Perioral dermatitis

[Jiggy16]

Hi wise ones of mumsnet, I am looking advice, I am pretty sure I have got perioral dermatitis, I've had a sore/itchy rash around my mouth, nose and just under my eyes since sept time, which is when I started having to wear masks full time in work. I thought it was just spots, but having read about perioral dermatitis it seems to git with my symptoms and photos are very similar.

I have managed to calm it down a bit, I'm just using cerave wash and cicaplast moisturiser, with a bit of rose hip oil on at night. Is there anything else which might work better? Hoping with the Christmas break my skin will get a chance to heal without masks.

The other question I had was, do I have this now going forward? Can I never use the likes of acids/retinols ever again? I had finally got my skin in a better place then since September its just went horrific. First World problems I know! Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

I am a fellow sufferer. Mine flares up then goes away, sometimes for months it is fine and I can be a bit more indulgent on what I use on my skin.

Funnily enough I'm having a bad flare up right now, having been clear for about a year. I have some calendula cream which is quite soothing. But the only thing that fully clears it up for me is antibiotics, which I only take if I can't bear it any more.

I got it a few years ago, from over enthusiastic use of pixi glow tonic, retinol and other products that were too harsh. I went back to basics, I used almond oil for cleansing when it was at its worst then Cerave. I found Bioderma, the ciciabio, which is v similar to cicaplast was brilliant and I still use it now. I stayed with a very basic routine for a few months.

Actually I found that once my skin recovered it looked great and so I don't really use much at all, and I stick to Bioderma, La Roche Posay and Clarins products as I've never had an adverse reaction and my skin is positively glowing these days.

It has made me very cynical about Skincare marketing/influencers, etc

Ohh that's encouraging to hear, thanks. The redness has calmed down but I still have a lot of bumps, which are making me pretty self conscious, then I'm almost grateful to wearing a mask, which of course is just continues the problem! I might look into the antibiotics, around my nose is so itchy and uncomfortable.

I'm getting paranoid at the extra wrinkles forming so wanting to try retinol, but yes maybe a lot of beauty products sold are ineffective!

Are you sure it's perioral dermatitis and not rosacea? The two can look very similar, and it's not typical to have perioral dermatitis under the eyes.

If it's rosacea, Ivermectin cream can be very effective.

Masks have made the skin under them much more moist than normal. It's worth trying an anti fungal to see if it's a fungal infection.

Antibiotic cream from your doc. Important, NOT steroid cream, those will work initially but it will only come back with vengeance.

Retinols and acids don't seem to affect mine in any way.

I had this years ago and got stuck in a viscous cycle of steroid cream use. Eventually, I just went cold turkey and didn't wear any make-up for about 6 weeks. I only used hemp oil on my face (to cleanse with a flannel and then a few drops to moisturise) and it eventually went away. It's never come back thankfully.

Obviously this was before the days of mass mask wearing so I don't doubt that is having an affect but I would recommend going right back to basics.

Go to your doctor and get them to prescribe Rozex.

See if you can get a cheap Lumie Clear LED light treatment thingummy on ebay (they're about £90 new but I got a perfectly good one for under £20). My son used to get quite bad perioral dermatitis just below his nose, but I bought the Lumie to calm down his teenage spots and the dermatitis has all but vanished at the same time.

I had what I think was perioral dermatitis (I didn't get it diagnosed) this year, for about 3 months. After lots of internet searching, I tried sudocrem, and it completely cleared it up within 2 to 3 days, and it hasn't returned. I've gone back to using products containing retinol and vitamin c with no problems of sensitivity etc.

I had this years ago and got stuck in a viscous cycle of steroid cream use

Definitely don't use steroid creams, OP - they are fantastic for eczema (used sparingly), but they cause both perioral dermatitis and rosacea.

I’ve had this for 25 years. Flares up every year or two. Definitely avoid steroids. Nothing works for me apart from antibiotics which then give me a terrible rash.

Go to your doctor and get them to prescribe Rozex

this!!! I had it for months and rozex sorted it within 3-4 weeks

take some pics/website to the GP. I had to go several times as they didn't know what it was and prescribed steroid/cortisone instead. However, these must not be used for POD.

But get seen. This won't sort itself (or rarely does).

Thanks everyone, lots of really helpful advice. Will try to phone drs but its pretty hard to get seen at min, and feel a bit silly with everything that's going on taking up their time. But lots of helpful info here thanks. Are facial oils a good idea on the skin? My skin just looks rotten in general at min aswell, like I haven't slept for weeks or something, then the red patches set it off nicely 🤯

Also, would that dermatica website be any good for this?

I’ve had this rash on the skin just around my nose. I also get rosacea but this is different. I’ve been using finacea on mine. I brought it from the independent pharmacy online after a consultation. It’s recommended for peri-oral dermatitis by the dermatologist Dr Sam Bunting and it’s been helping mine x

I’ve had this twice and used Nizoral shampoo as a face wash and then calendula cream. It took a while to clear each time but it did seem to work eventually.

I haven’t dared use anything new on my face since the last time. I think it was caused by a vitamin C serum.

I have perioral derm - in pre Covid times I was referred to a consultant dermatologist who prescribed Protopic cream - it really keeps my flare ups under control. But does have a couple of side effects (burning sensation and flaking skin a day or two after applying)
Definitely needs to be properly assessed OP but as others have said NO steroid creams (hydrocortisone)!