White Stretchy Plugs

PlugPlaque self removing the plugs is the worst thing to do. You should never extract/remove a plug from your skin, especially an open wound. While keratin plugs/milia are often removed as part of their treatment, you should never do it yourself. You sabotage yourself in the long run because self-removal of these plugs is never done carefully enough and with the proper technique and sterility to not cause more problems. 1) It traumatizes the tissue and creates scar tissue that can cause new plugs to form. And once you have scar tissue issues, that's a whole new issue and expense that cannot be treated OTC. You will need laser treatments or something like that. 2) if they are traumatic milia, it will make them worse. 3) It introduces tons of bacteria and irritants to the skin or an open wound. Self removing the plugs is a short-term fix that creates more problems in the long run. I have seen people say you have to remove the plugs for the wound to heal, but they are the same people who have been getting the lesions for literally years without any idea on how to make them better in the long run. I'm sorry but you can't claim to know how to heal/treat these if you're still getting them after so much time. And for people the who deal with this issue and see that advice, it will make the problem worse. GillCo the white plugs are absolutely real. They are keratin plugs. Literally plugs of keratin trapped in the skin. Many things can cause keratin plugs. That is why it's extremely important to get a biopsy/diagnosis to make sure it isn't cancer, an autoimmune disease, or something like that. But if that stuff comes back with no conclusion, you still have the white plugs. I know exactly what they are and battled them for years. An area of skin gets red/tender. Upon examination you see dense white dots. If the surface breaks, it will start to ooze and further opens to reveal dozens of these dense white plugs embedded in what is now an open wound. The wound doesn't seem to heal, dry out, or scab. It is not a normal wound. Removing the plugs seems to make it better and help with the swelling/redness. But it always, always comes back.

I dealt with these plugs for years and don't have them anymore. Here is the treatment: you need to abstain from putting anything on your skin or touching your skin in anyway beyond an extremely basic, maintenance skincare routine for a solid month. Just leave your skin alone. pH-balanced cleanser, light moisturizer, and SPF. If you have been dealing with this issue for years, one month is a drop in the bucket. You have nothing to lose. If you cannot resist removing the plugs or putting things on your skin, you should see a therapist, which is not a big deal and also really common. Touching your skin more than you should is like biting your nails. A lot of people deal with it. It's not a big deal, but it could be contributing to this horrible problem and does need to be dealt with if you want long-term success. After one month, see a derm and insist on a biopsy. The biopsy results eventually come back. It's either something that you can treat, or it comes back as nothing. Once the underlying issue is dealt with or it is decided there is no underlying issue, you need to start topical tretinoin. This is the only topical you can put on your skin that is powerful enough to 1) get rid of existing white plugs and 2) prevent new plugs from forming. The issue with physical removal of the plugs is 99.999% of the time when you do it yourself, you do a sh*t ton of damage to the skin, and it also does nothing for prevention of future plugs. You're just in a terrible cycle of consistently damaging/irritating your skin and still getting new lesions. Tretinoin is literally the only topical powerful enough to get rid of these. Sulfur, salicylic acid, etc. will help but never fully get rid of them. But the tret does need time to work. It'll take at least 2-3 months to start seeing results. I'm at month 3 and have not one white plug on my face.

