Red Dry Rash Under Nose for 3 Months!

[noserash1234]

I am a 34 year old woman. I have had a red dry itchy rash under my nose for 3 months that won't go away. Occasionally, tiny whiteheads will develop. I pop them and they go away but eventually come back in the same place. I've tried putting intense lotion on which helped with the dryness but not with the redness. I've also tried putting antiseptic cream on containing phenol (1.20%), zinc oxide (6.55%), methyl salicylate (3%) and octafonium chloride (0.3%).  The reason for this is that I had a friend who said she had a similar sounding rash on her cheek and her doctor recommended anti-bacterial cream (which did nothing for her either but I thought I'd try it). (The pharmacist said anti-bacterial and anti-septic were the same thing - is that true?)  It helps with the dryness but does nothing to heal it either. I don't have insurance so I'm trying to treat this with over the counter items but running out of ideas.
I've never had anything like this before and I can't think of anything that I did that would have brought this on. The only thing I can think of is that I joined a gym recently but I haven't been in over a month.
I don't touch it except to put cream on several times a day. If I don't put cream on it will get very dry and flaky. Do you have any idea what this could be and how I can treat it over the counter? I uploaded a picture.  Thank you for any help.


This discussion is related to red rash around nose for over a YEAR NOW!!.

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
From the symptoms it looks like eczema. Allergic reaction is one of the important causes of eczema. You can apply some calamine lotion at the rash as it will help in soothing the skin. You can take some OTC oral antihistamine medications like Benadryl or Claritin and see if it helps.

For mild-moderate eczema a weak steroid may be used and also use good quality moisturizers to prevent moisture loss from the skin. If still the symptoms do not improve then please get a clinical examination done by a dermatologist and get seborrheic dermatitis and dermatitis ruled out. 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 dermatologist. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.

[noserash1234]

I've heard of people using steroid creams and it making the matter worse because they become addictive. Are there any precautions I should take if using a steroid cream? Is there one you recommend?

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
It is very true that steroids are not without side effects and long term use should be under a dermatologist’s guidance only. Steroid induced rosacea is one of the commonest side effect of long term use of steroids. Others include skin thinning and atrophy, allergic reaction and tachyphylaxis(tolerance the skin develops to the vasoconstrictive action of topical steroids.).

Steroids are not available over the counter and should be taken after a dermatologist’s prescription only. I hope it helps. Take care and regards.

[sarah898]

did u ever find out what that rash was?? i have the exact same thing!

[mereme]

i use Vics and it manages it.

[celena_v]

I have the same thing for like 2 months now and i dont know how to get rid of it, did anything work for you???

[tina000]

I found that taking cod liver oil supplements cured my under nose rash.  After I read about this solution on an alternative medicine site, it dawned on me that I had switched from cod liver oil to fish oil right about the time the rash occurred.  After going back to cod liver, no more rash.

[celena_v]

Its been 7 more months since the last time I posted and This rash still wont go away :(

[Lau19950]

Hi, did you ever get rid of this rash??

[alwayssomething123]

I have the same rash!  Did anything ever help?

[alwayssomething123]

I have the same rash!  Did anything ever help?

[mpearce105]

I have the same ONE, but mine looks alittle worse. Anyway, I have tried everything i can think of, my mom says I should go to a skin doctor. I have had it for about 2 months now, maybe longer........But I hate it and it bugs me ALL the time, and people always make fun of me for it because they think it zits, Im starting to get nervous. Ive never even known about it untill my mom brought it upp........:'(

[AngieTexas]

I have the same rash for 3 months now. The doctor has ran up quite a prescription bill for me and nothing is working. Has anyone found a solution?

[zanny55]

DO NOT USE STEROID CREAM FOR THE RASH! Use calamine lotion, please, also reapply everytime it dries, put one layer first, when it dries, put another layer of thin tissue paper on the nose area then apply calamine lotion, a new layer applied everytime it dries, leave it on for 4 hours, steroid cream will make that area itchy and sensitive for a very long time to come also it thins your face, you do not want to do that. If you are allergic to calamine lotion do not apply, let me know how the treatment works for you, if it still does not work also let me know.

