Itchy red rash on face, swollen eyelids and undereyes - part 2

Similar story. I am 33 years old. I went to China a few months ago and prior to this vacation, I had had a perfect complexion my entire life. Now, randomly, my face starts itching from forehead to chin. My skin gets bumpy and red and starts stinging. My eyes swell up, it looks like someone to their fist to it. I thought it was a certain makeup at first, but I disguarded those products over a month ago and it still keeps occurring. Dr. put me on prednisone, but that was only a temporary relief. Cortizone takes the puffiness away, but then a couple days later it comes back again. I am trying to detoxify my body with some vitamins, but its not helping yet. Not sure if this is just a new allergy, as our bodies apparently change every seven years. I wouldn't wish this on anyone, but am somewhat relieved that I am not alone.

I TOO HAVE HAD THIS PROBLEM. SEVEAL YEARS AGO IT OCCURED AND NOW IT HAS BEEN HAPPENING CONSTANTLY SINCE MARCH 2008. I HAVE BEEN TO SEVERAL DR'S AND NO ONE REALLY KNOWS WHAT IT IS. I HAVE BEEN TOLD IT WAS ALLERGIC DERMATITIS, CONTACT DERMATITIS, AND ALLERIGIC REACTIONS TO SOMETHING I EAT OR TOUCH. THE ONLY THING THAT HELPS IS PREDNISONE. WHEN THAT IS FINISHED, WITHIN A WEEK OR TWO IT IS BACK. I HAVE BEEN PRESCRIBED DIFFERENT CORTISONE CREAMS BUT THEY DON'T REALLY WORK EITHER.
I HATE TO GO OUT WHEN IT HAPPENS, ESPECIALLY TO WORK. I LOOK AND FEEL LIKE A FREAK. IT LASTS ABOUT A WEEK EACH TIME. I ALSO HAVE IT ON THE SIDE OF MY MOUTH.

I HAVE NEVER HAD SKIN PROBLEMS. I STARTED USING ALL HYPO-ALLERGENIC MAKE-UP, CLEANSERS, DETERGENTS, BUT HAS'NT MADE A DIFFERENCE. I WONDER SOMETIMES IF HAIRSPRAY HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH IT. I TOO USE VASELINE AT TIMES AND IT DOES SEEM TO HELP WITH THE SCALY PATCHES I GET

I have my first experience of this about 3 months ago. The red rash goes like a band from one ear to the other, so its red at my eyebrows and my eyelids are swollen. This time the flare up includes a long patch on my right check to under the jaw bone. I have been to see the nurse several times but she is puzzled. I just found this sight so I'll pass this on to her as she is very curious to find out what it is. It seems like for all of us it is an allergy. I just moved back to Seattle from California, about a month after being back I got my first episode of this red facial rash. Im going to the doctor's tomorrow. If I can find out something more, I will let everyone here know. It really good to know there are other people with this same rash.

Like all the others on this post, I am experiencing this mysterious rash as well. I'm female, 23 years old. I've had allergies all my life, including hay fever and have had my fair share of rashes in life. None of them have persisted like this one, though.

Mine started about a month and a half ago. It started out as a small red circle on my throat. Because it was winter and the location was where I had sprayed my perfume, I thought it was just dry, irritated skin. I moisturized it a bit more than usual and that seemed to help. Occasionally it would flare up and get itchy but, again, I didn't think much of it other than that it was dry skin. A month and a half later it has gone from a small circle on my throat to a large red, raised splotch that is now (as of today) spreading along my collarbone. It is also under both eyes. All creams seem to make it burn, except Aquaphor, but that seems to make it itch more. I even tried an anti-histamine cream, but that burned more than anything else. Currently, I have a bag of ice wrapped in a paper towel on my neck and that is helping a lot with the itching. I also took Benadryl about 10 minutes ago. I'll let you know if that works.

I've made an appt with my dermatologist for Monday, but after reading many of your posts I am not anticipating much of an answer. I also have an appt with my general practitioner in a couple weeks and will seek help from him. Again, after reading these posts I am not very hopeful, but we'll see.

A few observations after reading some of the posts:

1. I don't think there is a link to parabens, as I have been only using organic beauty products that are paraben free for about the past year and a half.

2. I don't have the symptoms of the rash around the mouth, and I'm really hoping that I don't ever. The neck and eyes are enough, thank you!

3. I also have always had very dark circles around my eyes since I was a child and have always been pretty fair-skinned.

4. I definitely think that stress exacerbates the problem, if it is not the cause. My mother even told me that she once broke out in shingles due to stress!!