I dealt with this nightmare for years. I remember years ago reading comments from people insisting that the wounds would not heal without plug removal. They act like this is a fact but are the same people who have been dealing with the chronic wounds for years and have no real insight into what they are and how to effectively treat them. But this is a very real problem. The white plugs hurt, are red and tender, and are prone to becoming open, non-healing wounds. It's a f*cking nightmare. I don't know what causes them. Every doctor labels you a picker. Online you see people saying it's parasites, fungus, worms... that you need to physically extract the plugs and that the wounds won't heal without removing the plugs. I have spent the last 4 years of my life with this problem at the forefront of my existence. I don't have the issue anymore. My skin is literally healed. I don't have any wounds, spots, or plugs. Just smooth, normal skin. I don't have to be here, but I know the pain of this problem and the lost time that results from it. I cannot repeat this enough: Plug removal makes things feel better in the short term but is not the long-term fix. If you want the nightmare to end, focus on the long-term fix. Treating this is a 3-5 month process. Not 3-5 days and not even 3-5 weeks. I believe tretinoin is the only topical that can beat this. And by that I mean in time it will get rid of existing plugs and prevent new ones from forming. I have used some topicals in the past that have helped (seemed to decrease the size/irritation of the plugs) but never something that literally made the plugs disappear. But you cannot put tretinoin on an open wound. If you have an open wound, I suggest doing a sea salt soak to help any infection and get some type of scabbing process going. Just get the skin at least somewhat closed. Doctors do suck. If your doctor is unwilling to prescribe, you can get tretinoin online. But also assume the responsibility that comes with it.

Short and sweet...Completely disagree. Not everyone is dealing with the same issue, many are just similar, and what works for one person may not work for others. My issue has been resolved for the past few months (knock on wood) I found what works for me. Seek medical attention and do your own research but nobody here is a doctor. You need to heal from the inside out.

I caught strep a cellulitis from picking the white plugs out. That is why it turned so red and why it is so dangerous. I am also allergic to bandaids so my skin would swell where the adhesive stuck to my skin. For that reason I did stop picking. I too am only here to help others figure this out. I do get them from time to time but not to the same extent. Picking almost killed me. Strep A cellulitis is flesh eating disease. So not fun. But it did scare me straight. I just want to know why this happened and what they are.

Would be nice to find out what this is, to help others figure this out is a great plan GillCo. We are making progress although it is slow. I am going to increase my vitamin A input with some supplements. So many questions and no answers. Stick together gang! We will figure this out!

Hi everyone! I’m here to post an update. My face has been clear for three weeks now. I’m amazed of my own progress. My arms not so much, but I can handle that at this point. This is the longest time in two years! I’ve been faithfully taking meds and washing face at same time every day, no more and no less. Here is my regimen... At Bedtime with a 16.9oz water 2 x valacyclovir tab 500mg (script needed) 2 x spironolactone tab 50mg (script needed) 1 x nature’s bounty probiotic 10 (otc) 3 x nature’s bounty hair, skin, & nails argan oil infused (otc) 1 x spring valley apple cider vinegar gummy (otc) 2 x nature’s bounty hair, skin, & nails gummy (otc) Cleansing and topical treatments Differin daily deep cleanser (otc) Differin pore minimizing toner (otc) Differin gel (otc) Differin resurfacing scar gel (otc) Differin restorative night moisturizer (otc) Onexton (script needed) In the morning I keep it simple wash, tone, and moisturize. I use the restorative moisturizer in am because spf and my face don’t get along 100%. If I know I’ll be in sun I’ll mix in small amount of spf face moisturizer with it. Seems to work for me. In the evening I alternate every other night the onexton and differin gel. Evening one: wash, tone, onexton. I do not moisturize on top, let the meds do the work. Evening two: wash, tone, differin gel (let dry), last resurfacing scar gel (I use all over). No moisturizer. My face did get flaky the first two weeks, but was easily taken care of by exfoliating once a week with derma e microdermabrasion scrub(otc). The great thing about differin is that it is a retinoid which has many benefits one of them being it stimulates the production of collagen and elastin. Minimizing pores and reducing acne scars over time. Which I needed badly and I can see results after 30 days. My skin looks and feels great. I hope this is helpful and I’m working on my arms wish I could get industrial size of onexton and differin to apply there too! Lol

Ha Ha! Sweet news Thinkingiwascrazy! Hmm? Retinoid - Vitamin A. Maybe?

I have been applying an OTC product - Olay Regenerist Retinal 24. The night serum. To both wounds, four times a day. Been four days now and there is significant improvement. Began with the vitamin A oral supplements two days ago. I will keep you folks posted. I can't imagine it being this simple.

