Persistent Itching on Face

Hi.  Since May of this year (2011) I've suddenly got this persistent itchiness on both my eyelids. It started out itchy then it swelled the next day which lasted for a couple of days with the help of hydrocortisone.  Then when the swelling died down, both my eyelids became flaky.  The itchiness remained and travelled all over my face.  Only my eyelids showed visible flakes while the rest of my face just turned blushed from the scratching.  It really feels inflammed.  It's been off and on and hydrocortisone helps with the itchiness and the swelling, but it's not getting rid of it.  I'm beginning to feel the itchiness on my neck and behind my ear.  I feel some minor bumps of my skin but it's so minor that that you can't really see it until you try to look closer or try to feel my skin. When I scratch my face, it doesn't seem like the itchiness is coming from the bumps. I tried benadryl cream before for a day and that didn't really do much with the itching.  I even tried an anti-fungal cream for a day but that also did not work.  Only hydrocortisone gave me the relief from the itchiness and the swelling of my eyelid.  The problem is that this is just a temporary relief and it will flare-up again in a few hours.  It would get so itchy that I want to tear my skin out of my face.

I'm 30, female, asian.  Had no changes in my diet recently or done any activity that is out of my regular routine.  I am not experiencing any major stress nor anxiety.  I'm not taking any medication only Mg and Ca supplements from WholeFoods which I started to take a few months after this problem happened.

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
These symptoms can be due to allergies or seborrheic dermatitis. Seborrheic dermatitis is usually caused by overgrowth of Malassezia furfur. This skin disease commonly affects adolescents and young adults, especially in warm and humid climates and is aggravated by sweating and humidity.

Topical antifungals and mild steroids are the usual treatment and combination of the two can be used to treat stubborn patches. Oral antifungal drugs and immunomodulators such as tacrolimus and pimecrolimus are used in very severe cases. The other possibilities are of eczema, lupus erythematosus or dermatitis. Best would be to consult a dermatologist and get biopsy skin done to confirm the diagnosis.

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.