red pigmentation

[kenpachi11]

Recently, the area above my top lip under my nose has been red.  The redness continues toward the sides of my mouth if I use rubbing alcohol.  Normally, if I do not touch the area, there is a slight redness.  I am clueless as to how it became this way.  I never had this problem before.  My girlfriend says that it is a skin irritation, but I see the pigment change a little below the skin, not on top, and I do not have rose colored cheeks.  My skin is a light beige.

Can you tell me what this change is?
Is there some sort of surgery to reduce blood vessels in the area?


This discussion is related to skin pigmentation on the face.

[Vanessa Lacuesta]

Hi,

You have noted the change to start from beneath your nose. Is there any redness over your cheeks? Is there any associated scaling? Is the redness associated with a rash? If yes, is the rash elevated, hard or is it flat?

One differential for this is perioral dermatitis. Perioral dermatitis involves the areas surrounding the mouth and this may start near the areas of the nose. I suggest that you stop using rubbing alcohol as this will only cause dryness and aggravate your condition. Use a mild Vitamin E cream over the area to keep the skin supple and avoid further irritation.

You have pointed out that the redness seems to originate from within the skin. It is best to have this assessed by a dermatologist so this will be evaluated well. Fair skinned persons may be able to readily experience flushing or redness because of their skin color.

Do you usually drink alcoholic beverages?
Any known allergies?

[kenpachi11]

In addition, I have looked at people's faces, and they do not have the same problem as me.  The closest that comes to what has happened is that there is a pale-ish girl with almost red pigmented hands.