Repeated rash/dry skin on toddler face - could this be an allergy? Advice please!

[ozchick]

Hi, I have a 2yr old who has had a rash on her face, around her mouth and on her cheek for about 3 months now. I originally thought it was related to her having a dummy and so binned the dummy. This has helped a bit but the rash is still there.

We went to the docs who said there were 2 different rashes, a dry patch and a spotty rash. He prescribed a hydrocortisone cream which did clear it up but it keeps returning.

Then we went to talk to a pharmacist who advised a moisturiser, again this has helped but the rash does re-appear. All this leads me to wonder if it is an allergy - due to it's continuing reappearance. The thing is there is no rash anywhere else on her body.

so I dunno - an allergy? or what??

Any advice would be gratefully received. I will start to keep a food diary to see if that points to any particular foods.

Thanks x

My DS got this from when he was a baby - we were living in Bulgaria at the time and a friend said it was prob just the dry, cold weather which I believed.

However as he got older he developed more excema type rash and that got mucj worse when I started to wean him from formula onto real milk. Took him to doc and she told me to cut out dairy. She prescribed a hypo-allergenic formula too. It worked. Went dairy free for a year and in that time his skin cleared up.

So - in my view it sounds like it could be an allergy. And the dairy one is very common.

DS is now 6 and although his skin still gets itchy on his body sometimes, he eats everything including lots of cheese with no ill effects.

Whenever my DS was teething he used to get quite bad rashes on his face.

my ds has various lotions and potions to apply but please not hydrocortisone is not recommended for use on the face as it has a steriod element which over time can thin the skin making it more prone to future damage and also never use it for more than a week at a time on protected areas.
the dry heating and cold weather seem to be making it worse and so did yogurt i was weaning him with so we are dairy free and well moisturised. this is a bit of a ramble but hope it helps

hydrocortisone can be used on the face if a doctor has considered the risks and benefits and has decided its worth it.

Start the food diary. Add some probiotics to her diet if she isn't having them (e.g. in live yoghurt) already. Good luck.

corticosteroid's is usually contraindicated for facial use because of risk of thinning to skin and for paeds seek GP advicehydrocotisone

cut out bananas for two weeks. see if makes a difference. My DS's face used to split and bleed his eczema was so awful, but as soon as I stopped bananas it cleared up in a matter of two weeks. Worth a try.

ooooooo bananas - that's interesting FozzieKbear, dd LOVES bananas so will try and do without for a few days and see if it helps.

We are in Australia so it's definately not cold-weather related (sorry, don't want to make you all mad but its BOILING here ).

Will think about the dairy thing, but my feeling is that as she has diary every day and the rash comes and goes that it's probably not related to milk etc.

Will keep moisturising, and maybe see doc again in a week or so.

Thanks everyone x

I thought that too ozchick to be honest. Sometimes DS was fine. Other times he wasn't. When I look back at baby photos i can't believe how blotchy and red his face is.

And yes of your heat!