Anyone in the know on skin problems and/or natural remedies?

[earthgirl]

I know this is a long shot considering how many things can manifest on our skin, but I thought I'd ask anyway. DD, 3 YO, has developed this redness around her mouth. It's mostly under her bottom lip and almost looks like she has two bottom lips. She says it does not hurt or itch. She doesn't really mess with it much. But there are times where it is so red that I just can't believe it's not causing any discomfort. I should add that she is a total freak about anything having to do with illness or wounds so she really doesn't even like me looking at it and she loses her mind if I try to touch it. I don't know if she's telling me it doesn't bother her so I'll leave her alone or if it really doesn't bother her. Anyway, I've tried putting vaseline, un-petroleum jelly, blistex, and last night out of desperation, hydrocortisone cream on it. I do this when she's sleeping, but it is only very slightly improved by morning, if at all, and then totally red again at the end of the day. I know I should probably just take her to the doctor, but that's always somewhat traumatizing to her, and I'm pretty sure he would send me to a dermatologist and the end result would be a prescription of something that may or may not work. So, anyone know a) what may remotely be going on with her skin, and/or b) things that I can try to use that are more natural? TIA.

[Marnica]

is she licking or sucking on her own bottom lip? Does it seem like the kind of irritation that happens when lips are "chapped"??

Not quite sure what to make of it. Because it is so localized it seems that it would be from irritation of some kind.

[earthgirl]

DH thinks it's from her licking it, but she doesn't really do it that much, IMO. At least, not so much that you'd think it would cause irritation. I wondered if it was a food thing, too- she eats lots of acidic fruits, but it seems weird to me that it would only show up around her mouth.

[ASusan]

Sounds like a food allergy to me. Lots of moms in the allergy forum have experiences like these (or, more accurately, their children do).

My aunt would get redness outside her lips when she ate canned fruits (in the 50s-60s), which my grandmother claimed was to preservatives.

[JessicaS]

I would think she was sucking on it or it was an allergy.

Could you try keeping a food journal for her? That might help pinpoint what could be causing it.

Allergic reactions aren't always what one would expect.

My nephew is allergic to apples and has the exact reaction you are describing.

[Grace and Granola]

My 4yo ds got this from licking and grazing against his top teeth. He didn't do it so much that I even paid attention until it got red. It happened pretty quickly. I bet their young skin is just so fresh and sensitive that it doesn't take long. DS stopped after it started hurting when he ate certain acidic foods that dripped onto the chapped skin. I explained to him why it happened and he did well to stop pretty quickly.

[kjbrown92]

My DS gets it, but only on his upper lip, from soy (but what's a trigger for one person, might not be for another). It doesn't bother him until it starts to crack, 7 or 8 days later. He gets other symptoms from soy as well, but the lip "rash" sounded very similar to yours.

[earthgirl]

It's interesting to hear so many of you think it could be food. I just assumed it would be happening all over if it was food thing. I'll keep a food journal and see. She's been on a frozen strawberries kick lately, so maybe I'll start by cutting that out for a few days. Thanks, everyone!