Doctors don’t know what’s wrong with DS’s face. Can the MN hive mind help?

[Havanawinter]

I wouldn’t post here if I wasn’t at a total loss. For 3 months nearly DS2 has had progressively worse acne spreading across his face. It started on one cheek, then another, now it’s all on his chin. The GP has been very helpful but ultimately we’ve tried everything he can think of and it’s only getting worse. We’re waiting for a dermatology appt but that could be months.
Things we’ve tried: fucidin cream, anti-fungal cream, course of antibiotics, cutting out dairy, soy and gluten, and treating it like eczema. We’ve also just tried leaving it. Nothing works. I have to take matters into my own hands because I can’t wait months letting it get worse and worse. If anyone has any ideas on what I could try next I’d be so very grateful.

I was going to suggest this. We paid £150 for a consultation with a private dermatologist and it was worth every penny. Sat for an hour and talked us through everything. I think we got an appointment within a week too.

I would absolutely do it. We saw the same dermatologist we were referred to through the NHS, just 5 months earlier. Still kept on her NHS list, but she accelerated our next NHS appointment/treatment as she felt it was too damaging to wait within our original NHS times.

Sometimes you just need to pay to get your foot in the door. It’s not fair, but it’s the situation

It’s so good it’s not itchy. I definitely second cutting out raw tomatoes, kiwi fruit, strawberries, ketchup one by one and seeing if that calms it down.
Do you use any wipes on his face. I’ve know babies and toddlers who reacted to all wipes apart from water wipes. They didn’t cause problems on hands or bums etc but did on their face. Also known a lot of kids with relatively short lived reactions to fruits mainly, tomato, strawberry, kiwi, pineapple.

I agree with a private dermatologist if you can afford it and feel you’re getting nowhere working out what is causing it. He’s gorgeous btw

Hi
I also think it looks like perioral dermatitis as it isnt especially itchy which it would be of it were an allergy, I suffer from it myself.

What was the dermatologist's solution?

Are you breast feeding? My son had something similar and I was told it was my hormones

My dd also used to have this as a reaction to tomatoes.

Has he been swabbed for staph? My son has three years of being told it was just impetigo and not to worry - here’s an ointment etc.

Gone in two weeks when he finally had a dx

Had similar with one of my kids. Bizarrely caused by allergy to Rubber. Turns out Papayas are genetically modified with Rubber Plants to extend their lifespan and this was what had been eaten.

You may have to take for allergy testing.

DS had a similar rash but as a teenager.
It took us a really long time to realise it was eggs causing it.

Oh and Child's Farm baby moisturiser cleared it quicker than any steroid cream.

Child's Farm do a baby sun block too. Worth every penny.

He looks quite dribbly from the pic. Could be be getting wet and sore when laying down ?

don't try a steroid on his face without medical advice. It is dodgy enough in adults let alone someone his age. Is it anywhere else on his body? Child's farm has a lot of great reviews but was like naplam to my son who had severe eczema (everywhere, not just face, but that was where it started). Aquaphor is the most neutral thing we have found, and my son uses it on his face (he is now 14) and it is the only thing that does not trigger him. Look up fodmap - it didn't work for DS (what did was 13 years of making homemade laundry detergent...), but tomatoes can be a big trigger for some!

forgot to say, strip out anything artificial from bathtime - we had success with salcura, but try just water for a while. Faces are sensitive and reactions often show up there first.

Something in his toothpaste? A residue from washing up liquid on a cup he drinks from?

Looks like an allergic reaction to me. I would stop using washing powder and fabric conditioner completely and switch to laundry (eco) balls. Or a very mild detergent. I was always okay with Fairy Non-Bio.

I wouldn’t use anything in his baths or on his skin at all (just wipe with a wet cotton pad to clean). Don’t use perfume or body spray on yourself or sprays around the house. Don’t use scented plug ins.

I’m allergic to most of the creams and emollients that GP’s prescribe. Agree that a dermatologist would be useful in determining what’s causing it. IM (many years) E, GP’s are generally not great with things like eczema and dermatitis.

I’m not breastfeeding although I was until Christmas.

He’s not been swabbed for staph - although has already had a course of antibiotics (Flucloxacillin) so not sure if that’s what they would prescribe for staph?

He’s not a dribbly child at all but is a front sleeper hence the recent pillow case changes.

It seems the most likely culprit is some sort of allergy which is the route I’m going to keep exploring I think. does anyone have any advice RE a daily dose of piriton?

You could do an exclusion diet, like FODMAP, and then see if it clears up. Then reintroduce an item at a time to try and identify culprit.

also could try a private allergist, where they skin test lots of potential allergens.

Hi, you will need to use a steroid on his face to clear it up. Please do ignore the scare mongering about not it using it on his precious skin - the alternative is months of suffering and the skin breaking down further versus some steroid cream. A dermatologist will certainly advise you to use after you have waited months for an appointment.
using then in the face really isn’t a problem - I work with children’s skin problems.
if you haven’t use ld hydrocortisone then do try a good few weeks of this - if you have used this step up the steroid ladder.

I think a swab for staph would be a far better place to start than exclusion diets at the point. My dd is 8 and suffered from a face rash for 18 months. NHS totally disinterested, I spent HOURS searching on the NZ rash database! Went private, consultant was baffled. Consultant said it didn't look like a staph rash, swabbed anyway, positive. Prescribed a cream and it was gone in 10 days.

My son was getting small rashes on the back of his legs, arms and back of his neck. We used so many different types of creams and then tried aloe Vera gel and it's completely gone - an absolute miracle for £3! We use Malibu Aloe Vera Moisturising Gel from B&M but pretty sure you would be able to get it from a few different places. Doesn't clog the pores, is antibacterial, moisturises the skin and feels fresh on his skin after a bath/shower! Good luck!

What does he drink instead of breast milk? I'm just wondering if the rash coincided with the introduction of cows milk/plant milk etc.

What does the steroid cream do to help the underlying causes of eczema?

My DS has similar and we were told to use steroid cream when it was particularly bad. Similar to a lot of posters, we found it was brought on by tomatoes. Possibly other acidic foods also but he was eating pasta with tomato sauce often and cutting it out stopped the rash within about a week.

He did also have a peanut allergy, I don't think it was at all linked but maybe just keep I mind to be vigilant when he is trying different foods.

He's now 11 and no longer has a reaction to acidic foods, seems to be quite common in toddlers.

Sometimes you have to stop the flare first, I nearly drove myself mad trying to pinpoint DS' triggers, obviously now we know the main one is pollen and there's no way I'd been able to pin that down when he was 8/9months - my duty was to mitigate his suffering as much as possible hence using steroids.

So sometimes you can't id the trigger but you still have to manage the symptoms

This is a weird one, but does he go to nursery or somewhere other than home where he naps? My DD had terrible 'eczema' on her face, but only on one side. Turned out it was a reaction to the washing powder they used for the sheets at daycare--once we asked if we could wash her sheet at home it cleared right up.