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deni's avatar

Does anyone have experience with periofacial dermatitis?

Asked by deni (23141points) May 20th, 2017

This sucks. I have been lucky my whole life and never had bad acne or any skin issues. The only thing I can complain about is I have dry skin, and I live in Colorado/Utah which is super dry so I do have to moisturize more than your average person. I use coconut oil.

Anyhow about three months ago I started getting what I now know is periofacial dermatitis. It is a rash-like thing that occurs around the nose/mouth and the eyes. At first I thought it was acne but its not, its just dry scaly flaky inflamed skin. It burns sometimes but generally doesn’t feel like anything.

It gets better sometimes and then it gets worse, and right now its worse than ever. I don’t know what to do, its not harmful as far as I know but there also isn’t a cure and there isn’t even one known cause. It could be anything which makes it so hard to get rid of! I don’t have insurance and can’t see a dermatologist plus even if I did they would just prescribe antibiotics which I hate taking so no thanks.

There has to be something I can do. Has anyone ever had this? It is killing my confidence. The shit around my eyes is so red right now, I seriously look like a leper. Please help.

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6 Answers

Brian1946's avatar

I’m sorry you’re going through this, deni. I had something similar many years ago. I thought it was ringworm but I guess it was eczema.

Have you tried applying pure aloe to the affected areas?

Brian1946 (32592points)“Great Answer” (1points) Flag as…
chyna's avatar

Hi Deni!!
I think @Brian1946 is correct. I have a couple of patches like that and my dermatologist gave me samples of a prescription lotion called Taclonex that works for me. I understand that you can’t afford to go to a dermatologist and get a prescription. But if you are at your primary care physician (if you have one) ask him/her to give you a prescription for eczema.

chyna (51598points)“Great Answer” (0points) Flag as…
Tropical_Willie's avatar

I got this advice many years ago, stop putting any cream or lotion on the skin (I guess that would be Coconut oil) and use Dove soap. Don’t use moisturizers.

Tropical_Willie (31434points)“Great Answer” (0points) Flag as…
si3tech's avatar

@deni Sounds much like rosacea. The term I think is perioral dermatitis. Clears up nicely with metronidazole gel. Or did for me.

si3tech (10014points)“Great Answer” (0points) Flag as…
JLeslie's avatar

Ok, as far as I know this is not Rosacea and so metro gel isn’t what is usually prescribed. It’s some sort of irritation. Maybe an allergy of sorts? That is if you have the correct diagnosis. It probably is worth getting a second opinion, and a perscriotjon that you can fill or not, up to you.

Have you tried hydrating the skin with Vaseline at night? I have no idea if it will work, so I would just try it in one small area. I would steer clear of lotions if you can, because they might be the cause, or maybe the foundation you use? Also, consider using a different face soap. Use a liquid.

Do you shave the skin where it’s happening?

Do you use alcohol on your shin?

Have you been really sweaty hot a lot lately on your face?

JLeslie (65743points)“Great Answer” (0points) Flag as…
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