Treating Serious Skin Allergies: Perioral Dermatitis

 Often a severe nappy rash gives us nightmare, but what if you encounter serious skin allergies like perioral dermatitis? Perioral Dermatitis is a condition that results in rashes around the mouth, eyes, nose or genitals. Thankfully, this is a less common skin infection.

The term perioral means around the mouth. This infection when affects children is called childhood perioral dermatitis. However, it can affect females aged between 16-45 years. Older people, males and children come across this situation less frequently.

What the rashes look like?

Sometimes it looks like a few bumps, however others may have lumps forming a big rash. The bumps may be red or pink or skin colored. However, they sometimes resemble pimples.  The rashes look inflamed with the surrounding skin looking red or pink.

What does it feel like?

The rashes can be itchy, but not always. Some people feel skin getting tight or mild burning sensation, leading to dry or flaky skin.

Causes of Infection

The underlying reason for the cause of perioral dermatitis is unknown. Some dermatologists relate this condition to the use of topical corticosteroids.

Topical corticosteroids are steroid ointments that people use to treat skin infections. These should be used for short-term. Hence, when used for long-term, it results in skin damage.

Treatment

In most cases topical corticosteroids seem as the primary risk factor and therefore stopping the use of these crèmes or ointments is essential. At times, stopping the use of corticosteroids can worsen the rash before actually improving it. However, visiting a dermatologist is important if the rash doesn’t get better.