Notice
The below is a forum entry made by one of our community members. If you want to know more about your condition, we suggest you read the following article written by a mental health professional on
Picking Scabs
White Stretchy Plugs
I've always squeezed bumps and blemishes on my skin, but recently I've gone through a period of work-related stress. I was off work for 2 months, during which time my picking and squeezing got worse. I had lots of blemishes on my chest which I squeezed and picked until I had a few nasty little wounds. One of them became quite deep, and I discovered that when I picked the scab off there were a few little white pinhead shapes under it, in the wound. They were screaming out to me to be picked out, but I couldn't do it by hand - I had to use tweezers. Sometimes I found I would need a wool needle to ease the white thing out a bit before the tweezers could get hold of them. When I pulled, a white elasticy thing would stretch and then come out. It was about 2mm long. It was VERY satisfying to pull it out, so I looked for some more in my skin. This made my picking worse, and I now find I am thinking of it quite a lot of the day. I am longing to pull more stretchy white things out of my skin. I put up with quite a bit of discomfort and pain just to get the satisfaction of pulling out these stretchy white plugs. To heal my wounds I use Savlon antiseptic liquid, and they begin to dry up quite quickly. But this is the most tempting time to pick - the scab becomes very crusty and itchy, and I see little white bumps underneath which could be those white plugs I long to pull out. They are itchy and I am dying to pull them out!
I finally found something that works!!!! I was on Valtrex oral + acyclovir cream + L-lysine supplements for over 8 months with no change. The spots were ‘healed’… however I could very much so see the white dots under the skin! I dared not touch them, but it was obvious they were not responding to the antivirals.
What did work–>
-Washing my skin with Dial BAR soap with benzalkonium chloride 1-2x per day!
-Using a hydrocortisone GEL (there is one sold at CVS with no alcohol)
-Very thin layer of Altabax ointment at night
-I use ivermectin topical 3-4x/week for rosacea as well.
Honestly, I think it was the bar soap that changed everything. The spots immediately started changing when I introduced that. Don’t ask me how or why it worked, but I highly recommend picking up Dial antibacterial bar soap w/ benz. chloride and giving it a try. I had tried an OTC antiviral ointment with benzalkonium chloride at one point with no luck so I really have no idea why it worked.
I honestly believe it’s just a super deep folliculitis that’s easily inflamed/irritated. The body responds to the infection with overproduction of keratin, which plugs the follicle and creates that ‘plug’. Avoid anything irritating on the area (acids, strong chemicals/antiseptics).
I’ve had the same issue for almost 2yrs now. I currently work from home so have been trying more aggressive options because no one will see me. Ha. Some things that I’ve had success with…but are not for the meak because they hurt like a mofo—I wash my face twice a day with head and shoulders or a tea tree product to where the sores are now open. I then use my BF anti-fungal liquid that’s meant for stanky feet and put that directly ON the sores. This burns like crazy but only for a few seconds. I do this for a few days and then when it seems they’re dried out enough, I use Erythromycin ointment I got for blepharitis to moisten and heal them. It’s only been a week and I’m now comfortable enough to leave the house. I’m definitely going to try some other options you guys have listed but for now, this seems to be working OK.
In reply to I’ve had the same issue for by hlwest50
Stop washing twice a day with Head&Shoulders. Stop using tea tree oil and anti fungals for feet on open sores.
Use a pH balanced wash gentle face wash. Gentle wash once a day. Open raw skin is sooo sensitive and fragile. Treat it as such. It’s inflammatory folliculitis. Be gentle and use antibacterial gel (clindamycin).
Hey folks, i too have been dealing with this shit for 32 years. The covid vax caused mine to get much worse.
I have started treating it with a bombardment of 100% tea tree oil.
It's working.
Had this for over 5 years. Commented a lot on here with things I thought were working.
Clindamycin gel healed me. I use it religiously. That and preventing irritation.