12 y/o Daughter has sudden rash

[merlyn]

My daughter developed a sudden rash on her arm a few months ago. It consists of four or five roundish spots about 1-1.5" in diameter. They are slightly raised, light on the inside, darker on the outside and grainy. Sometimes they become more pronounced ~ I don't know what the trigger is. After a few weeks, she developed a rash around her mouth (looks like sever chapped lips) and her cheeks (reddish spots, bumpy). We took her to the doctor and she got a cortisone shot, which seems to alleviate the symptoms to a degree (the spots on her arm never went away). A month later, the rash is back. She now also has reddness around her eyes which she says it painful (it looks like dry, taut skin). I thought at first it was an allergic reaction to something (we tried avoiding milk and sugar, that didn't seem to matter). At this point, I'm at a loss ~ the rash on her face looks almost like perioral dermatitis, but the rash on her arm does not. Does anyone have any ideas I can check into? Thanks in advance for your help.

[BhumikaMD]

Hi,

This could be contact dermatitis and s the rash at the two places could be related. This would be the case even if it was an allergic reaction.

You would probably need to discuss with the skin specialist about a short course of oral steroids and local application of steroids.

Glad to know that the post was of help to you - do keep us posted on how you are doing.

Let us know if you need any other information and post us on how she is doing.

Regards.

[merlyn]

Thank you for your response, Dr. I have tried calamine lotion and cortisone 10 cream to no avail. The only thing that helped (temporarily) was the steroid shot at the doctors office. Do you think that the rash on her arm is connected to the rash on her mouth/eyes? The arm rash came first, the rash on her face several weeks later. We are planning on taking her to a dermatologist, but I want to be forearmed with information prior to the visit. Thank you for helping.

[BhumikaMD]

It could be eczema, sweat dermatitis, allergic reactions or eczema.

Wash the areas several times with fresh water. Do not use any cosmetic products at the sites.

Apply calamine lotion at the site of the lesions and see if it helps. She could take some oral antihistamine medications like cetrizine or loratadine. Maintain a good personal hygiene .

Anti-itch drugs, often antihistamine, may reduce the itch during a flare up of eczema, and the reduced scratching in turn reduces damage and irritation to the skin.

For mild-moderate eczema a weak steroid may be used (e.g. hydrocortisone or desonide), whilst more severe cases require a higher-potency steroid (e.g. clobetasol propionate, fluocinonide).

Eczema can be exacerbated by dryness of the skin. Moisturizing is one of the most important self-care treatments for sufferers of eczema. Keeping the affected area moistened can promote skin healing and relief of symptoms.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eczema

Let us know if you need any further information.

It would be advisable to consult a skin specialist for her symptoms and a proper clinical examination.

Let us know if you need any other information and post us on how she is doing.

Regards.