Red cheeks and dry skin

[RLJ1811]

Hi. I am at my wits end with my face. For a few years now, I have suffered with dry flaky skin around my nose and onto my cheeks. It has never been bad like it looks when I look up seborrheic dermatitis (which one doctor told me I had). I have found the redness is worse in the mornings, redness and blotchy across my upper cheeks.

I have had two prescription creams from the doctor, one for seborrheic dermatitis and one for rosacea, both made my skin feel tight and more dry. I have tried everything under the sun in the way of creams and am currently using Liz Earle for dry/sensitive skin. I have also tried vitamin e oil on my face which works for a few days then stops. I've tried cutting dairy from my diet (I used to suffer eczema as a child and heard dairy can cause flare ups) and this seems to have reduced the dryness slightly, but my cheeks have been bright red in the morning the last couple of days.

I don't have spots (apart from the odd one or two i get each month) or get breakouts, it's basically just red/blotchy upper cheeks and dryness on my upper cheeks around my nose. No itchiness or burning. I'm at a complete loss what to do now, I feel like I've tried everything and nothing has worked!

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
Other than seborrheic dermatitis, rosacea should also be ruled out. Rosacea is a cutaneous disorder primarily of the central part of the face , such as forehead; cheeks ;nose; and chin.
Treatment options vary from antibiotic creams, antihistaminics, sun screens to laser treatment. A dermatologist’s evaluation will be the best.

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.

[RLJ1811]

Sorry, I also meant to say I'm female, 30 years old, healthy (BMI 18.5) and regularly exercise/don't smoke and drink rarely (a couple of glasses of wine on a weekend maybe). I also tend to go red very easily when I'm hot, my entire face goes like a tomato!