Howdy y'all.

Having sufferered for several years from the medical affliction known specifically as 'manky face', I have visited my GP on many occasions to be given varying diagnoses on the symptoms and causes, from 'acne' to 'dermatitis', although I stick with 'manky face' for its descriptive quality and definite description of the issue.

I have been on various medicated creams and steroid creams and I have taken so many antibiotics that I am sure that I rattle now when I move. The only positive effect I've noticed so far is that my wallet is lighter to carry around... I was referred to a dermatologist a few months back but have heard nada.

Soooo... In my infinite wisdom (and with the wedding only 8 weeks away, a hint of desperation) today I consulted a wise Chinese man who has given me a check up and 2 bags of magic herbs... one to boil up and drink, and the other to boil up and bathe in. I was pretty impressed when the first thing he suggested was an allergy to something causing the problem - I don't think this had ever been considered.

Opening the bags up, they look reminiscent of something I would have if I scrabbled on the floor of the common for a few seconds. Twigs, round nutty things, and grassy bits.

I've taken the first dose of the drinky one, after boiling up all the ingredients and straining out the resulting brown liquid - it tasted absolutely vile and I await the probable onslaught of bum gravy. I plan to start the bathing ritual today with feelings of both optimism and trepidation... It is quite unusual to have a bath in stuff that looks like the same stuff that if I had on me when I was a kid after coming in from playing in the woods, my mum would make me take a bath!

This is a long post... sorry. I might even use this as a little diary to keep y'all updated on my alternative therapy. I might even get to have a bit of acupuncture. Scary...

The wise man said that I should see results in 2 weeks, and be un-mankyfied in 6! Rock on... Now lets hope it does what it says on the tin.

Also, I have been banned from red meat, seafood and alcohol for the duration. Argh!

I've never been fond of taking manufactured pills or whatnot anyway, so this method seems good to me - but it is pricey - although the man seemed very confident in his practices, so I guess I just follow the rules and see how it goes.

So anyway forumites, do you have any experience with Chinese herbal remedies or any other alternative medicines? Did/does it work for you? Is it all mumbo jumbo and have I wasted my money? lol!

And if you skipped to the end just to read the last line, then here it is. :biggrin:

I haven't tried any alternative medicines or medicinal techniques mainly because I'm quite lucky and don't fall ill very often. Touch wood.

Although one of my college friends at the time went into a high street alternative medicine shop. He wanted something for stress as we had exams the following week. It still makes me laugh what he was offered :P He was offered shark testicles to eat :razz:

On a serious note, some people prefer to choose herbal remedies or therapies for treatment as they are mainly natural substances that are used.

I say go for it Ches, as long as it doesn't make your wallet too light :biggrin: Plus, you've already started the regime now.

Yeah, we'll see what we'll see...

I put my trust in regular doctors and modern medicine for 3 years and that hasn't got me very far. Although if anyone tries to give me genitals to eat, I will politely decline...

Ooh, interesting. Do you know what twigs and things exactly he gave you?

I haven't tried any complicated herbal remedies (like the ones you seem to have been given), but in India, if you want to go the natural way, lemon (light bleaching agent), lemon & honey (dry skin); lemon & cucumber (oily skin); sandalwood, tulsi (Holy Basil), neem are all good for acne in some form or the other. I've never stuck to any one long enough to see the benefits (usually get bored after 2 days), but everyone says they work. I've never tried artificial medicine, I just don't trust it.

I guess if you know what the cause of the acne is, it's much easier to solve it. If it's a hormonal reason, then modern medicine should help calm things down, but if it's just clogged pores then a good skin cleansing routine should work.

Good luck!

I.. after having a bad year of hayfever, tried some homeopathic stuff. It seemed to work... but as there is no real scientific statistical evidence of homeopathic remedies working, it might just have been the placebo effect. :razz: ie trying something different, and having a mindset wanting it to work.

I'm now, into week 2 of a Personal training course, which was a b'day pressie (lucky me!), the main gist of which, is to get me to survive a long time. :biggrin:
So far, they've identified i'm a bit lopsided/bent/unsymetrical in various places, don't use my bum's muscles enough - and all the knock-ons that has, have a slightly poor diet, and am not stressed or worried.

The reason I bring it up, in relation to Ches's thing, is that a very very large part of the get fitter/look better/feel better/fix body shape is nothing to do with exercise, but with a) sleeping regularly and consistently, b) drinking loads more water, c) eating healthily (avoiding the blood sugar peaks & troughs)... and I think doing the 3 things outlined there, would also benefit Ches/anyone.