5. Does it seem to anyone else strange that the majority (if not all) of those suffering from this are women? I ask this because I've been thinking that a potential cause could be due to the fact that I just recently stopped taking birth control and, while I was anticipating breaking out as a result I was not expecting a rash! Perhaps a hormonal imbalance is to blame?

I'll keep everyone posted on what I find out from the dermatologist on Monday. I plan to tell her about this post and about my ideas as to the cause. If she doesn't seem to help I am considering making an appt with an allergist, as I probably need to anyway, and if THAT doesn't work I might go see someone who practices alternative medicine. I'll visit this site frequently, both to keep everyone else up to date on anything I find and to see if anyone else has found some permanent relief!

Ok, I still haven't been to the dermatologist (that's on Monday) but I have found some temporary relief. The formula that so far seems to be working is this: 1 dye-free allergy antihistamine (CVS generic for Benadryl), 2 ibuprofens (anti-inflammatory) and Origins High Potency Night-A-Mins moisture cream on a clean face and neck. I do this twice daily, and it seems to keep the itching to a minimum. The Origins cream stings for a couple seconds, but not like any of the other creams I've tried. The only downside is that the cream is kind of pricey (about $30 for a small jar), but it smells good and will moisturize the unaffected areas as well. The ingredients in the cream aren't listed on the jar, but I plan to stop by a store tomorrow or Monday and ask one of the clerks what's in it. The other key is to not put any makeup on the affected areas. I have still been wearing makeup everywhere else, but skip any eyeshadow and only wear mascara. As a side note, my foundation, concealer, powder & mascara are all Origins brand as well. Even if this doesn't cure the problem, it at least provides some relief from the itching and burning that I have suffered every other day for the past couple of weeks. Hopefully this helps others, and I'll post any other developments that I come across.

I saw my dermatologist this afternoon and I told her about everything that I read on this site. Even so, she seems to think that it's just eczema that has gotten out of control. According to her thinking, the shift in hormones from discontinuing the use of birth control tends to lead to dehydrated skin and that combined with the dry weather caused the eczema on my neck. I asked how that relates to the rash under my eyes, and she said that often times when the skin becomes dry, irritated and inflamed in one area it can lead to inflammation of other areas of the skin, even though the two seem unrelated and the rash itself is not contagious and doesn't "spread" the way a fungus or infection does. Also, she believes the rash along my collarbone isn't eczema at all but is, instead, a rash of very small hives that has occurred due to the itching, rubbing and various creams that I've tried.

She prescribed me a combination of things: 1. She gave me a sample of a cream called Cutivate (fluticasone propionate) Lotion, 0.05% to use around my eyes. It says it is not for ophthalmic use and she advised not using it for more than a week (but to use twice a day every day for that week). It is an anti-inflammatory lotion. 2. She prescribed Prednicarbate Ointment 0.1% to use twice daily on my neck. She explained that ointments should not burn or irritate dry, cracked skin the way that creams and lotions will. 3. She prescribed 10mg Hydroxyzine Hydrochloride (an anti-histamine) once a day (1 to 2 tablets) an hour before bed (due to drowsiness). She then told me that if this did not begin to yield results in 2 days I should call and we should discuss other possible options. I also have a follow-up appt with her in 2 weeks.

I'll post how this works out for me and hope this info can help anyone else who is suffering from this extremely uncomfortable condition. Keep in mind that just because it does or does not work for me doesn't mean it will/won't work for others. But obviously, talk to your doctor and if this treatment DOES work for me maybe it will help others find a solution (again, with the help of your doctor).

You might want to check out Periorbital cellulitis, also known as preseptal cellulitis, which is an inflammation and infection of the eyelid and portions of skin around the eye.

It may be caused by breaks in the skin around the eye, and subsequent spread to the eyelid; infection of the sinuses around the nose (sinusitis); or from spread of an infection elsewhere through the blood.

Cases could occur, for example, following on from picking up athletes foot. Triggers could be stress at work, exacerbated by facial creams etc.

It is generally dealt with by a course of anti-biotics.

Hope this helps some of you.

All,

I have been suffering from the exact same thing as everyone else on this post - I would get a rash/eczema outbreak in the corners of my eyelids and eventually almost all over my eyes. It also got into my nose, upper lip, all around my mouth, in my ears, and even on my leg. It would be red, flaky, and leathery, and peel like crazy, get a little better, then it would get all worse again. This cycle repeated itself.

I read everyone's postings on different remedies, and thanks to everyone's posts, I have completely fixed my problem, and I want to share with all of you specifically what I did.

