Is Your Chronic Acne Caused by Fluoride?
Take This Fluoroderma Questionnaire To Help Find Out
This questionnaire is designed to give you a general indication of the likelihood that your acne is caused by fluoride.
It is not intended to provide an official diagnosis or to substitute for professional medical guidance.
To complete the questionnaire, select the answer that best applies to your experience. Then calculate your total points by clicking the “Calculate Score” button. The scale at the bottom of the page will help determine the likeliness that your acne is caused by fluoride.
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
I scored a 40. There were a few questions I wasn’t sure how to answer – in particular the one about dental fluorosis. I’m honestly not sure, even after reading the article. I had serious fluoride treatments as a kid, and drank city treated water at least the first 18 years of my life, and then off and on since (we currently have a well). I haven’t noticed the little lumps on my ears in a long time, but I’ve experienced them before.
Maybe my score should have been a little higher.
Thanks for the feedback, Amanda! Dental fluorosis is a discoloration of the tooth enamel. It might appear as bright white spots, or even brown spots in more severe cases. If you’re not sure, any dentist should be able to tell you if you have it. Are there any other questions you thought were tricky? Also, have you noticed a correlation between your acne and fluoride intake?
I scored an 80 – I have been struggling the last 11 months to figure out what’s being causing my cystic acne. I’ve been through changing all my topicals to changing my diet (i’m now Gluten Free and try to go easy on the FODMAPs), etc. I think mine started when i started adding a lot of iodinized salt to my foods and started drinking more tap water and green tea. I saw improvements in my neck acne when I stopped using fluorided toothpaste but still have trouble with the cystic acne around my mouth, up towards my nose, on my forehead at times, and nodules around my ears (especially my right one) I recently started drinking and washing my face with RO water and i think that has helped some but still have the mouth and forehead breakouts. I had no idea that green tea had so much fluoride and i drink it twice a day – in the mornings and evenings. I stopped drinking it yesterday. I am hoping that my switching water to RO and by stopping green tea i will see significant improvements in my acne and in my knee and feet pain. Thanks so much for your site Melissa!
Also – i did have a couple questions. I currently eat rice chex cereal and in looking at the nutritional info online it shows that there is not enough fluoride in it to be measured. Do you think it’s ok to eat? And what is your opinion on using fluorided water/tea topically to wash or tone your skin with – will that cause issues? I currently make a green tea toner with distilled water to use on my face after washing with baby shampoo and am now concerned that the topical fluoride might be an issue as well. (I didn’t always use it the past 11 months)
The cereal issue is a tough one and could involve some serious investigation on your part. The nutritional data sheet says it does not contain a significant amount of fluoride, but that assumes the cereal you are eating was made at the same plant, with the same water supply, and the town did not change the fluoridation status since the test was conducted. You could probably call the company and ask them these questions if you really don’t want to give up your rice chex. For me, it was easier to give up all foods that could potentially contain significant amounts of fluoride. Then when my skin healed, I was able to experiment and could try to add things back in. There wasn’t too much I missed, but I’m happy to be able to drink wine from Washington state again.
I also avoid fluoridated products topically. When I travel, I wash my face with bottled water. How about a homemade toner with diluted apple cider vinegar instead of green tea? Or you could use an herbal tea that is known to be good for the complexion? Just a few ideas!
Iodized salt and green tea would do it, Laura. I’m really curious to hear if quitting green tea has any effect. Please let us know on our new fluoroderma success stories page if it does! It takes my skin about 2 weeks to heal from a significant jolt of fluoride. The initial set of cystic breakouts is followed by a smaller set further along the lymphatic pathways. If I am diligent about avoiding fluoride, it completely goes away after the first two rounds. Give it a couple weeks and see what happens. I hope it helps!
Hi Melissa! Since the last time I posted I have seen some really good improvements. The cystic acne has stopped and my chin and mouth area is healing up. I do have several small breakouts going up my cheek line, on my temples, and on certain parts of my forehead – i am wondering if this is the smaller set further along the lymphatic pathways that you were referring to. I am still eating the chex cereal (since my diet has been severely restricted due to me making changes to try to address the cystic acne) so hopefully it doesn’t have much fluoride in it. I also stopped the green tea topically and just now use chilled distilled water as a nice toner after washing with RO water.
I also wanted to mention that due to all the skin issues i have had the past 11 months, and trying multiple things to cure it, i developed seborrheic dermatitis on my face next to my nose and on my forehead. I am really hoping that stopping all the fluoride will help with it as well!
I will post more on your success page as things progress. I am so excited and hopeful that this will continue! Thank you so much Melissa – i can’t tell you what a blessing you and your site have become!
That is great, Laura! Isn’t it such a relief when those cystic outbreaks around the chin start to disappear? I’m still ECSTATIC when I think about how nice it is to finally understand what’s going on and to feel like I am in control of my skin for a change. When you eliminate those major sources of fluoride, it becomes easier to tell if smaller potential sources (like the Chex cereal) affect you or not. It took a long time for my skin to heal completely, but that’s mostly because I wasn’t totally convinced it was the fluoride and I didn’t know all the foods that contained it. I’ve got it figured out much better by now and I am happy to be able to pass this info along. Fluoride is known to cause eczema, too, so there is a good chance you will see an improvement with the seborrheic dermatitis. Please keep us posted!
Hi Melissa! Yes – it is such a relief! I still have one bump that seems to be cropping up but one versus 10 is so great!! And I have hope – which is something that was hard for me to hold on to the past few months when i just couldn’t figure things out. I will keep you posted!
That’s great progress for such a short amount of time. Keep at it!
I scored 90%! I was always told my acne was hormonal. Now I can hopefully avoid the triggers that cause it. I have had no idea how to stop it when it flares up and it’s been so frustrating and embarrassing.
Wow, that’s a high score Amber! I hope the info about fluoroderma will help you as much as it’s helped me. A small word of advice, some people read about flouroderma and jump right to the fluoride detox phase. I can see why this would be tempting, but it can make things worse. I recommend spending a good amount of time figuring out how to avoid fluoride and observing the effect it has on your skin. Then only once the skin is clear, attempt to detox fluoride with foods rich in iodine, boron, or other nutrients that displace fluoride. Please keep us updated!