I can do a & b, I'm finding it a wrench to give up a large amount of processed flour bread :sad: for c though!

I love natural remedies :) I have a few books on it somewhere... :) I do like the reflexology stuff more than the whole eat this and that to get this better. But I do try that sometimes, like when I have a cold you go for the old lemon and honey and stuff and when I have a stomach ache we have this uhh sugary saffrony stuff. :) That always helps. :) and uhh yeah. Lots of stuff like that. -shrugs- my mum knows about it.

But I wouldn't know anything about face stuff. Have you tried yoghurt on it? :) Dries out the skin and stuff and stuff. :) Orr you could just make your own random facemask out of random stuff you find :D :) mmm.. :)

For non natural I'd go for sudocream since that just generally works miracles on anything. :D

But I hope it works! :) I'm sure that if it's lots of random bits and pieces it might work :) :D Healthy mixing is always good. :D :)

Have you tried yoghurt on it? :)

Hmm, that might make a difference. Natural yoghurt is great for sunburn as well; a) because it's natural it doesn't harm the skin, b) it's not very sticky when it comes to taking it off and c) because the yoghurt belongs in the fridge, it's oh so lovely and cold and soothing on sunburn :)

It does something good to skin :P That's all I know. xD ahaha on proper burns which are small you can use toothpaste. :)

I had my bath in gross water that looked like it came out of a pond today.

As its only day 2, I'm not surprised to not see any results yet. Although a miraculous change would have been appreciated. heh.

Orr you could just make your own random facemask out of random stuff you find :D :) mmm.. :)

lol!

Although I wonder if that's how the concoction I was given was made...

I'm sure it isn't though!


a) sleeping regularly and consistently,
b) drinking loads more water,
c) eating healthily (avoiding the blood sugar peaks & troughs)... and I think doing the 3 things outlined there, would also benefit Ches/anyone.

a) is tricky because I work shifts, so I know my sleep patterns are wonky.
b) I'm getting better at... if only to wash away the taste of the magic potion!
c) another tricky thing with shifts - I try to eat healthily, but sometimes I can't eat regularly. I try not to stuff myself on night-shifts though!

I do keep meaning to get down the gym, to stop wasting the membership that I have, but I am severely lacking in motivation... Last night of work today though, so I will endeavour to get at least one session at the gym over the next few days. (Famous last words!)

because it's natural it doesn't harm the skin

lol, that's why natural enthusiasts are sometimes a bit silly.

Urushiol produced by poison ivy is natural, but not something to rub on your skin. Snake venom and tetrodotoxin from pufferfish are natural but you don't want them in your body.

Natural does not mean good; synthetic does not mean bad.

There's nothing wrong with liking natural remedies, but listing "natural" as an actual benefit of something is just wrong.

A chemical made by nature is no better or worse than a useful one made synthetically.

I'm finding it a wrench to give up a large amount of processed flour bread :sad: for c though!

God yes. I love bread (though not the cheap stuff I'll inevitably end up with due to... monetary concerns), and it's such an easy lunch. Besides that, I have lunch up to 3 times, haha, so anything else would get far too expensive.


As for non-chemical remedies: I too used to have hay-fever. I never had it as a kid; it just came up randomly. After 2 springs of suffering (though the homeopathic stuff helped a bit), I realised that an allergy is basically an overreaction of the immune system to a harmless substance. I kept repeating that to myself over and over and over again, especially when I felt an allergic reaction coming up. And guess what! It went away! I've only needed one gentle reminder this spring...



As a matter of fact, our brain ♥♥♥♥s up a lot more than we think it does, so with a bit of will power you can try to convince yourself to set these things straight. Especially if you know where and how your brain is going wrong.


Good luck with the mud bath Ches!

If your suffering from chronic 'manky face' the chances are your diet is lacking zinc and B vitamins (God, I'm sound like Gillian McKeith now - she'd be so proud!), particularly Vitamin B5.

A brief background into why Zinc is an important component of our diet:
Zinc helps with the body's healing process and is an important component of enzyme reactions. Zinc is crucial for the healthy maintenance of all the body's systems but particularly important for healthy skin and is essential for a healthy immune system and resistance to infection.

A brief background into why B5 (Pantothenic Acid) is an important component of our diet [wrt 'manky face' (& skin in general)]:
This lovely vitamin is thought to help prevent aging and wrinkles and is important for hair and healthy skin by <insert science jargon here and shizzle on coenzyme A> It's also used in anti ageing products a lot.

