What do you use when your face ITCH and is super red??

Learnt a new word recently.. it's PRURITUS

pru·ri·tus 
n. Severe itching, often of undamaged skin.

For a list of causes or treatment, click skin-conditions-pruritus

Had a very bad case of pruritus after working long hours in the company during the Malay fasting month this year.

It started with small red bumps / dots that appear suddenly on my face. You know it's NOT acne / pimple cos it itch and you know it's not mosquito bite cos it's just appear even as you type on the computer and it's only on the face, for my case.

2 red itchy bumps

1 bigger itchy bump

Tried many things on the face like:-

Zam Buk - it worked for a while and then suddenly on one night after applying Zam Buk, my whole face was itchy. Maybe cos it's too oily hence trigger an allergic reaction.

Elosone or Elocon - a controlled medicine prescribed by pharmacist. It worked well on the itchiness but it did not prevent new ones from appearing.

Plus is it recommended for use once a day, sparingly and for not more than 3 weeks. Gulp!!

Pregnant or persons trying to conceive should not take it unless the benefits of using the cream outweighs the risk. Double Gulp!! see elocon-cream-and-ointment

Cetaphil - I stopped using my usual Shiseido face products and started on Cetaphil gentle skin cleanser and moisturizing cream - it worked but I was still seeing new bumps everyday.

Cetaphil SPF50 - after reading the warning on the leaflet that if you halved the usage, you halved the sun protection, I applied once, let it absorbed and then applied again. The whole day my face itch and resulted in severe redness the next day.

Photo taken on 3 September 2013

So my boss who recently came back from Turkey recommended:-
Haccer (it's a brand from Turkey) cleasing gel and daily care cream - it worked on the 2nd day of using it. Now in my 3rd day, I dont have any more new bumps on my face. Yeah!!

Photo taken on 5 September 2013

Haccer Face Cleansing Gel

But when I do have itchiness (on and off in smaller dots), I apply Shiseido purifying mask on it. Helps soothe the itch and stem the development of the bumps.

I will continue to monitor my face progress and hope this will be the end of my face allergy episode.

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What I have learnt from this are:-
1) When trying new face products, do it sparingly. Do not apply liberally as I did with Zam Buk and Cetaphil SPF50.

Sometimes you just dont know whether your face needs moisture or to keep it dry. So try to strike a balance.

2) Take oils supplement - olive, fish or evening primrose oil. This helps the skin to heal.

3) Pass motion at least 2 times a day. I never knew that I can do this but I have been consistently doing it for 2 weeks and I never fail to "deliver" the goods. Hehe..

4) Exercise - as much as you can.. I'm pretty lazy on this but even 5 minutes a day is better than nothing.

Like me you can try Tracy Andersons' arm exercise tracy-anderson-arms-exercise

5) But if worse comes to worst, then try prayer and patience. Stress is always bad for your body and face. Relax, eat as organic as you can, exercise and pray.

Like what a friend said, "Face product just make your skin feel comfortable. That's all. Heal it with food or supplements".