? sebacceous excema

[lanny29]

My son has had a rash for the last 6 months.  It started as small red spots round the mouth which spread to the forehead.  As they got worse they also turned white mostly, they are also on the forearms and on the anterior surface of the legs.  on the face sometimes they can go quite red and once or twice have pustulated.  My doctor diagnosed sebacceous excema and prescibed 1% hydrocortisone, which helped for a little while.  I have now stopped using this.  The only thing that has cleared it up temporarily has been when we went on holiday and he had a little sun exposure.  Can you suggest a diagnosis and a treatment or do you think he will just grow out of it?

[lanny29]

Thank you very much for your reply.  We had initially thought that it was atopic in nature and tried all of the above to no affect.  The skin is not dry red or flaky and would say the area got worse with moisturizing.  The pimples are very small approx 1mm and on the arms there are as many as a thousand or so. He never seems to itch them and although some of them are red mostly they are skin coloured or white.  The ones on his face usually look minimal in the morning but by the evening they are worse.

I know it may seem I am being a neurotic mother as they are not hurting or annoying him but they are unsightly and i am getting fed up of others commenting on them all the time!

[Vanessa Lacuesta]

Hi

We may have to consider atopic dermatitis also n this case as this form of skin condition affects infants." The skin of a patient with atopic dermatitis reacts abnormally and easily to irritants, food, and environmental allergens and becomes red, flaky and very itchy. It also becomes vulnerable to surface infections caused by bacteria. The skin on the flexural surfaces of the joints (for example inner sides of elbows and knees) are the most commonly affected regions in people."

Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atopic_dermatitis

Atopic dermatitis is one differential here. There appears to be an allergic component with atopic dermatitis. Certain allergens have to be considered here.This may include diet. For your child, wash the area with warm water. Do not rub or exfoliate. Use only a mild cleanser in washing the area. Pat the skin dry and moisturize with a light hypoallergenic cream or baby oil. A consult with an allergologist and infectious disease specialist may be able to help as some eczematous skin conditions may be infected.

[lanny29]

Sorry I meant to say that he is 1 yr old now and the spots have cleared from the forehead but are still round the mouth and on cheeks. They son't seem to be itchy, they are a lot worse on his arms but slightly better on legs.

if anyone can help with this I would be most grateful.