Here it is what I used to completely eliminate my eczema:

(1) Super-complex Vitamin B (bought at Wal-Mart - Spring Valley brand)
(2) Biotin super potency (I used the one from Wal-Mart that has 5000 mcgs in it)
(3) Aquaphor healing ointment
(4) Drink an enormous amount of water (I drink between 100-150 fluid ounces a day)

On the first day, I drank almost 200 fluid ounces of water over a 24 hour period to flush out my system and the really hydrate myself (talk about a lot of trips to the bathroom that day!). After that, I drank (and still drink) about 100 fluid ounces of water a day. I take the Super-COmplex Vitamin B and the Biotin in the morning with my breakfast, and liberally coat the rash on my rash with lots Aquaphor Healing Ointment every night. This helps to moisturize and helps to loosen the top layer of skin so that it easily exfoliates in the morning. I have done this for 2 weeks now, and my eczema is completely gone.

I can't guarantee that what caused my rash/eczema is the same as what might be causing yours, but I saw visible results in about 5 days, so it's probably worth a try... especially since you can pick all this stuff up at Wal-mart for about $20.

I hope this helps.

-Becky

I am a 31-year-old female suffering from this only just recently. It started at the eyes while I was working a very stressful job, which I quit. The day after I quit that job, I got a cold and was sick for a week. My husband caught it, and then I caught it again - sick for another week. My eyes have gone through the cycle several times now, but most recently, everything got a lot worse, and it got around my mouth, neck, and chest. I started a new job on Monday - much less stressful, part-time, and something I really enjoy, and I was SO embarrassed about having to go to work my first week, looking like a ghoul. I started Prednisone this morning, and I am feeling better, but after reading all of this, I am VERY concerned about success. Other than my face, neck, and chest, I have one patch in the pit of my elbow.

I can't believe all that I am reading and no one seems to know what's going on, for sure. My doctor came right out and said she didn't have any idea why this was happening to me. She is having me try a different blood pressure medication, just in case, but wasn't confident that was the problem. I was taking Lisinopril (Zestril).

I am getting more and more frustrated by this, as I have always had very good skin. I can't believe this is happening! But it is very nice to find out that I'm not the only one and that some of you have found some things that work. Please keep posting.

I've found a regimen that works for me, for this exact same problem.
I am post-menopausal (55, hysterectomy in 2000), and have been dealing with these same symptoms off and on since 2002. Itchy red bumpy rash across cheeks, nose, forehead, eyelids, sometimes chin and mouth, sometimes swollen lips and eyelids. It first appeared in the autumn of 2002, rapidly worsened, and I had the rash and itching almost continuously for five years, with occasional slight improvements. I became a virtual recluse, almost too embarrassed to leave the house. I was seen several times by a team of dermatologists at my university medical center; they diagnosed, at one time or another, rosacea, seborrheic dermatitis, eczema, and lupus. (It wasn't any of those.) Fortunately I was also being seen by a rheumatologist (I have fibromyalgia) who assured me that it was not a lupus rash, so I managed to dodge the needle biopsy. The docs at the university prescribed an oral antibiotic, cortisone cream, and a topical ointment that cost a fortune and burned like acid but did absolutely nothing. I took the antibiotic for nearly two years with no noticeable improvement. When the rash was in the painful-itchy-blistered stages, the only relief I could get was to put extra-virgin olive oil on my face -- it didn't heal it, but it kept the dryness bearable. Finally I gave up on regular medical treatments and did some research on my own. On the advice of my naturopath I used tea tree oil for a while but then I developed a terrible severe allergy to that, which made my face look like someone had burned it with a blow torch. (Not a good look for me.) About a year and a half ago I found a book called "The Perricone Prescription" and based on that, I made some diet changes and started drinking *a lot* more water. I also started using a diluted solution of apple cider vinegar and water on my face . . . and the rash cleared up completely within a week. (yes, it burns at first.) I was amazed. (I'm still amazed, and a little perturbed, that after spending hundreds of dollars on prescription medications, a 2-dollar bottle of vinegar did the trick.) You can imagine my glee -- my face was completely clear for the first time in four years. It now stays clear most of the time, unless I am under a lot of stress or if I neglect to drink plenty of water (or if I put something unusual on my face.) I tried a new eye cream a couple of weeks ago and within three days developed the puffy rash and itching again. I returned to my vinegar cleansing and it cleared up completely in a few days. (I discontinued the eye cream immediately -- only used it twice.) The only cream I can use on my face without problems is an all-natural moisture cream made by a Native American woman I stumbled across at a local farmers' market. I don't use any make-up or hair spray, and except for that recent foolish foray into eye cream hell, I don't put anything on my face. I use Cetaphil cleanser or plain castile soap -- nothing else on my face, except the vinegar-and-water. I'm not sure there is any one course of treatment that will work for everybody, but the diet changes, lots of water, and vinegar-and-water regimen has worked for me when nothing else did. I hope this helps someone -- it has literally changed my life.

