Hi there, I am stressed to death. I had found some skincare items I could use to clean my face and eyes (both of which are afflicted with rosacea) and to moisturise my skin. Until recently, I was able to use a mineral powder to cover the redness but now it makes me feel sick.

My problem is that the facial cleanser ( I've relied on to clean my face and eyes with little or no problem) and my facial moisturiser have both been reformulated and now I react to both updated versions. I have a little left of each of the products I am fine with. I am struggling with CFS and am having to experiment with cleansers and moisturiser to find replacements. Eveything I am trying is making me feel extremely sick...even organic stuff...even plain jojoba oil applied to my face makes me feel very sick.

This is making my CFS much worse. The stress is very difficult. I know I cannot live with the increased symptoms that occur when I run out of my limited supply of the stuff I am ok with.

I have tried just water but my eyes start to hurt and my face gets raw and the stress of that makes me feel ill. I tried not washing at all and my skin and eyes got so sore. My skin gets very painful without appropriate skincare but I just cannot seem to find anything natural or chemical, that will not make me feel like vomiting. When I have this reaction, the fatigue and muscle pain and headaches all get so much worse, too.

The stress is making me worse... all I can do is worry about how bad I'm gonna be when I run out of my regular stuff... The worry of it is prevening any improvement....

Everyone has to clean their face and moisturise, even MCS sufferers. Please all MCS sufferers share your facial skincare regime...(also stating how bad your case is)

Thank you so much. I'd appreciate as many answers as possible.

Shelbo

I answered you on the fibro board :)

Hi Shelbo,

I've given up cleansing and moisturising on a daily basis. I wash my face once or twice a week with baking soda dampened with wet fingers. It does a good job and I like the way it makes my skin feel. I don't have rosacea though, so I'm not sure if it would be too harsh for that.

I rarely use moisturiser, but for the occasional dry patch, I use coconut oil. It does a good job without causing a reaction.

The Environmental Working Group has a good web site, a portion of which is dedicated to grading personal care products. http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com (you can bypass the email newsletter offer and go straight to the database). They rate according to hazard depending on the chemicals in the product.

Good luck. I hope you find something you can use without making the rosacea worse.

I found Cerave by coria. They have lotions, creams, and cleansers that I can use. Dermatologist told me. I found products at Walgreens. Good Luck and let me know how it works. Kathy

on my face. I also wash my body with it and it's called Baby Mild liquid soap. I also use Dr. Bronner's baby mild body balm. Yes, it does contain Jojoba and other oils. It doesn't bother me and I'm sorry I don't know what you can try.

Are you able to use Olive oil in small dabs for the face? What about using a plain washcloth, wet it and gently exfoliate your face with it?

I've begun using Milk Thistle to help gently detox the liver to help me not to have as bad of problems like the way you mentioned. I've only been on it for three weeks now and seeing how it'll go.

Good luck and take care... :-)

Hi,
I'm a dermatologist with MCS and have found Vanicream moisturizer, Free and Clear soap, shampoo and conditioner all a lifesend. My Walmart has it but you can also ask your pharmacist to order it.

Best,
Jeanette.

I have to wonder, when you say that using water on your face makes you feel sick, whether you might be reacting to chlorine and/or fluoride in the water. This is not uncommon.

You can get reverse osmosis water (or buy a filter unit for your home) that takes out chlorine & fluoride. I would start with that. And try using the same water for drinking, cooking, etc.

While many MCS sufferers do fine with Cetaphil sensitive or Dove unscented, you would have to do a trial yourself to see if they work for you.

I myself use pure water for cleaning my skin, since I do react to both chlorine & fluoride. There is nothing carved in granite that says we need to use a commercial product to clean our skin.

For moisturizing, I would try any food-type oil that you can eat safely. For example, olive oil, coconut oil, corn oil ... use a pure organic grade if possible.

For the record, jojoba oil allergies are not that uncommon.

Best wishes.





[This Message was Edited on 12/23/2008]

Hi, I also have rosacea, CFS and MCS. What I use regularly is the Clinique Mild soap or the Basis Sensitive Skin Bar-both are unscented and hypoallergenic and the Basis is really inexpensive and can be purchased at Walmart. Collective Wellbeing makes a great light moisturizer called "Weightless Daycream" which is unscented, hypoallergenic and has no synthetic colors-you can get it at Whole Foods, it's a little pricey but a little goes a long way.

I use medication for the rosacea and they include a cleanser which I haven't tried because I'm happy with what I'm already using-but maybe it would work for you. I don't know if you can buy it separately from the medication but it is called "SFC Lotion" and is made by Stiefel Laboratories, Inc.
The poster who said that your water might be a problem makes a very good point-I've had major problems with chlorine too. Also, if I use water in areas that have a lot of sulfur in the water I get very sick because of sulfur allergy.
Good luck, I hope that you find something that works for you!

my face gets washed with water when i take a shower twice a week. after the shower i apply aveeno daily moisturizing lotion. i don't wear makeup.

however, you seem to be a lot more sensitive than i am. i agree with the assessment that you may be reacting to chlorine and fluorine in the water. you can get shower and other filters from Needs catalog/website. however, they will only filter out chlorine. a reverse osmosis filter will do both. i'm sure they carry those too.

for the long term you need to get to the root of your mcs. you can take neutralization drops and also do a lot of very careful detoxing and liver support. you may need to find an environmental medicine specialist and also a naturopath to work with.

you should also consider trying richvank's simplified methylation protocol, again with the support of a naturopath or someone knowledgable about methylation and detox. you most likely have a methylation block which is the root of the problem.

Didn't realize you were in the UK-don't know if you know about this but Clinique has a new rosacea skincare line available there (in US too). Haven't tried it yet-maybe they could give you samples to see if it works for you.

"SHELBO" WAS MY AUNT'S NICKNAME FOR ME. ANYWAY MY ROSACEA WAS OUT OF CONTROL ANDITCHED LIKE CRAZY. I GO TO THE DERMATOLOGIST AND GET PRESRIPTIONS FOR 100'S OF DOLLARS WORTH OF CRAP. SO, I DID MY OWN RESEARCH. GO AND GOOGLE: SOAPS GONE BUY. THE IS A SOAP FOR 2.99 CALLED: GRAMPA'S PINE TAR SOAP. THIS HEALED THE BUMPS AND KEEPS IT AWAY...BUT IT STINKS LIKE THE DICKENS. LET ME KNOW IF IT WORKS FOR YOU. BEST WISHES, MICHELLE