Dry skin under nose, in nose creases and above eyes.

I've noticed a great deal of dry skin under my nose over the past week. As well as a minor amount of dry skin above my eyes.
It started with a tender nose, from my lip to the tip of my nose and into the creases, and the next morning I woke to flaky, irritated skin.
The dry skin above my eyes, just below my eyebrows, isn't nearly as bad. Usually moisturising helps with this area a fair bit.
The flakiness under my nose however is much like dandruff, but a lot worse. I exfoliate and then moisturise (I have tried a few different moisturises, however after each one the dry area of my nose/eyes sting.)
I do this every morning and every night...I leave the house with relatively smooth skin under the nose, although it stings, but half way through the day I notice the dry skin is suddenly back in abundance.
It's very uncomfortable, and irritating.
Any ideas of what could be causing it, or what I can do to make it go away?

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
From the symptoms it can be dry skin, seborrheic dermatitis or eczema. Seborrheic dermatitis is a common skin condition that causes flaky, dry, white to yellowish scales to form on oily areas esp the face, nose and chest. Treatment is different for all and hence the diagnosis needs to be confirmed first.

It is very difficult to precisely confirm a diagnosis without examination and investigations and the answer is based on the medical information provided. For exact diagnosis, you are requested to consult your doctor. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.