Cold sore or dry skin

[Talkhe]

Hi my daughter had very dry flakey lips all over for 2 days after having a temperature and cold which she kept scratching. Yesterday she woke up with a red sore looking mark, she suffers from eczema too. Today is like the picture of her mouth from the side which looks like 2 cuts. Could this be a cold sore or just dry lips rash from scratching? She is 3. She has had no blisters or anything

It’s really hard to say. Can you take her to a pharmacy and get their advice? Usually a cold sore would include blisters but this could be the very early stages or the blisters could be very tiny.
Impetigo could be another possibility as it can start with an infection of broken skin. Also it can be more common with eczema. I’m not a medic and don’t want to and can’t diagnose but didn’t want to leave your message unanswered. Hope she feels better soon

I would probably go to the pharmacist as impetigo is quite common in children and could be that.
I would also get it checked for a coldsore as you may have missed the blistering stage

That looks like a typical cold sore to me.

I've had them since a small child and they are incredibly painful

Pharmacist will help diagnose

It’s hard to tell from the photo but my son also has eczema and often gets these patches around his lips when he’s poorly.

Agree that’s it’s a cold sore. Keep an eye on it as it is also possible for eczema to become infected with the herpes simplex virus, which normally causes cold sores. This can develop into a serious condition called eczema herpeticum.

“Symptoms of eczema herpeticum include:

• areas of painful eczema that quickly get worse
• groups of fluid-filled blisters that break open and leave small, shallow open sores on the skin
• feeling hot, shivery and generally unwell, in some cases”

I had it as an older teenager and it was unpleasant. Should your child develops any of the above symptoms, go to A&E immediately and tell them that it might be eczema herpeticum as it’s likely they won’t have heard of it. A consultation by a dermatologist would be required asap

Good luck

She’s had no blisters, just very dry skin all over her lips which she kept itching

My grandson gets this under his lip, all along, it's caused by him licking his lips and the skin underneath gets caught up in it. When he's with me I use a plain moisturiser on it and it definitely helps.

I don't get obvious blisters with my cold sore.

A raised red lump Or bump with a defined edge that is very sore. I think this is a blister it just doesn't look like one.

This turns into a thick scab.