My husband has had the red itchy, peely rash you are all talking about. He has been to 6 different dermatologists along with our internist. He has had labwork, biopsies, KOH preps, and cultures. Nothing significant has shown up. He had used antifungal creams, cortisone creams, moisture creams without help. The only thing that has cleared his face up until now was prednisone, but that was short-lived as you have all described. The last dermatologist did patch testing and we found out he is allergic to hair dyes. fragrances, and "caines" (benzocaine, novocaine, solarcaine, etc.). He had been dying his mustache and eyebrows, using hairspray, deodorant, shampoo/conditioner, deodorant soap, etc., not thinking he had an allergy to them as he only had the rash on his neck and face. After finding out about his allergies and what specifically he was allergic to, he started using Cetaphil to wash his face, stopped the dyes, uses "DHS" brand shampoo, fragrance free hairspray (hypoallergenic) and NOTHING ELSE. His face is nearly clear in one week for the first time in almost 3 years. Hope this helps someone else. As the dermatologist told us, "It's a rash. You are allergic to something. We just have to find out what it is to make it go away." He did. It did. Hopefully, it won't return. Get patch tested.

Hi everyone, sooo glad I have found this site, I am having really bad probs with my eyes too! im in the UK and used a new product by Avon called Anew Crows Feet corrector, I used it correctly but the following morn my eyes were awful, really puffy and sore and big red panda eyes, afer a couple of days the skin under my eyes started to peel.

After 2 weeks of this I went to the doc but could only see the nurse and was told to put Almond oil under my eyes and take piriton, this hasnt worked! I am getting quite stressed now as it has been nearly 2 months, I have always have had bags under my eyes but I swear they have got bigger!! rang the doc today but as usual could only get in to see the nurse, anyway she took one look and has made me a appointment with the doc for tomorrow. I must admit I thought this prob would have cleared up by now but after reading posts on here some of you have had probs months!!

Im not vain by no means but this is making my life a misery! im having to put lots of make up on to disguise my eyes, which hubby says I shouldnt be, but im so paranoid about it, it reduced me to tears in the nurses room today!!

Oh by the way I have contacted Avon and they are doing tests on the product I sent back just waiting to hear back, they also said I could claim prescription fees back, there was nothing on the packaging regarding sensitivity tests...

Hi. I'm an 18 year old girl and I've been having a similar reaction on and off for the past two or three years. Recently, it has been particularly bad. Usually, my eyelids would puff up and become red and dry, eventually flaking. This would last for around a week, then would go away for a while but would always recur. This is the second time this has happened this month and it has now moved down my face to both sides of my nose and around my chin.
I have been to a dermatologist and been given an allergy test, but the only reaction was to nickle, which I was already aware of. He gave me Elidel, but it doesn't seem to really help.
I have mild seasonal allergies, but it seems to recur too often for it to be seasonal allergies. I am also allergic to amoxicillin, but I don't think that relates. I have no history of eczema. I don't wear make up.
I've tried Clinique eye cream as well as Boscia and always get face washes for sensitive skin. I've never had any skin problems up until now and have always been known for having really nice skin. Never even had much acne in my younger teens.
I'm a relatively anxious person, so I thought maybe it was stress related, but I can't pinpoint any major stressors right now. I walk frequently for exercise and try to eat relatively healthfully. I have no idea what this is, but it is very upsetting. I'm embarrassed to be around other people and have even missed school occasionally because I'm too embarrassed to let other people see me.
Sorry this post is so long. I just don't know what else to try.

