Have you struggled to overcome a skin rash? Many women find that an under-breast rash is hard to eliminate, especially when the weather is warm and damp. One reader got rid of her under-breast rash with dandruff shampoo.
Fighting Under-Breast Rash with Dandruff Shampoo:
Q. I had occasional rashes in my armpits and under my breasts until I found that washing with generic selenium sulfide dandruff shampoo got rid of them. I follow the wash by wiping with generic Listerine.
Now I regularly wash these areas with the shampoo. I also use it for the rosacea on my face. I suspect that yeast and fungi are my culprits.
Dandruff Shampoo Discourages Fungus and Yeast:
A. Rashes may have various causes. Some people may be sensitive to ingredients in their underarm products. Others may harbor yeast or fungus on their skin. Yeast and fungus are related, and fungus fighters often discourage yeast as well.
Since your rashes respond so well to selenium sulfide in shampoo and to mouthwash with thymol, eucalyptol, and other herbal oils, you could well be right that yeast is causing you trouble. These antifungal compounds are good at discouraging yeast.
Dandruff Shampoo for Acne Rosacea:
Dermatologists believe rosacea (also called acne rosacea) is associated with an unusually high density of normal skin mites called Demodex (Dermatology Online Journal, Sept. 17, 2015). This condition responds well to the insecticides permethrin or ivermectin applied to the skin (Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology, online Sep. 7, 2016).
Doctors don’t know if these Demodex mites are associated with more yeast on the skin, but many readers have reported they can calm rosacea by washing their faces with selenium sulfide shampoo. One such story came from Steve L:
“According to a somewhat recent medical journal article I found online, rosacea is due to the Demodex mite which is much more in prevalent in rosacea sufferers.
“Another site says throughout Eastern Europe, this is the accepted reason for rosacea and wonders when the US physicians are going to catch up. That mite releases a certain bacteria from its gut when it dies. Our immune reaction to that bacteria is the cause of rosacea.
“The internet claims selenium is toxic to both mites and bacteria, so you get both from Selsun Blue. I’ve read it can clear rosacea in about three days. That’s even after many other approaches failed. If it was the placebo effect, how come the other countless products didn’t work? Scratch the placebo effect.
“I have read about ten testimonials so far. All except one seems to say it’s a cure for rosacea. That one person had only used it so far for three days.
“I used it last night, but I don’t know the ideal length of time to keep it on the skin and scalp. I used it for about four minutes last night, but I maybe just one or two minutes would work. We shall see.”
