Chin rash, acne and oily skin

by Sarah Morris
(Hangzhou, China)

Hi, I recently moved to China to live and work and the first month or so was ridiculously stressful (I’m a teacher and we were not provided books, computers, furniture etc making the whole experience completely overwhelming). It was also very humid and hot. I noticed a small red patch on my chin. I didn't think anything of it and just assumed it was a pimple and treated it as such. However over the weeks it didn't heal and then progressively got worse until it turned into a large cluster of red bumps as well as small whiteheads. Another week passed and I got a rash patch on the side of my chin. At this point I started to panic. I went to a dermatologist in and she diagnosed it as seborrheic dermatitis, gave me elidel cream and boric acid and sent me on my way. It got mostly better but then I noticed on the other side of my chin another rash patch/cluster of bumps!! I went to another dermatologist and he diagnosed it as seborrheic dermatitis and sent me on my way with medication that I had no intention of taking (mupirocin ointment, clindamycin powder, spironolactone , sodium chloride and hydrocortisone - and there was no way I was going to put a steroid cream on my face!). It’s definitely getting worse and to be honest I haven’t tried much, other than elidel and sea salt washes, and I’m starting to get very disheartened, because I’m not necessarily certain that I trust the dermatologists diagnosis’s, since I’m living abroad and it’s difficult to communicate. If it is indeed seborrheic dermatitis I’m fairly certain stress, hormones and the humidity/pollution probably caused it but if not then I’m really at a loss as to what caused it. Which makes finding the trigger very difficult and I want to heal it the right way. For example I’m currently seeing a Chinese medicine doctor and have been drinking herbs for 3 weeks to build up my immune system and I am also talking to a lady who is known to help with acne/hormone problems and deals with them naturally. I have very oily, acne prone skin and now this rash so my face is really looking disastrous. I have a history of eczema and for years used potent steroid creams (not anymore) and have had to use antibiotics 4 times over the past 2 years for various infections (tonsillitis etc) so I know it’s all played a big part in my skin issues and health. What would you recommend based on my history? I would be grateful for any advice you have. I get nervous about trying products that may help one problem (my rash) but make another one worse (acne). Has anyone ever reacted badly to the products? Or had a reaction? Is it easy to get the products delivered to China? I appreciate you taking the time to read this incredibly long post!! Thank you and I really appreciate this fabulous website!