Rentinol is good too, but the form of retinoid is much stronger. My doctor recommended the differin gel. It use to be only available by prescription. The texture of my skin felt and looked better after 1 application. Truly amazing!

Truly amazing are the appropriate words Thinkingiwascrazy. I will look for the differin gel. Some things are not available in this small town. Another day of real progress. I am so happy, I could sing! Inflammation almost gone. No pain whatsoever. Oh, I got friends in low places where the whiskey drowns and the beer chases my blues away. I'll be okay. :-)

PS - not fond of beer and really don't like hockey but don't tell the Canadian Government as they may deport me. Will check back in next week. Happy Thanksgiving to all our American buddies!

It’s available on Amazon if that helps! All differin products are.

Yah man. Checked with the local pharmacy. Pharmacist said Differin is only available by prescription here. This pharmacy has a virtual doctor program and I have an appointment in a few hours. Bookwormlee - it is easy to leave my face alone now. These past few days, not wanting to rip open my face have been a blessing. I will beat this thing!

That’s awesome! I’m so excited for your progress. Ahh yes, I’m in the states I didn’t think about you being in Canada, right? I just thought in a small town away from shopping. Let me know how it works for you.

Hello everyone!
So I read all the posts and I think that different people have different skin issues. But I have/had EXACTLY what the original poster described. I could not have described it better. I’m 62 years old and have dealt with acne my entire life. But about 10 years ago (after menopause) I noticed my acne changing and taking a slow turn for the worst. That’s when I started getting these “stretchy white plugs”. I described them as looking and behaving like tiny pieces of silicone. I too had to take tweezers to get them out. And they would take weeks to heal. My face was infested with hundreds of “sores” with at least a dozen of these “stretchy” things in each sore. I kept researching for what these “stretchy” things were but could never find anything about it. That is until last year when I finally came across an article describing “demodex mites” and showing a picture of them taken of a pore with half a dozen of them in it. I have one of those mirror that magnifies 10x. And it looked exactly like what I had been dealing with. So I went to the dermatologist who of course wanted to put me on accutane which I refused. I had read about the new cream called “zoolantra” and asked him to humor me and prescribe it. Instead he gave me a tiny trial tube. I used it but didn’t really see any improvements. There was only enough cream for about a week. And from what I had read about the demodex mites is that they lay a ton of eggs every night and they have a life cycle of three weeks so I knew it would take at least 3-4 months to see an improvement. I also found out that the Zoolantra would cost me $600 for a month supply. So it was back to the drawing board. I had tried Tea Tree Oil but it was too harsh. So I went on Utube and put demodex mites in the search box and came across this woman who had cured it by using an Ivermectin Paste made for horses. Yes you read that right. It’s called Duramectin by Durvet and it is used to treat different parasites in horses. You can buy it at Feed Stores or on Amazon. And the beauty of it is that it only costs about $3.80 for a tube and it lasts about 3 weeks. It has the exact same ingredient as the Zoolantra (ivermectin) but at a higher dose (Zoolantra has 1%, Duramectin has 1.87%) which worked much better for me because of the severity of the infection I had. It has taken almost a year but I can tell you that my skin is 95% clear. Finally.

