Mysterious rash under chin - 8 yr old child

[jan7900]

My 8 year old son has a round shaped rash just under his chin. We first noticed it about 2 weeks ago. This rash is also slowly growing in size. My son says that it is itchy. There is no other rash anywhere else on his body, nor does he have any other symptoms...however...about a month or two ago, my son DID have a rash ALL OVER his body that lasted about 3-4 weeks - it started as small raised pimple like shapes and then over time the pimples formed together and eventually took on the appearance of hives (they were itchy - and the condition got progressively worse day by day) - I took my son to 4 different doctors (including one at Sick Kids Hospital). Two doctors believe it was an allergic reaction, and the others did not have an answer for me. It started to go away after he was given a liquid steroid (don't remember the name).

FYI: My son is extremely allergic to nuts. But there were no nut products around, nor was there any change in diet or clothing or environment when either of these rashes happened. Also, my son has already experienced having contact with nuts with a much worse reaction to what he has recently experienced. So, in other words, I think it should be safe to rule nuts out as the cause.

I've attached a photo of my son's new rash under his chin. Any insight as to what this is/what's causing it, etc would be very appreciated.

BTW: The doctors at Sick Kids set up an appt for my son to see a dermatologist, however, that will not be happening until the end of November.

[RJ233]

Your son's rash looks like a rash that my grandson has on his ankle. The dr said it was ringworm, but I have seen ringworm before and it looks smooth for ringworm. At any rate, he has a cream that the dr said to rub on it twice a day. From everything I have ever known ringworm is contagious. It is the pits to have to wait for a dermatologist so long. I have a place on my leg that one of my drs saw and I called one dermatologist office and I would not be able to see him until March 2010. Unbelievable.

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
Two possibilities are there. First is that it can be a ringworm or fungal infection. Second possibility is of nummular dermatitis. Treatment for both is entirely different. My sincere advice would be to consult a dermatologist and get the diagnosis confirmed so that treatment can be started.
I hope it helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how your son is doing or if you have any additional doubts. Kind regards.