Touch face, get rash

[Jettabug]

Hi. When I touch my face anywhere in the T-zone or above lips/on chin, an hour or so later where I touched it is red then after that begns to flake. "Don't do that" is surely an answer, but at this point my face is getting leathery and needs repair. Any ideas? What is causing this? How to repair the damage? I know my sweat is rather acidic - eats the letters off of a computer keyboard.

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
From the symptoms seborrheic dermatitis needs to be ruled out. Seborrheic dermatitis is a common skin condition that causes flaky,dry, white to yellowish scales to form on oily areas especially under the nose or anywhere on face.

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 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.

[Jettabug]

... also, if I rest my head back on my hands (you know...fold the fingers together, hands bhind head, kick back, relax...) then the back of my head starts to feel like it is burning then gets flakey for a few days. This has been happening for years.