[StealthVirusCCID]

I wonder if any of the previous posters can give an update.   I would love to know what happened, if you ever found a cause, or if anything helped...Thanks for the calamine lotion idea.

[Bobbyy]

Try patroleum jelly

[Bobbyy]

Try patroleum jelly

[smallsails]

I have had a rash like this for years under my nose. The only direct cause I can think of is the extremely cold weather where I live and/or having a runny nose due to allergies. I have tried everything you can think of. The only thing that I have found to make a difference is IPL laser treatments. You should google it and check it out - mine cost about $40 per session as it is such a small area.

[karlkarl]

Hi all, I have had this for the past 4 months! Here is an image:
http://img822.imageshack.us/img822/3955/noserashphoto.jpg

Tender and painful red bumpbs around the inside of my nostrils. The more I touch it the more it flares up.

I also got this 7 years ago (after 5 months of being in a new city), and then just again got it a few months ago (10 months after being also in a new city). Both of these times I am living in older apartments with no central air, also have pretty stressful jobs. I also have very fair skin. Last time the only way it improved was when I moved back to the the east coast in with my parents. Doctor said it is seborheic dermatitis and gave me locoid steroid cream. It helped but i have to use it twice a day to keep the rash away! After a few months it has become less effective. I went to a different doctor who just gave me antibiotic pills and mupirocin antibiotic cream. I have been on these for 3 days now and no improvement. This is so stressful.

I am now wondering if it has to do with shampoo, toothpaste, or diet. I do tend to eat sweets everyday. What toothpaste and shampoo are you all switching to, if that helped?

[TRaeCorp]

I remember getting this in 2011 and lasting for the year - I tried the anti-fungal creams the doc suggested; it didn't work. I was getting it around my eyes as well and that freaked me out.  At any rate, I had another worse condition going on which led me to "Juicing" - juicing veggies and fruits, etc.  By the end of a couple weeks, my "other" condition was virtually gone, and then I noticed the bumps and rash were going away as well.  The juices are delicious, and I kept it up for a good 8 months...but it became monotonous and I started slacking off.  I, too, eat sweets and chips and whatever I want (I'm 48, but love my junk food), and now that I'm getting the rash back, I'm wondering if it has to do with not eating right or eating too much "junk"?  I'm going to get back on a juicing regimen and see if this heals - I will let you all know.  

[cydrae]

I agree with previous comments: cortisone can easily make a bad situation worse.  Baking soda is an anti-fungal remedy. You may want to try applying this as a paste (adding water or coconut oil) at night.  Best wishes.

[el787]

Do you only do tea tree oil and then put the coconut oil over that on the infected area?  

[Gianna21]

So I had this same problem for two months. It was really frustrating. After trying many, many things, this is what worked for me. I purchased tea tree oil. I applied it over area under and around nose 3 times a day for 2 days. This cleared up the infection (or infestation if it was mites) Then I was left with really dry peeling skin that became angry and sore when I peeled it away. I put Carmex on my nose all day on day 3 and overnight. I refrained from peeling away the dead skin. I would use a soft wash cloth and wipe away the skin when it was heavily moisturized.  Day 4 it is gone! No redness, no bumps or peeling. My normal skin has returned! Yay!!! Hope this helps anyone who is suffering from this embarrassing, frustrating problem.

Best of Luck

Gianna

[Angmass2002]

It is YEAST

[Angmass2002]

need fungal cream or ointment and wouldn't hurt to do a candida yeast cleanse

[DL7]

Tea Tree is really strong and it would be a lot less irritating if you used a carrier oil like jojoba, olive, sweet almond, coconut etc. to dilute it at bit (approximately 20 to 30 drops of tea tree per once of carrier oil) before  applying it. Using a carrier oil with the tea tree instead of applying it directly to the skin would probably prevent the peeling and painful skin - just in case you end up having to treat the area again in the future.