3 yr old girl needs help

[jenk71]

my daughter is 3 yrs old, happy and healthy, but has horrible skin.  it is getting worse, spreading, feels like sand paper and is all over her body, not on face, feet or hands...have not changed anything, do not wash her with anything, lotion and rx cream burn her, so bad she screams.....help!

[BhumikaMD]

Hi,

With proper antibiotic treatment, the symptoms of scarlet fever should resolve quickly (though the rash can last for up to 2 - 3 weeks before it is fully resolved).

he rash usually first appears on the neck and chest, then spreads over the body. It is described as "sandpapery" in quality. The texture of the rash is more important than the appearance in confirming the diagnosis. The rash can last for over a week. As the rash fades, peeling (desquamation) may occur around the finger tips, toes, and groin area.

There are many treatments available for scarring depending on the persons requirements and suitability. These treatments can be beneficial to varying degrees and your doctor is the best person to decide which is best suitable.

As a general guide the treatment options range from local applications, superficial procedures such as microdermabrasion to lasers and cosmetic surgery. To treat scars skin specialists first reduce underlying fibrous adhesions and later  either perform a dermal filler or stimulate new collagen growth with  Non Ablative Laser Rejuvenation.

It will be difficult to recommend a particular treatment to you but there are many options and medicinal products available. The best would be to talk to your doctor and then decide which treatment works best.

It is also important to understand that the skin has its own repair mechanism and gradually the repair would bring significant change. At the same time, medications have their limitations and there is a limit to which they can benefit.

Hope this helped you in some way.

Let us know if you may have any other questions.

Regards

[Amy6456]

Just thought about this...a lot of lotion, especially Aveeno, etc has wheat/oats/gluten in their products...might want to look into the products too... www.cosmeticdatabase.com/ is a great website about what is in certain body products.

[Amy6456]

I had the same problem and found out that I am allergic to wheat/gluten (celiac disease).  Could be your daughter has a food allergy...just an idea.  Good luck!

[jenk71]

hi, thank you for your response, she has had rough skin for a year maybe, some times worse than others, it is increasingly getting worse, her skin is very rough, some places are VERY rough, sandpaper like....she is getting over a sinus infection, took antibiotics, however, this has been going on much longer.....i have used multiple lotions creams, etc. cetaphil makes her scream, it burns, as well as many others......i dont use any soap on her body, just wash her hair, warm water does inflame it, her bottom is always the worst place as well as her upper thigh/hip area, but her whole body is affected.  her tongue is normal, i saw about acarlett fever, she does not act sick, no fever associated with this, her reg fam dr said it is eczema and said deal with it basically, like it is no big deal......i think it is a big deal, it is getting worse, her skin is getting rougher and rougher. the rash is red, raised slightly, kinda in big patches, but then there are also small sections too.....some areas are worse than others.

[BhumikaMD]

Hi,

Since when have you noticed this texture of her skin. Does she have any other symptoms of fever, sore throat, etc?

Could you describe the skin lesions in detail?

There is one disease that is described as sandpaper-like texture and that is SCARLET FEVER due to Group A Streptococci.  We just saw a child with sandpaper-like texture had no symptoms but a few days later had a sore throat and then developed Strep.  Take your child to a Peds Doctor and have the throat cultured.

Let us know if you need any further information.

Post us about what your doctor advises.

Regards.