Guest guest Posted May 21, 2001 Report Share Posted May 21, 2001 Hi Group-- Just wanted to post a frustrating experience I had recently... My rosacea's been well under control since finishing up with photoderm almost a year ago. A little pinkness back in my cheeks recently, but no other symptoms. About 2 weeks ago, I came down with a pretty nasty cold--sore throat, chills, mild tonsilitis. I decided to take some raw garlic to help with the sore throat and tonsilitis, which it did. Remembering Mark's success, I figured I'd continue using the garlic after my cold symptoms had disappeared. I must say, it certainly kept me " regular, " which is something I've always struggled to maintain, and it cleared up the mild seb derm flakiness that I have on my cheeks (since garlic does have some fungicidal properties, I suppose this makes sense). HOWEVER, after about a week, I started experiencing some terrible sensations, limited almost exclusively to my cheeks--burning, stinging, inflammation, even some noticeable swelling. Strangely enough, though, my cheeks weren't red or rashy, didn't have any papules--it was very odd, but I was still in a significant amount of discomfort. I couldn't figure it out, b/c I hadn't changed any of my 36cosmetics or my diet or my supplements--nothing, except the garlic. The sensations kept getting worse and went from intermittent to chronic by the end of last week. I was baffled and frustrated and very concnerned. Finally, I did a little internet sleuthing and learned that indeed, garlic can cause dermatitis in " susceptible individuals, " and apparently, I'm one of those individuals. It's the high sulfur content, and in my case, it was probably potentiated by the MSM I take (also a sulfur compound). The last time I took garlic was on Friday of last week (that's 3 days ago), and my skin feels back to normal today. Fortunately, I don't seem to have many residual effects, save for about 3 noticeable but small papules on my cheeks. The flakes have returned, though with the weather warming up, they're not so bad. So just a little caveat to be aware of if you are supplementing with raw garlic. It's probably something that can be managed by simply ingesting it only intermittently rather than every day, but I don't want to take my chances. That was really a horrendous and baffling experience. Too bad it worked so well to clear up the flakes... Take care, all-- __________________________________________________ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 21, 2001 Report Share Posted May 21, 2001 , I have problems with raw garlic causing bumps and itchiness for me. Sauteeing or boiling the garlic with other foods doesn't effect my skin at all. In addition to the sulfur link you described (oral MSM produced a terrible flare for me), I think Patty found a list where raw garlic contains high amounts of arginine. I'm glad you're feeling better. Take care, Matija > Hi Group-- > > Just wanted to post a frustrating experience I had > recently... > > My rosacea's been well under control since finishing > up with photoderm almost a year ago. A little pinkness > back in my cheeks recently, but no other symptoms. > About 2 weeks ago, I came down with a pretty nasty > cold--sore throat, chills, mild tonsilitis. I decided > to take some raw garlic to help with the sore throat > and tonsilitis, which it did. Remembering Mark's > success, I figured I'd continue using the garlic after > my cold symptoms had disappeared. I must say, it > certainly kept me " regular, " which is something I've > always struggled to maintain, and it cleared up the > mild seb derm flakiness that I have on my cheeks > (since garlic does have some fungicidal properties, I > suppose this makes sense). > > HOWEVER, after about a week, I started experiencing > some terrible sensations, limited almost exclusively > to my cheeks--burning, stinging, inflammation, even > some noticeable swelling. Strangely enough, though, my > cheeks weren't red or rashy, didn't have any > papules--it was very odd, but I was still in a > significant amount of discomfort. I couldn't figure it > out, b/c I hadn't changed any of my 36cosmetics or my > diet or my supplements--nothing, except the garlic. > The sensations kept getting worse and went from > intermittent to chronic by the end of last week. I was > baffled and frustrated and very concnerned. Finally, I > did a little internet sleuthing and learned that > indeed, garlic can cause dermatitis in " susceptible > individuals, " and apparently, I'm one of those > individuals. It's the high sulfur content, and in my > case, it was probably potentiated by the MSM I take > (also a sulfur compound). The last time I took garlic > was on Friday of last week (that's 3 days ago), and my > skin feels back to normal today. Fortunately, I don't > seem to have many residual effects, save for about 3 > noticeable but small papules on my cheeks. The flakes > have returned, though with the weather warming up, > they're not so bad. > > So just a little caveat to be aware of if you are > supplementing with raw garlic. It's probably something > that can be managed by simply ingesting it only > intermittently rather than every day, but I don't want > to take my chances. That was really a horrendous and > baffling experience. Too bad it worked so well to > clear up the flakes... > > Take care, all-- > > > > __________________________________________________ > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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