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Break out on my 5.5 year olds face
I noticed this on my 5.5 year old’s face. A kind of skin breakout. He’s never ever had this. Anyone know what this could be? -
13 Replies
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Hey ,
Unfortunately making diagnosis on pictures only is really hard. Light can do a lot and it’s hard to see if the rashes are only on this side or on both sides of his face. On top of that, for a good diagnosis someone who sees the patient needs to evaluate how the rash has developed. Other symptoms that might present need to be considered as well.
That’s why I would advise you to take him to a healthcare professional. If the rashes came kind of suddenly it could be an allergic reaction. It could be a viral infection or a bacterial infection in a beginning stage. Symptoms in this case usually develop a little bit slower.
Once you know what it is we can help you take further steps though!
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I took him to the pharmacist to get it checked and she said it was hives ( Allergic reaction to something). She prescribed cortisone cream and an antihistamine. He has it on both sides of his face and behind his ears but now on his body at all. Only his face ( both sides). He does complain of some itchiness but it doesn’t seem overwhelming at this point but it looks awful and on day 3 it seems the hives have increased on his face. Otherwise he’s happy. He doesn’t seem ill or upset. He’s acting normal.
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*NOT on his body at all just his face
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I just noticed a few on his neck now. And as I mentioned in earlier post, it has increased on his face. Should I take him to a specialist? If yes, which one? It’s thanksgiving week right now so I won’t be able to see a specialist for a at least 6 days unless I take him to urgent care but not sure how beneficial that’ll be. More pics for reference.
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Hey ,
First of all, I can imagine you’re worried. As I mentioned, it’s hard to judge from a picture what your son might be having. And therefore we cannot diagnose on the forum.
If you suspect it’s an allergic reaction and it started locally, it’s less likely that it is a food allergy. It might be something he is putting on his skin.
Although it looks like hives and he seems otherwise symptom-free, I wouldn’t rule out something viral as well. A herpes-related virus like chickenpox fits as well. Not every child gets physical complaints like fever with infections. Often such an infection will start on the body and spread to the face, but with some strains, the symptoms can start on the face and spread to the body. Antihistamine and cortisone might not be the right approach in this situation. In this case, it would be more typical to see vesicles on top of the rashes, but that is hard to judge on pictures.
I’m based in The Netherlands and our health care system works a little differently. Here a pharmacist can’t make a diagnosis. They can’t even prescribe cortisone without a prescription from a doctor. Maybe this works differently where you’re living. Here is what I would do:
If you feel concerned, I would contact a GP and let him/her assess what it is. A general practitioner has a broad orientation and will know how to select the right specialist if it would be something more specialistic.
I hope this helps!
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I will try to take him to a gp soon. We are traveling currently and it is the holidays so I don’t know how fast we’ll be able to get in.
I am in the us and pharmacist are able to diagnose and prescribe things.
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update the dr said it was contact dermatis and it should go away on its own, but to apply aquaphor and hydrocortisone as needed. Any feedback on this. He didn’t change anything so I’m not sure what could have caused this.
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another update: it’s moved on to his body and is quite itchy. It seems to get worse when he’s sweating. Anything I can do to help him besides the cream (hydroxoritsone) and aquaphor. I mean help him not just with symptoms but the root cause of this. It’s very stressful to see him like this. Any advice or feedback would be greatly appreciated.
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Hey ,
Contact dermatitis is a rash caused by an allergic reaction. It could be initiated by something he was exposed to on the skin. Fregnances, soaps, detergents, plants, pets etc. Removing the exposure source is hard, but it’s step one.
About the last pictures you shared: Once the allergen has entered the body, the body might react more systemically. Again, I can’t tell you what is on the last pictures, but it might be a more systemic allergic reaction. By this I mean a reaction coming from within the body. If you’re using corticosteroids, they might not help with the new skin rashes. This is something you should discuss with your doctor.
Here are some other practical tips:
• Histamine is released and can contribute to symptoms. Scratching the body against the itchy feeling on the skin causes more immune activation. It is the immune cells that release histamine. Scratching can make symptoms worse
• Quercetin and Stinging nettle leaf are natural antihistamines and can help reduce histamine in circulation.If you’ve removed the allergen, you’re ready to address the root causes.
With allergies, the immune system reacts aggressively to an allergen. Often there is a gut component to it. If the gut is leaky, the immune system deals with stuff that shouldn’t be in the body and can start recognizing undigested foods as a threat. Here you can find more about what can cause a leaky gut.
More recent ideas about how allergies start are through the skin as well. Dry skin for example is associated with microscopic holes in the skin (similar to the gut you could say ‘leaky skin’). The immune system under the skin can react similarly to what enters through those microscopic wholes. Dr. Kari Nadeau explains this well if you like to learn more about allergies.
Making sure your son has good levels of vitamin D and good gut health is important. Constipation, diarrhoea, feeling bloated, cramps… if you’re noticing these symptoms you might want to dive into the gut health masterclass. Good levels of vitamin D are important for keeping the tight junctions closed (basically the doors between cells in the gut lining). When gut symptoms present, you could check him for lactose intolerance or try a food elimination diet and see if some foods contribute to this dynamic.
If some gut healing is necessary then this video might help you as well.
We also have a handout in the symptom dictionary that you might find helpful. Just check it out and if you’ve got any further questions, let me know!
Usually, if you’ve removed the trigger to contact dermatitis, the rashes will heal, but it can take 2 weeks or longer depending on the severity of the rash!
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the dr now says he thinks this is viral and not contact dermatitis. He has no other symptoms besides this. He says because it started on his face and has now moved to his body that it’s viral. He said to give antihistamine to manage itching.
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I want to add also that I was diagnosed with autoimmune urticaria over 10 years ago. I’ve been in remission for years. One of my biggest worries is that my kids inherit this from me. I don’t know for certain if he has but deep down it’s what I’m thinking about. Is it too soon to test him for antibodies?
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Hey ,With autoimmune urticaria (just like with every autoimmune disease in general) there are genetic components and environmental components. In this specific autoimmune disease, the body attacks mastcells. Mastcells produce histamine and this can lead to rashes as well.
It’s worth to discuss with your doctor the option to rule out autoimmune urticaria.
Depending on the cause, we’ve got some good handouts for viral support (click here) or how to approach autoimmune issues (just click here)
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