Very sad, 17 month has sores all over face

[simba1]

My 17 months son has always had slightly sensitive skin, but in the last month he has got big round red sores on face that then blister, inflamed and itchy. It is really upsetting, especially when other kids point at him. He is going to a dermatologist next week. I just need a bit of feedback on people who have taken their children to dermatologists and have had positive results Also what do the specialists normally do, can they just tell from looking?

poor little boy - and poor you .

DS2 had very severe eczema from 6mo. The doctor was fantastic - treating him aggressively with antibiotics and steroids immediately. It took a while, but we now have a skin care regime that keeps it completely under control. He has gone to being covered in weeping sores (only his hands were spared), losing weight, and screaming all day and all night in great discomfort to being a happy 17mo with beautiful clear skin.

The dermatologist will look at your DS very carefully, probably using a magnifying glass/light thing (like beauticians use). He will talk to you about the history of what triggered the rash, how long he has had it and so on. He may take a couple of swabs to check for infection.

Dermatologists are very good at diagnosing rashes immediately and knowing exactly what combinations of creams/oral medications they can try - so there is every chance that your DS will get better very quickly . The trickiest thing in our case was getting the referral!

Good luck. Do come back and let us know how you get on

have u tried sudacrem? as thats got antibacterial barrier on it and it works good for my dd2's skin.

IIRC, something like 60% of infant eczema is down to an egg allergy (US study). Might be worth following up.

dermatologists normally give you a cream, antibiotic, steroid of anti-fungal or a mix of these. Plus emollients

Whoops. Spoke to DW, who told me I got my figures wrong. It's more like 75% of all eczema cases in the under-7 age group are caused by egg allergies.

DS had really bad eczema, which died down after we found out he was allergic to egg, milk, soya & fish. Cutting that lot out of his diet was a barrel of laughs...

You sure it's not just impetigo?