help!! irritated, red skin on face

[♥ms.pacman♥]

i have this huge huge red patch (size a a quarter?) on my face, sort of close to one eye. it looks awful. it has been there for a week or so, not as noticeable but i couldn't really feel it as much and it felt more sensitive. the skin itself felt like a patch of really rough, hard skin, a bit raised. never had that before. Well today i guess after washing my face it totally got really red and itchy/irritated. i put make up over it and it still looks red through foundation and whatnot. it is so embarrassing. not only that, i can feel it tingling/itching all day, it is so annoying. I don't know what it is, exactly. I kknow DS gets these patch in the winter on his arms sometimes, and i'm assuming it's bc of dryness?? I'ts like a little patch of skin that is rough/hard to the touch. It doesn't go away quickly, it often takes several days. Usually they're not red or anything though, so i don't think it's ezcema.

i called up a local dermatology center but their next available appt is December 10. So three weeks. :( I've been meaning to call for weeks now. but had no time to go, esp wtih DH traveling so much.

can anybody recommend any creams or whatever i can put on it to help soothe the redness and itchiness? i tried a moisturizing sample and it felt worse..perhaps was the fragrance that irritate it more. would Cerave work (is that ok to put on face)?

could use any advice at all..since i can't see a derm for 3 weeks i am going crazy trying to fix this train wreck that has become my face in the past few weeks. i don't know if it's stress, hormones or not following strict paleo diet. i get patches of dry skin, and then let up on acne cleansing regimen but then i start breaking out with large, cystic acne. So i can't win. i can't really pinpoint if anything is causing it. i feel like i am expending so, so much energy on this and am failing miserably :(

the sucky thing too is that DH, who normally is understanding, is so bothered that this bothers me. like he thinks i'm so vain to be caring how my face looks at all, why can't I just go about my day and ignore it. It's so frustrating.

[SnuggleBuggles]

When you say it goes away, does it go away forever or temporarily? I get eczema on my eyelid. One day I didn't have it, next I did. It flares and mellows though. Right now it's not at all noticeable.

I would try hydrocortisone.

[mackmama]

I'd put aquaphor on it to soothe it. Sounds like maybe an allergy?

[♥ms.pacman♥]

When you say it goes away, does it go away forever or temporarily? I get eczema on my eyelid. One day I didn't have it, next I did. It flares and mellows though. Right now it's not at all noticeable.

I would try hydrocortisone.

well with DS, they take weeks to go away. like we'll rub him down with lotion (Cerave) and it will still be there for several days. i looked up pics for ezcema and it doesn't look like that..no bumps, no redness , not really itchy (unless it's irritated by something)..it's just an area of skin that feels really hard/rough to the touch. he only gets them in the wintertime. him and dh suffer from pretty dry skin, esp in the wintertime (knuckles bleedinging) but normally i do not.

i can't really speak for myself since this is the first time i've ever gotten this. it normally wasn't too noticeable (maybe just a bit darker) except this morning i think i put a benzoyl peroxide cream on (to combat two huge zits i had, and i guess that must have irritated it.

i'm also getting random itchiness/tingling along the jawline. i did put hydrocortisone there this morning but it didnd't seem to do anything. i will try putting more tonight.

eta: i was suspecting an allergy of some sort as well, but i could not guess what it is. i'm also wondering if it was a true allergy, wouldn't it be itching all over, and not just my face?

[mackmama]

well with DS, they take weeks to go away. like we'll rub him down with lotion (Cerave) and it will still be there for several days. i looked up pics for ezcema and it doesn't look like that..no bumps, no redness , not really itchy (unless it's irritated by something)..it's just an area of skin that feels really hard/rough to the touch. he only gets them in the wintertime. him and dh suffer from pretty dry skin, esp in the wintertime (knuckles bleedinging) but normally i do not.

My DC gets this too - I showed some of the areas to our pedi who said it's just dry skin (and not eczema).

[MontrealMum]

On me that would be eczema. I've been getting it since I was a teen and it can get out of control quite quickly. It starts as a small red patch, I scratch it unconsciously because it itches a very little bit, and it grows larger and larger. I get it seasonally - related to allergies (mostly mold), and I can also get it from "bad" makeup/beauty products. It's super painful and putting things like makeup over it make it much, much worse. You can get hydrocortisone and/or steroid creams from the derm depending on how bad it's gotten (mine cracked and bled one year :( ) Or, you can sometimes just use aquaphor or Aveeno (the one w/fewer chemicals in it) and that will clear it up. But the key is to keep the foundation off of it!

[candaceb]

I get eczema like that on my face. My Derm has me using the tub form of cetaphil cream on my face, which sounds strange but it has worked wonders. I also have some RX stuff I can use if it is really bad (elidel). I finally figured out that raw tomatoes are a major trigger for me and since I have been avoiding them it has been better but still flares up randomly.

[egoldber]

That does sound like eczema to me. And I would avoid putting makeup on it.

I get this all over my eyelids now whenever I wear eye makeup. Even with good brands and new makeup. My lids have just become very sensitive.

I agree with using hydrocortisone or Aquaphor until it clears up. Putting anything else on it is probably just going to make it take longer to heal. :( I would also just wipe with water and not use any cleansers on it.

It can be triggered by dryer air and also environmental allergens.