And here is what I did for about 9 months:
* Washed my face twice a day (in the shower, steam seems to help) with Dr. Bronner hemp/tea tree oil bar soap with a wash cloth. Use the wash cloth only once. Always use a fresh clean one. Which means I use 2 washcloths a day. And when I launder them I use the hottest cycle and rinse them at least 2-3 times. And put them in the dryer to the hottest temperature. The only thing that kills the mites.
* At night, after my shower. I would put on the Duramectin horse paste (it’s actually a gel, very much like Vaseline).
* Also, super important: a clean pillowcase every day. The demodex mites will survive in the fabric of the pillowcase and crawl back on your face at night. So also wash and dry with the hottest temperature. For the first 6 months I could feel them crawling on my face when night time would come before I would take my shower and put the gel on my face. They’re night creatures and that’s when they mate. I know, disgusting!
* Washed my hair with Ovante Demodex shampoo and used their Leave-In Lotion.
* I also discovered that they had invaded my eyelashes. So I used Cliradex which is made with Tea Tree Oil. They’re little towelettes and are quite expensive. I would cut them in half and use one half in the morning and the other half at night. I also cut those halves in half: one for each eye.
* I also changed my diet. I have been a vegan/vegetarian most of my life (for humanitarian reasons) but my friends always said I was more a “pastatarian” because that’s what ate mostly. I ate a ton of sugar and starch. Definitely not enough vegetables and fruits. Had to change that. So I cut out the unhealthy carbs and the sugar. I was also severely deficient in vitamin D and B12. I live in Florida so I started going out in the sun for about 20 minutes 3-4 times a week. I also started to walk outside in the fresh air 1 hour a day. Finally lost those nasty 25 pounds I had gained after menopause.
* I also take a probiotic every day.
* It got worst before it got better. I would say I hit the worst of it at the 6 month mark. But I persisted and lo and behold about 2 months ago I finally started to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I stopped using the Horse Paste all together.
* I have deep cystic acne looking scars from having these pesky creatures for the last 10 years. My skin looks like Tommy Lee Jones’ skin. And I am not exaggerating.
* So I still wash with Dr. Bronner’s soap twice a day. Still use 2 washcloths a day. Still change my pillowcase every day.
* I no longer use the Ovante shampoo but still use their Leave-In Lotion. I use Trader Joe’s Tea Tree shampoo and conditioner. I actually used the Ovante shampoo for only about 6 months. One thing I forgot to mention is that the Demodex Mites had invaded my scalp and I was losing chunks of my hair and had a pretty good bald spot at my hairline (forehead). It is now almost all grown back. Cannot really notice it anymore.
* About 2 months ago I started using Dr. Hauschka’s “Clarifying Day Oil” during the day and his “Night Serum” at night. This is helping a lot with the healing of my scars.

So there you have it. I still occasionally get a couple of those “stretchy plugs” (demodex mites) but they don’t seem to proliferate anymore. When that happens I put the Horse Paste on for a couple of nights and that’s it. Takes care of it. My skin has been a long emotional roller coaster ride most of my adult life and I kept hoping that as I got older it would eventually clear up. But the opposite happened. It just kept morphing into something worst. As I got older I would joke that my acne gave my wrinkles a youthful look trying to make light of it. The last 10 years have been especially painful as that is when I got the deep scarring. But I am hopeful that it can repair itself with good nutrition, exercise, fresh air and compassion and kindness for myself and others in these Covid times. There are worst things to face than bad skin these days. Love to you all and stay well and safe. Be kind to yourself and others ❤️

Oops, correction: it’s Soolantra not Zoolantra, lol! Sorry about that.

Appreciate your input Rosiebuddy! From what I gather, demodex mites are contagious. I would think my Mrs and co-workers would have developed some by now if that is what has been troubling me. And, they would have shown up in the swabs and biopsies I've had. You are possibly correct in that we are experiencing different issues. The virtual doctor did prescribe the differin gel for me but the pharmacy had to order it in. It will arrive this afternoon. I am still on the mend. Mending fast actually. Vitamin A appears to be working for me. Thanks :-)

PS - love your positive attitude Rosiebuddy! Yah man. No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.

I believe it is only contagious if you have the right terrain (oily skin, years of “regular” acne that cause enlarged pores, etc) for them to thrive. My husband who I’ve been with for 8 years now has no sign of it. But he does have the most exceptional facial skin I’ve ever seen on a man. There are NO visible pores anywhere on his face. Not even on his nose or in the folds of his nose. Nothing, nada. And believe me I’ve looked very closely, lol. The skin on his face looks like the skin of a new born baby. And I am not exaggerating. It’s quite impressive. He’s never had a pimple, even as a teenager. Not one! Vitamin A should help you a lot, it has for me :)