misski
12-27-2012, 01:55 AM
I seriously was close to tears when I realized what I have done to myself. Now I am humored by this because in retrospect, I don't even know what I was thinking doing what I did. The reason why I am so depressed but also humored is because nothing about my skin is ever right and an attempt to treat it made it even worse!
Here's what happened:
I've known about retin-a for a while now. I kept reading that it is wonderful for the skin and that apparently everyone should use it. I am going to turn 19, about to transfer to another university, and I never really took care of myself so I thought perhaps I should start doing so.
I have very, very (very) mild hidradenitis suppurativa, which is currently in remission, and also a few zits and scars here and there on my face. I also have keratosis pilaris. I thought retin-a micro would be perfect for me so I applied it all over my body:
Arms, legs, back, front, face, underarms, hands, check, neck, butt cheeks... and "down there". Everywhere. Please don't tell me how foolish I am because I already know.
All the sensitive areas are badly affected:
My neck, the crooks of my arms, "down there" (including the inner butt cheeks for some reason, I guess from wiping front to back), some on my abdominal area, some areas on my back, under my breast, underarms, chest and neck area PEELED and broke out a little bit. The peeled area became inflamed and RED. Now it's just permanently discolored. It's just a patch of brownish skin like the pictures below:
http://i47.tinypic.com/9lilj4.jpghttp://i50.tinypic.com/qspml5.jpghttp://i47.tinypic.com/2582m8m.jpg
(From left to right, that's the crook of my left arm, my chest area and finally my abdominal area)
When I rub the crooks of arms and my underarms, flakes of skin rubs off.
I began using retin-a micro 0.1% on October 31 and I stopped on the December 4. I noticed discoloration for a long time, maybe even a week after using retin-a micro, but I assumed it was a normal skin reaction from retin-a micro. When I noticed that it wasn't fading away or it was no longer peeling, I stopped immediately.
I guess this is called reactive hyperpigmentation. I never consulted a dermatologist before and I always have bad experiences with doctors.
My biggest concern is obviously my sensitive areas (inner butt cheeks and "down there"). I obviously don't feel like showing this to a dermatologist. My inner butt cheeks aren't that bad, but you can see a sharp line where the discoloration starts. It just looks odd. Again, this is from wiping front to back.
I apologize for my verbose post. I just want to be detailed as much as possible. I am LOLing but also crying inside at how stupid I am.
What is your advice on how to treat this? Do you think hydrocortisone might help (although the area doesn't look inflamed anymore, it's just brown patches)? I'm afraid that this might be a lost cause and nothing will help this.
Here's what happened:
I've known about retin-a for a while now. I kept reading that it is wonderful for the skin and that apparently everyone should use it. I am going to turn 19, about to transfer to another university, and I never really took care of myself so I thought perhaps I should start doing so.
I have very, very (very) mild hidradenitis suppurativa, which is currently in remission, and also a few zits and scars here and there on my face. I also have keratosis pilaris. I thought retin-a micro would be perfect for me so I applied it all over my body:
Arms, legs, back, front, face, underarms, hands, check, neck, butt cheeks... and "down there". Everywhere. Please don't tell me how foolish I am because I already know.
All the sensitive areas are badly affected:
My neck, the crooks of my arms, "down there" (including the inner butt cheeks for some reason, I guess from wiping front to back), some on my abdominal area, some areas on my back, under my breast, underarms, chest and neck area PEELED and broke out a little bit. The peeled area became inflamed and RED. Now it's just permanently discolored. It's just a patch of brownish skin like the pictures below:
http://i47.tinypic.com/9lilj4.jpghttp://i50.tinypic.com/qspml5.jpghttp://i47.tinypic.com/2582m8m.jpg
(From left to right, that's the crook of my left arm, my chest area and finally my abdominal area)
When I rub the crooks of arms and my underarms, flakes of skin rubs off.
I began using retin-a micro 0.1% on October 31 and I stopped on the December 4. I noticed discoloration for a long time, maybe even a week after using retin-a micro, but I assumed it was a normal skin reaction from retin-a micro. When I noticed that it wasn't fading away or it was no longer peeling, I stopped immediately.
I guess this is called reactive hyperpigmentation. I never consulted a dermatologist before and I always have bad experiences with doctors.
My biggest concern is obviously my sensitive areas (inner butt cheeks and "down there"). I obviously don't feel like showing this to a dermatologist. My inner butt cheeks aren't that bad, but you can see a sharp line where the discoloration starts. It just looks odd. Again, this is from wiping front to back.
I apologize for my verbose post. I just want to be detailed as much as possible. I am LOLing but also crying inside at how stupid I am.
What is your advice on how to treat this? Do you think hydrocortisone might help (although the area doesn't look inflamed anymore, it's just brown patches)? I'm afraid that this might be a lost cause and nothing will help this.