painful scaly red skin around eyes

I have red round my eyes - the skin is all scaly and dry - it looks like eczema - i have elimnated foods and ive not been drinking alcohol.  Could it be that i used nivea eye cream years ago that set this off or it just coincdence - surely a reaction to a cream would not last this long.

The area around eyes is painful and its almost inflamed and scaly and red.

Ive tried fucidin and antihystemines and they dont work

it seems the redness is spreading a bit onto my forehead

can this be caused by stress??
can anyone help

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
Such red, scaly skin can be due to contact dermatitis or seborrheic dermatitis. It 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.