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2 Common Types of Pimples around mouth – Causes & Treatment
You wake up in the morning and get shocked when you look in the mirror to see that you have developed a red rash or pimples around your mouth!
This red rash is a medical condition which may have appeared without any apparent reason.
A rash is any change in the color, look or texture of the skin.
In case you have a rash around mouth, you may also notice redness, irritation, swelling and pain.
Red rash around the mouth can happen to people of all ages, race or gender.
Types of Rash Around Mouth
There are typically two types of dermatitis:
1) Contact dermatitis on mouth, which typically affects children especially babies. You can read more about rash around baby’s mouth
and
2) Perioral dermatitis, which is usually seen in women between twenty and forty-five years of age. Here, males or children are rarely affected.
We look at these two conditions in greater detail:
A What causes contact dermatitis?
This is a medical condition which produces inflammation around skin when a substance contacts the skin.
There are two kinds of contact dermatitis:
a) Irritant Contact Dermatitis:
Which happens when some substance irritates the patient’s skin.
b) Allergic Contact Dermatitis:
Which happens when a harmless substance brings about an allergic reaction at the point where it contacts the skin.
Some irritants which bring this medical condition about are:
i) Saliva – when babies drool, occasionally rashes are formed.
ii) Makeup such as lip gloss, lip liner or lipstick.
iii) Adverse reaction of hair removal creams around the mouth.
iv) Some types of aftershave or shaving foam.
v) Mouthwash or Toothpaste.
B Contact Dermatitis Treatment
All topical applications on the face must be stopped immediately.
In the case of contact dermatitis, this may allow the rash and pimples to go away without any further medical treatment.
Typically Contact dermatitis is treated medically only if symptoms are severe and do not resolve with the above conservative measures.
In some cases, Corticosteroid creams may be prescribed to use on the skin around the mouth , or using the natural remedies for allergies on face.
Only in the case of severe contact dermatitis oral corticosteroids should be considered for short-term use.
Pinching, scratching or picking the affected area may cause secondary bacterial infections in both contact dermatitis.
Hence, it is extremely important that such actions are avoided, and hands (especially nails) are kept clean to prevent such infections due to unconscious touching of the rash affected area.
C What causes perioral dermatitis?
Perioral dermatitis is generally a chronic facial skin condition.
Usually, a small border around the lips of a size of about five to ten mm stays unaffected and might appear white in appearance.
Even though the exact perioral dermatitis causes are not known, according to research and case studies, it happens due to increased sensitivity of the skin, sensitivity to certain stimuli which seem to be associated with long-term usage of corticosteroid creams.
We do not know whether steroid usage is the trigger or cause of Perioral Dermatitis.
However, it has been seen that usage of steroids, especially corticosteroid creams lead to Perioral Dermatitis.
Some triggers of perioral dermatitis are:
1) Corticosteroidal creams or some kinds of steroid inhalers and nasal sprays
2) Toothpaste which is Fluoridated
3) Sun or wind exposure
4) Makeup or other facial cosmetics
5) Bacteria and Fungi
6) Oral Contraceptive Pills
7) Psoriasis
8) Sunburn
D Perioral Dermatitis Treatment
All topical applications must be stopped immediately. However, it has been seen that occasionally the rash may continue even after discontinuing all soaps, cosmetics or creams.
In the event skin applications do not resolve the red rash around mouth, antibiotics are prescribed.
Pimecrolimus can occasionally be prescribed as well. If all other measures fail, then your doctor may prescribe Isotretinoin, which is a drug usually used for Acne.
Sufferers of Perioral Dermatitis should know that without treatment they may suffer for months or at times even years.
Even after subsiding of dermatitis, one may need to avoid skin applications for some time and even avoid toothpaste having fluoride.
Following your doctor’s advice for full treatment is essential.
In your mind
Pinching, scratching or picking the affected area could cause secondary bacterial infections.
One must avoid such actions and keep hands and nails as clean as feasible to ensure that such infections are not caused by unconscious touching of the rash and pimples affected area.
2 Common Types of Pimples around mouth – Causes & Treatment
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