The Chinese herb man is right in saying lay off the alcohol because it's well known to deplete vitamn B5 and is often responsible for inhibiting the processing stage of B5. <insert a load more science jargon here>

Seafood is oddly enough something which most people tend to avoid with zinc deficiencies, however, your body may also be lacking omega 3 so if you really want fish make sure it's something rich in Omega 3. Note: most fish have oily skin and this is where you can find the omega 3 but cod is very different, it stores most its omega 3 in its liver. Hence why most people have cod liver oil rather than eat cod skin (hmmm... yum :eek:)

As for staying away from red meat, I think that's a bit iffy but hey ho, this man has a load more experience than me. I hope you're not anaemic :p But if you are looking to increase the levels of ironin your blood choose dark green cabbage leaves over spinach. Cabbage contains more iron than spinach and the misconception of spinach being iron rich comes from a German scientist who misplaced a decimal point. Ahh, those poor kids who were being shovelled spinach on a daily basis would be fuming right now.

Foods rich in Zinc:
Dairy products, beans, lentils and pulses, yeast, nuts, seeds and wholegrain cereals. Pumpkin seeds are particularly awesome, especially for vegetarians.

Foods rich in B5:
Mushrooms, cauliflower, sunfower seeds (you should really try and snack on these as much as possible) tomatoes (it's in their skin iirc), strawberries, yoghurt, chard, corn and eggs.

Drink plenty of water as its the cheapest, yummiest secret to young and healthy skin and introduce wholemeal bread into your diet. Oh, also Porridge. Porridge has soooooo many benefits you would not believe! Helps diabetes, lowers cholesterol, improves the skin, healing process and so on.

I could go on and on but I won't. I knew this nutrition course I did would come in handy eventually :razz:


Edit: If you're really desperate you could buy zinc and B5 tablets from Holland and Barretts. Possibly as a last resport though, making changes through diet is a million times better than pill popping; you'd only be a giant tic tac container xD

Further edit: And good luck on the upcoming wedding! :D

Opening the bags up, they look reminiscent of something I would have if I scrabbled on the floor of the common for a few seconds. Twigs, round nutty things, and grassy bits.

I've taken the first dose of the drinky one, after boiling up all the ingredients and straining out the resulting brown liquid - it tasted absolutely vile and I await the probable onslaught of bum gravy. I plan to start the bathing ritual today with feelings of both optimism and trepidation... It is quite unusual to have a bath in stuff that looks like the same stuff that if I had on me when I was a kid after coming in from playing in the woods, my mum would make me take a bath!



My mother has a weird, obscure skin condition and had to consult another Chinese doctor for treatment suggestions. She ended up bringing home these beetles and tea leaves. The beetles were about two inches long and one inch wide. They were disgusting. And the stench filled up the entire house when they were boiled. (It worked, though.)



:) My mother's father was a doctor back in Hong Kong, and apparently very well-versed in Chinese herbal medicine. My mother now frequently makes random herbal soups for my sister and me, and they're magic. I've drank ones that are good for dry skin, eyes, menstrual cramps, immune system, liver, kidneys, and hair, and something like... the balance in your body, I suppose you could say. It's not translatable into English.

Having grown up in North America, I have to admit that if I wasn't Chinese and hadn't grown up around a ton of alternative medicines, I would probably be quite dubious about their effectiveness. Having witnessed and experienced these medicines firsthand, though, I have a lot of respect for alternative medicines and I'm more likely to use them than pop pills that will be mean to my liver and make me sleepy.

Also, back when I had whiplash after a particular nasty car crash, I ended up getting acupuncture because my physiotherapist was also Chinese. It was a lot more effective than the gel massaging stuff that she gave me.

She ended up bringing home these beetles and tea leaves. The beetles were about two inches long and one inch wide. They were disgusting. And the stench filled up the entire house when they were boiled. (It worked, though.) :eek:

and something like... the balance in your body, I suppose you could say. It's not translatable into English.
Homeostasis :p

Homeostasis :p

Nooo. It has to do with how certain groupings of foods will make your body react in different ways if you have an excess of them.

Don't read ahead if you don't enjoy reading about body functions.. :razz:
For example, an excess of foods like melons and lychee can cause really heavy periods for females (among many other things. Again, not translatable). I have a problem with that because I love watermelon. My mother actually just boiled an herbal soup that reduces menstrual flow, the amount of time it lasts, and helps with the cramps.

