat) part is true for me, its hallmark is completely non-itchy.
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Yeah, stress is one of my big urticaria triggers for breaking through my meds. I’ve had a nonstop urticaria episode for over a decade now. It’s the second longest one my allergenist has ever seen and he’s one of the top idiopathic urticaria experts in the world. Lucky me!
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I must not have had that kind! All of mine have always itched, at least a little. (I should knock on wood about not having had that kind, because I’ve had so many of the others.)
I guess also it’s possible that the stuff I had only itched in me and wouldn’t itch in other people. See also: long list of other skin conditions involving itching.
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Technically we all have it, it’s just a fungus that lives on our skin. Unfortunately, some of us are blessed with shit immune systems and get wonderful visible patches of it.
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Also also: I have an as-yet-undiagnosed skin situation on my legs where my skin hurts (almost like a burning sensation) if certain types of pressure are applied (think: crawling around on a bed, using a scrubby, or certain strokes of massage), some days worse than others. Usually worse if I’ve recently shaved, as I think the hairs poking at the surface from inside exacerbate it. It started in my early 30s and used to only affect my shins but now sometimes even happens on my thighs.
When I asked a doctor about it, he asked if I’d ever seen a neurologist about it, and when I told him no, he didn’t offer to refer me to one so, …? I don’t have the spoons to go down a rabbit hole of dealing with it right now, and I’ve lived with it for almost 10 years, so I guess I’ll deal with it some other time.
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Sounds like maybe allodynia? Do you have migraines or any fibromyalgia symptoms? Could be worth looking into if for no other reason than to rule out underlying/linked conditions.
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No migraines.
Just looked at the symptom list for fibromyalgia and it doesn’t seem like the pain is widely enough distributed, and other than trouble focusing and memory issues (which I think is actually undiagnosed ADHD) and TMJ issues, none of the other symptoms fit—no mood disorders, sleep problems, bowel symptoms, general dull ache, or unusual fatigue (I mean, I’m tired a lot but that’s because I do a lot and don’t sleep enough due to grad school; when I get enough sleep, I’m fine).
I’m sure I will get around to dealing with it eventually…
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I have a tendency towards dandruff that seems to be seborrheic dermatitis, along with what seems to be low-key fungal acne (with a side of hormones), and this resource and this list of products (bent pretty heavily toward asian skincare products/brands, but expanding) have really helped me have things mostly under control.
I’m also experimenting with the ingredients checker on skincarisma.com. It seems like a fancier/ripoff version of cosdna, if anyone has used that before.
I never had extensive blackheads, but regular BHA/salicylic acid and adapelene (1x per week of each) use seems to keep things from building up. Noses especially will always have visible pores 
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I’m several days late to this thread, but wondering if the keratosis pilaris was something you were treated for, and if it went away? I’ve had it since birth. My experience of having it was very upsetting to me into my teenage years, and then I stopped caring after that, probably because nobody picked on me about it after that. Little kids can be such assholes. Ewwww, what’s that on your arm? Or the school nurse pulling 7 year old me from class because I had a “rash” and not believing me when I told her otherwise. Or one of my first boyfriends recoiling when he put his arm around me on the ferris wheel and touched the back of my arm.
It’s improved a ton as an adult, but I’m left with scarring all over my forearms, the back of my upper arms, and my legs. I still have some bumps, but I mostly don’t think about it anymore so I haven’t pursued treatment.
As a kid I was never treated for the KP nor my itchy, dry and sensitive skin, because it was supposedly harmless. It sure wasn’t harmless, psychologically! My doctor said the treatment would dry my already dry skin out even worse, so advised against it.
I don’t want to detail my fungal issues here, I do want to thank you for the link to the natural cream. It’s always good to have another product to try!
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I had it only on my cheeks in the sideburn area and the backs of my thighs. For the facial part, my doctor had me try Retin-A for it, but it didn’t seem to do much. It went away after I started using the FAB cream as my daily moisturizer, but IDK if it was causal or coincidental. It hasn’t come back, but I haven’t stopped using the cream, so IDK?
For the thighs, that started happening after I saw the doctor, so no treatment there. It mostly stays gone if I use one of those green Korean scrubby pocket things on my legs when I shower, then moisturize afterward.
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I know some people will apparently have it with untreated celiac and other intolerances, like dairy proteins. With diagnosis and dietary modifications, they often see symptom relief. (My cousin was a celiac case of this- she saw big KP and eczema improvements). So if you have any suspicions in that direction, could always be worth exploring.
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Those korean scrubbers work so great for my KP too!
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Solution for stinky pits/feet - not exactly skin care, but I thought this might be useful for some people!
I’ve never really had stinky pits but I noticed recently that my sleeping shirts (which, um, I sometimes end up wearing all day if I don’t leave the house) would get damp spots near my pits, but only the right side had pit stank and the left side didn’t have any odor! My guess is that once the bacteria grew, it was sticking around on my skin and showering wasn’t getting rid of it. A few days ago I tried spraying colloidal silver on my pits, and it solved the problem! Now neither damp spot smells bad!
I had bought colloidal silver in an attempt to cure my foot odor (I get very sweaty feet). I spray it in my shoes and I think it helps, since it’s an antibacterial, but it only lasts for a few days because my shoes get so swampy. The one that I got is Natural Path Silver Wings Colloidal Silver 250PPM which I’d chosen because it has high parts per million. The first one I got is in a spray bottle (or use your own!) and the spray function is very useful. The refill I got is just a normal bottle.
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Stank
I used to have really stinky pits, like, had to wear the extra-strength anti-perspirant even though it’s supposed to be bad for me just not to offend people, and had to rotate brands about every 8–12 months or it’d stop working—kept about 4 or 5 brands in the cupboard to rotate through.
Then I started doing detox and hormone-balancing smoothies to prep for trying to conceive (mostly algaes, barley grass, aminos, antioxidants, and adaptogens), and I stopped stinking altogether! Even after I stopped doing the smoothies for months and months, it never came back to the old level, only a tiny bit of mild scent after several days unshowered. I barely ever even put on deodorant now! And the few times I feel like I need it, I use all natural stuff from Little Seed Farm.
So, interestingly, stank can definitely be cured from the inside as well!
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I desire these nonstank smoothie recipes, friend
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It’s . . . a lot . . . but sure!
Ingredient Spreadsheet
| Ingredient | Pwd | Amt | gram |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protein | Pwd | 10 | gram |
| Chlorella | Pwd | 6 | gram |
| Spirulina | Pwd | 3 | gram |
| Maca | Pwd | 2.4 | gram |
| Cinnamon | Pwd | 2 | gram |
| Barley Grass | Pwd | 1.4 | gram |
| Vitamin C | Pwd | 1 | gram |
| Fenugreek | Pwd | 1 | gram |
| Ashwagandha | Pwd | 0.6 | gram |
| N-Acetyl Cysteine | Pwd | 0.6 | gram |
| Alpha lipoic acid | Pwd | 0.5 | gram |
| 28.5 | grams total |
Blend with your choice of liquid and/or frozen thing if you desire. I usually just used unsweetened soy milk. The protein probably doesn’t matter for the stank.
ETA: I used to just mix up a whole month’s worth and then weigh myself out an ounce to go into a smoothie.
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