Thanks to everyone for the information in this forum. I am a 48 year old male who started “borrowing” my wife’s face cream about 5 years ago because of mild dryness on my face. The Loreal cream worked fine until last December, when I started experiencing similar symptoms as others on this board … extreme dry, itching, leathery skin at the corner of my eyes and mouth, and in spots on my forehead and jaw bone. The skin would eventually peel and seem fine for a day or two. Then the process would start over again. Being a man, I had a resistance to spending hoards of money on face cream, such as the Neutrogena that my wife had “upgraded” to a few years back. Various things such as Vaseline, Lubriderm and Garnier failed to help. So as a last resort, I again “borrowed” the Neutrogena from my wife. It worked better than the others, but the problems persisted to a lesser degree for about a month. I kept thinking if I could get it under control, I could resume using the cheaper cream. Thus, after about a week with relatively few problems, I again tried the Garnier brand one day, followed by the Loreal the next day. By the end of the second day my face was the worst it had ever been … around my eyes were red, itchy, and incredibly swollen … I could do nothing but rub them gently trying to subdue the itching. I also have a few mild allergies, so I tried an Allegra, but it gave no relief at all. So I washed off the old creams with hypoallergenic wash, again “borrowed” from wifey, and went back to the Neutrogena. This time the Neutrogena burned, because my face was so irritated. I was awakened that night from the itching and applied some more Neutrogena. However, the fresh application only made things worse and I didn’t sleep the rest of the night. All I could do was get out of bed and frantically surf the net for a remedy, which brought me here. After reading a few pages, I again washed my face and coated it with 1% cortisone, which burned when applied, but seemed to help the itching somewhat. However, I don’t like the cortisone because it can thin your skin, so I kept reading. After seeing a post from “Seeking Relief”, I headed to the pharmacy to get Aveeno, Aquaphor and Eucerin. I passed on the Eucerin and returned home, planning to try the Aveeno and Aquaphor that evening. Meanwhile, I was drinking a glass of water every 30 minutes, resulting in the same frequency of visits to the latrine. Later, I decided to experiment by using Aveeno on half my face and Aquahor on the other half. Amazingly, neither product burned my red, inflamed skin. Almost immediately, the Aveeno side had almost no itching, while the Aquaphor side felt only mild relief. I continued to use the Aveeno and guzzling ridiculous quantities of water during the day and Aquaphor at night on the “trouble spots”. Today, 3 days later, the swelling is almost gone, there is no itching or redness, and the dry, peeling skin is minimal. I am back to a normal life for the time being. I will continue this regimen to see if it is an actual long term solution, or if it just helped me through the short term misery and I am currently in the middle of the nasty cycle.
Honestly, I feel for all of the women with this problem. As a man, I am not overly concerned about how my face actually appears to others and I don’t have to worry about the complications of makeup (haven’t “borrowed” that from wifey “yet”). My biggest concern is the discomfort and the appearance is a secondary issue. On the other hand, I have occasionally had to explain the problem to people who notice and say something. The dry, caked, peeling skin around the corners of my mouth sometimes appears that I have eaten a Krispy Kreme doughnut and failed to use a napkin. Thus, I must briefly explain that I am not really a disgusting pig, but that I have dry skin problems. Generally, that is sufficient to appease the curiosity.

hello--
i have been following this thread for the past three months because i, too, have developed a similar problem. i had eczema as a child, but it pretty much cleared up in adulthood, with only occasional flare ups that would go away fairly quickly.

over the past few years, i've had some pretty bad flus and tonsil infections that have lead doctors to prescribe antibiotics. i have actually had a LOT of antibiotics pumped in me for the past year due to various reasons. last october, a fever and antibiotic treatment left me with a tiny patch of rash under my left eye. cortisone seemed to clear it up within a month, and i didn't worry about it. then, i had another fever in january that lasted a couple days, and suddenly both eyes became swollen, red, and painful. this gradually became worse, until the rash had spread to my forehead, the skin around my lips (especially between my mouth and nose), and my neck. at times my lips would swell up and cracks would appear at the edges that made it painful to eat or smile.

needless to say, i have been MISERABLE and i have done an intense amount of research. at first, i went to dermatologists who just prescribed cortisone and antihistimines. these stopped working and i didn't want to develop a dependency. THEN i went to a GP...who said it was eczema flaring up and there was nothing he could do but prescribe more cortisone. THEN i consulted a naturopath and i went on a strict candida diet plus anti-fungals for a month and a half--this included a week long raw foods diet. i also kept a food diary to try and discover food allergies. nothing seemed consistent. i had good days and bad days and whether i ate well, or slipped up, my worst flares were completely random.

i am now seeing a Chinese Medicine doctor. the first batch of herbs he prescribed cleared it up to almost normal within 4 days. BUT, the rash gradually came back although in MUCH more control than before. he decided to try a different concoction, which actually is not doing a thing...but i go back this week to consult with him again. i actually have a lot of hope this time because i have heard of two people within my social circle who have been cured by chinese medicine. i'll keep you all posted!!