Gracie, although I can't relate to those from expereince I have heard similar about certain types of foods. Also, have you heard this:
If you're really late, dates can apparently help to get the flow going. I think there are certain foods that Southern and Eastern Asians tend to call 'hot' but not as in temperature or spiciness... it's related to how it affects the body.

I've heard the same about some oils too. Just over a year ago I had alopecia and one common "remedy" for it was to use various oils; mustard, olive, rapeseed etc. However, I didn't because I've got this thing about oily things touching me and being on my skin *shudder*. The generations preceding us said mustard oil should be used because it's 'hot' and that somehow affects the hair follicals so instead of promoting hair growth, it just mkaes your hair fall out even more. I 'cured' my alopecia in totally pain and medicine free way. People would pay thousands if they could be treated the way I was and I paid nothing :o

Ches.
Update please.
Must be getting close to the big day now too......... ^^

Haha. 5 weeks to go. And all eggs in one basket now:

Back to the antibiotics and emollients, still drinking the pigswill and bathing in the juices of hell, but there does actually appear to be an improvement. But if I do ever get that 'perfect complexion' then I won't bloody know what to attribute it too! Quitting the alcohol and eating properly might be helping too...

Oh... finally saw a dermatologist too - apparently its like an advanced rosacea (sp?) so I shall also be embarking on a new beauty regime that my crazy wife to be saw on 'This Morning' called KARME or something like that.

I prefer the term MankyFace to Rosacea... That's a stupid word. If I came up to you in the street and said 'excuse me, would you like some rosacea?' you would probably think I was offering you flowers, or a new perfume, or something and accept - so then I would say 'aha!' and mankify your face. But if someone says 'Fancy some MankyFace?' you would likely decline politely and live happily ever after. The End.

See?

Anyhoo - on a serious note, I have only been on the antibiotics (oxymultihooplacheeriosweetabixtetrafinfishfoodbic ycle) (or something) for 3-4 days, and I doubt they kick in that quick, so it may well be the Poison Potion and Bog Bath that is doing the trick...

Lol Ches.

Just out of interest how is Rosacea pronounced?

Roe-Zay-sha.

Such a pretty word... If I ever have kids, that's gonna be the name for my first, if its a girl. If its a boy, I quite like Herpes.

Roezay for short or Mankie??

Ugh, speaking of manky faces and "natural"(???) remedies, I used tiger balm on my forehead the other night because of my migraine. It wasn't too easy to wash off but I dabbed it off as best I could. I've now got a really nasty wrinkly forehead :cry:

There's a whole strip across my head of vertical lines. Ewwww

Dude, that's called old age.

You're mean.
I think the skin's peeling off a bit :S Maybe Ches can peel off his manky face, ha.

/me runs

If I can, I will chase you down the road with it...

I hope it works for you Ches, even if you do chase people with MankyFace :biggrin:

Well, reaching the end of the magic medicene... and although I can't honestly attribute the results to any one remedy, due to the weird concoction of drugs and herbs I'm using, I reckon the evil potion had very good effects. Hooray to alternative medicene, I reckon.

Still not perfect, but we're getting there damn fast. Touch wood... although there do appear to be one or two unexpected side effects:

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h172/sechskie/ches2-1.jpg

Lol, interesting side effects... You certainly look younger than you did in that picture you posted ages ago (from what I can remember of it anyway)

Your forehead and upper cheeks are quite pink, is that where the acne-looking bad skin was/is or are you just a bit flustered? :P

Yeah, the pinkiness is the remaining thing to get rid of. Honeymoon will hopefully help by masking it with a sun tan :) heh

Ches, I've come into this thread a little late, I realize, and hopefully you have had a wonderful honeymoon, and your facial pinkness is now disguised by a marvelous suntan. If not... I work for a plastic surgeon in the US. We have a skin health department where we have an assortment of lasers, and we see a number of rosacea patients. I don't know what's available to you over there, but you could look into laser treatment, if you haven't already. Look for advertised businesses which offer botox and related services, and find out if they offer laser treatments (It would be best if that business is guided by a doctor, preferably a plastic surgeon, or a dermatologist). There are different types of lasers, though, so you want to make sure that the appropriate one is used. I would tell you the type of laser we use, but number one: I don't remember the specific name, and number two: It would probably have a different name anyway. Good luck on your continued struggle, though, it's not an easy fight, and unfortunately it will probably be with you to some degree... um... forever. :sad: