Help..DD has really strange rash

[Sumobabe]

Hi. I'm hoping someone can help me with this rash my DD has. She's almost 3.

The rash started about a month ago. It began on her left torso only. It is very small reddish spots, almost invisible to the eye--you can feel it more than see it. Since she had no fever, no itching and no other symptoms, and since the rash didn't look like anything Dr. Sear's website said was a big problem, I decided to wait and see what happened.

When the rash began to spread to her left arm and thigh, I started using an OTC 1% hydrocortisone cream. We tried that for about a week and it didn't help.

We then saw the ped, who agreed with me that the rash looked like contact dermatitis, but who was also at a loss as to why the rash was only affecting her on the left. The ped gave us a stronger hydrocortisone cream to use for a week, with instructions that if the cream didn't do the trick, she'd refer us to a dermatologist.

Well, the cream helped. The rash was no longer spreading and seemed to be slowly fading. We're still using the cream from the ped.

But tonight I've found the rash appears to be spreading again, this time to the right side of her torso and her right arm. Still no fever, no itching, no symptoms of anything going on, just the rash. Oh, and the rash seems to be worse when she gets really hot, though it doesn't respond like prickly heat.

I've racked my brain to think if we've changed anything in her environment that she might be allergic to, but I'm at a loss.

We will be calling the ped as soon as her office opens to get a referral to the dermatologist, but I thought with the wealth of experience here, someone might have an idea of what's going on. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated!!

Stephanie

[LIBRAS MOM]

Hi, did the ped. check for strep throat. When my son had strep he had this really weird rash. the rash went away with anti biotics and many oat meal baths . Good Luck.

[rosebudsmom]

Could it be 5th disease? My nephew just had it. It sounds somewhat similiar, except for the fever part. Did her doc. mention 5th disease at all?

[Sumobabe]

Thanks for the responses!

I went to Dr. Sears' website and did some reading about both strep and fifth disease. Fifth disease sounds especially likely, but both descriptions fit DDs condition somewhat. The ped did check DDs mouth, but might have missed something if she wasn't thinking strep.

I'll be sure to ask specifically about both of these when we see the ped.

Thanks for your input. I feel less worried. But any one else who reads this, please feel free to post your ideas as well.

Stephanie
Mom to Cathleen 11/99

[Meiri]

It is possible for an allergy to something to develop when previous that substance was not a problem. OR, you might not've changed anything, but the company making the product(I'm thinking laundry detergent here, or soap) did.

That happened to me once. I don't do store brands anymore because of it.

When he was younger DS used to have a very fine sandpapery rash, mostly on the backs of his upper arms, but also on his torso? We were told to limit baths to alternating days and use moisturizer on his skin.

Don't if this helps, I hope you can find the cause.

[Sumobabe]

Thanks Meiri.

It hadn't occurred to me that just because we were using laundry detergent that was the same brand as we had used before that it might be chemically different. Good thinking!

I'll try some extra moisturization and see if that helps too.

I'm just loathe to take her to a dermatologist having had a bad experience with one myself (an ongoing painful condition that was misdiagnosed and consequently mistreated for a year and a half!). And since she's in no discomfort....

Stephanie

[mama2jonah]

Many skin conditions clear up with omega 3 supplementation. A lack of long chain fatty acids such as fish oil, flax oil, and borage oil can cause skin problems.

Applying convetional lotions or hydrocortisone cream will only conceal the underlying imbalance.

A good liver cleansing herbal formula also might help. Herbs like dandelion and burdock would be good and are perfectlly safe.

[amymarie]

When my dd was about 1.5 or 2 she got a rash that spread and got worse when she was hot and it didn't itch or give her any discomfort.I just figured it was eczema because me and my mom have that. I gave her fewer baths and used oatmeal in the bath and was real anal about putting lotion on her right after the bath...I also did a second rinse on her clothes when I washed them. The rash went away and hasn't been back since...sometimes I think maybe it was an allergic reaction to some pollen or something.

[Sumobabe]

Thanks for the additional ideas.

I'm pleased to report that, at least for now, the rash appears to have almost completely resolved. We didn't really do anything new: I stopped using the cream the ped gave us, let her skip baths every other day for a few days, and didn't let her get too hot since that seemed to exacerbate things.

Thanks again.

Stephanie