Perioral Dermatitis Was the Reason behind My Sudden Dry Pores and skin

After I suppose again to final March, when safer-at-home restrictions have been first positioned right here in Los Angeles, it is fairly wild I that thought we might be indoors for just some weeks and that my hair and pores and skin would flourish. Two months later, I used to be incorrect on each fronts. After all, there are numerous extra necessary issues to be involved about through the COVID-19 pandemic than the state of my pores and skin, however again then, I believed skipping make-up and letting my pores and skin relaxation from remedies was going to be a pleasant break — at the least for my face. I did not keep in mind the best way stress can wreak havoc on pores and skin and that these aren’t regular occasions. 

In my case, that meant a flare-up of perioral dermatitis (PD), a scaly purple rash, to the appropriate of my mouth. It is one thing I had by no means even heard of and positively was not the run-of-the-mill dry pores and skin I assumed it to be. However what’s PD, precisely? Properly, it is form of like rosacea. “Perioral dermatitis is a situation the place sufferers develop purple, bumpy, or generally pus-filled bumps across the mouth, nostril, and chin,” Joshua Zeichner, a board-certified dermatologist in New York Metropolis, tells me. “In some circumstances, it could additionally develop alongside the outer a part of the eyelids and cheeks.”

It seems that the facial rash is considerably widespread each across the mouth and underneath the nostril. After I posted about it on my Instagram Tales, a number of individuals messaged me to say that they, too, have skilled the pores and skin situation. Sadly for me, every of them had fairly completely different recommendation for me. Some instructed me to exfoliate with alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs), others mentioned to make use of solely essentially the most light skin-care merchandise. Many mentioned a topical antibiotic cream was all that might work. For one thing so widespread, why is there a lot confusion?

What causes perioral dermatitis?

“Regardless of being widespread, we nonetheless don’t perceive why perioral dermatitis develops,” Zeichner explains. Based on him, there are numerous theories, together with the usage of topical cortisone lotions, fluorinated toothpaste, heavy skin-care merchandise, bronchial asthma inhalers, and — yep — stress. “Particularly throughout quarantine, stress ranges are at an all-time excessive,” he says.