Symptoms And Causes Of Perioral Dermatitis
Dermatitis is an inflammation of the skin. It is a very common skin condition that affects people of all ages for a variety of reasons.
Perioral dermatitis is a type of dermatitis that affects mostly children and young women. It causes inflammation of the skin on the face, usually on the chin, around the mouth, around the nose, and around the eyes.
It is possible to have generic dermatitis on the face also and that is not to be confused with perioral dermatitis which is a very specific type of rash which consists of scaly small bumps that clump together around facial openings like the nose or mouth.
These bumps are usually flesh colored, flaky, and might have a white pustule. The rash may consist of just a few bumps or the rash might be widespread. It could appear on both sides of the mouth or it might just afflict one side of the face.
Perioral dermatitis might be mistaken for other skin conditions likes acne, rosacea, and contact dermatitis.
However, in most cases, the condition can be diagnosed by a dermatologist upon visual inspection alone. In cases where the doctor is not sure of the diagnosis, a biopsy can be done in order to rule out conditions like acne or rosacea.
Perioral dermatitis is a problem because of the distress caused by the appearance of a rash on the face. The rash itself could be sore or itch, but in many cases, it has no symptoms other than embarrassment.
The most common cause of perioral dermatitis is corticosteroid use.
Corticosteroids are used in medications that treat psoriasis and eczema. You can buy over the counter medications that contain 1% hydrocortisone. These medications are intended for use on the face. Stronger prescription creams should never be used on delicate skin, especially that of the face.
When you use corticosteroid creams on your face, you will probably see an improvement in your condition at first. But you might find that once you stop using the cream, your skin condition returns along with perioral dermatitis.
This sets up a vicious cycle wherein you need to use the cream or else you wind up with a worse looking rash than you had before you started using the cream.
Even inhaled corticosteroids that asthmatics use can cause perioral dermatitis if the medication drips onto the skin during a breathing treatment.
Other thing that is thought to cause perioral dermatitis is the use of toothpaste that has tartar control or tooth whitening ingredients. This tends to happen only in those who drool and allow saliva to contact the skin such as kids and those who have undergone oral surgery.
It is also thought that makeup and night creams can cause an eruption of perioral dermatitis.There also tends to be an association between perioral dermatitis and people who have eczema. This might be because one condition causes the other or simply because people with eczema use corticosteroid creams which are known to increase the risk of perioral dermatitis.
While perioral dermatitis is not dangerous or painful in most cases, it is still a distressing skin condition since the inflammation affects your face.
It is important to diagnose and properly treat this skin disorder when it is caused by excessive corticosteroid use since prolonged contact of the facial skin to corticosteroids can have long lasting effects, some even more serious than perioral dermatitis.
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