Curing The Blistering Skin Condition Known As Milia

What Is Milia?

Milia is a skin condition that can happen to anyone at any time in life. It is most often seen in newborns, and it can be expected to rapidly disappear in these cases. The biggest problem with milia occurring in infancy is calming panicked parents, who do not know how harmless and temporary it is. Milia may not be so temporary when adults get it. In fact, these unsightly blister-like bumps can sometimes be permanent for adults without intervention.

Milia visibly manifests in tiny blister-like protrusions on the skin. This condition can occur in anyone, regardless of age, sex, or race. The type seen in infants usually disappears over a brief period, but the adult version can be a long term cosmetic problem. This condition is not dangerous, and it is officially unknown if there is a relationship to another underlying condition. Milia is one of the most misunderstood of all health conditions, but in itself, appears harmless by all reports.

Big Medica: "The Causes"

These are the suspected causes of adult milia, as espoused by modern medicine, listed for humor purposes, of course. You may notice the trend of these being related to their own chemical industry.

• Trauma to sweat ducts
• Radiotherapy (radiation)
• Sunscreens
• Topical corticosteroid use
• Genodermatoses ("bad" genes) **

The Real Cause

Unfortunately, we cannot give answers as definitively as we usually do. This is because milia has not received the same amount of research that most disorders have, due to its relatively harmless nature.

The honest truth is that no one knows the causes with certainty. It is widely believed that this condition is due to an exfoliation problem, whereby tiny flakes of dead skin clog the skin's pores. Our research indicates that this is likely only half of the equation. The other half is an excess of cholesterol in the skin, where the body frequently deposits its excess cholesterol. This in turn, leads us to a third contributing factor, which is a deficiency of sunlight. A body removes its excess cholesterol in the skin using sunlight, which begins a process of converting it into vitamin D3. Sunlight does not cause this condition, as some other health-related sources have claimed, and in fact, sunlight can cure it in some cases.

Eliminating Milia

There is plenty of information elsewhere about having dermatologists remove these lesions, so we shall not discuss that option. For those who want to do it themselves, we recommend:

• Take frequent showers.
• Exfoliate the skin.
• Supplementation with niacin is the single most effective treatment for some sufferers.
• Avoid sunscreens. (when reasonable)
• Avoid heavy facial cosmetics.
• Get moderate sunlight exposure frequently.
• Reduce high cholesterol foods.
• Supplement with biotin, because many sufferers find that biotin supplementation alone cures their milia.
• Do not take vitamin D supplements. *
• CoQ10 is produced by the body during intense exercise, and is found in meat and fish.  It is used by the body to emulsify oils, and to increase energy.  Emulsifiers make oils water soluble (like soap), which assists in their removal, and thus reduces milia.

* The liver maintains healthy skin while converting the vitamin D2 from sunlight into vitamin D3. Since supplementation with vitamin D can eliminate the need for the liver to conduct this process, it is not always wise to take a vitamin D supplement while attempting to correct a skin issue.

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# Thomas Corriher (Managing Editor) 2011-02-25 13:28

I developed a case of milia myself, and the one thing that actually worked was niacin supplementation (https://healthwyze.org/reports/532-niacin-supplementation-for-healthy-hearts-and-minds). Please read the referenced article about niacin before using it, because of its strange side effects.

# Marie Wright 2012-01-17 14:18

Hope I don't repeat (I'm in a hurry!)any above - did not read all posts. I can trace almost all my problems to alcohol abuse and lead toxicity. I eat whole organic foods, exercise regularly, live in a very small town in Alaska surrounded by fresh clean air and have for years. So I can remove a number of variables. I have Milia on forehead near nose cheeks and chin.
A niacin deficiency sounds like a reasonable conclusion for me (alcohol strips it). Also vit D deficiency, however I had these before I moved to Alaska 10 years ago, but perhaps it exacerbates it further.

# Beginning Treatment TONIGHT! — Rachel Rosalie Prescott 2012-05-13 18:50

What a great site with great information.

Today was a rough day with my skin and I am SO GLAD to have found this site with so much hope from all of you!

NO ONE understands my pain. I am a professional fashion model, so you can only imagine the havoc this awful milia has caused in my life. I have NEVER has any kind of acne until the past year (I just turned 23 years old). Every day I have to go to work and have people staring at my face and make up artists applying layers of thick makeup to cover up the milia. It is so humiliating.

I have always taken such pride in my skin and have always been SO BLESSED to have such good skin.

About this time last year I came down with a bad case of "acne" as I thought, only to discover after a painful 4 months later it is actually called milia. I knew it was some kind of acne, but I knew it was different than just pimples because when I tried to pop them nothing would really come out other than a seed like thing and they would scab terribly.

Then it went away...but only to come back about a month ago and it has only gotten worse in the past month or so regardless of any topical solution I have done.

A makeup artist I worked with a bit ago told me to try an oatmeal mask. Apparently it works wonders for the skin (and it makes sense it would work for milia since it reduces cholesterol).

So starting TONIGHT I am going to be taking biotin and niacin. I am also doing an oatmeal mask. I'll let you all know how it goes!

Why is this happening at this point in my life, I have not a clue.

I am hopeful!!!!!!!!!

# RE: Beginning Treatment TONIGHT! — Thomas Corriher (Managing Editor) 2012-10-15 08:40

Oatmeal does actually seem to work somewhat, which proves that oatmeal really does remove excess cholesterol from the body. We didn't even have to spend 4.6 million to prove it either. Additionally, oatmeal is a healthy carbohydrate that is full of nutrients, and it has lots of fiber too. Perhaps it should be in the super-food category. If we continue getting consistent reports that oatmeal produces tremendous improvements, then we will update this report with a recommendation for its use.

Thanks for the help, everyone.

# Jenn Rubin 2012-07-15 00:27

Thanks so much for the information on milia. I have had milia for about 5yrs now, I feel very embarrassed by it even though people tell me its not noticeable. I have at least 50 of them if not many more. I started to get it on my cheeks and it has since spread down my face and i now have it on my forehead and even under my chin. I have never read anything that could be done besides going to a dermatologist and having them removed, which i was not going to do. I will try out niacin and try to get some more sun exposure(which I am probably lacking).

Thanks again for the information everyone.

# Possible Milia — Sandy Thompson 2013-03-05 15:17

On June 05, 2012, I had the superior lobe of my left Parotid Gland removed due to a benign tumor. During the surgery, the surgeon stapled the surgical drapes to my body, chest neck chin and face, since then one spot on my face has become really wrinkly and has milia. It looks horrible, as I have always had nice skin, now it looks like maybe they are forming on my right cheek also. Could the trauma of the staples have caused this, and what would cause the wrinkling effect?

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