rash near child's mouth... help
My boyfriend's son (5 years old) gets a red, raised, rash near his mouth. It does not itch or seem to bother him in any way. The problem is the rash only seems to appear when my boyfriend has him, which is every other weekend. We're thinking it may be some type of allergic reaction. I have never heard of an allergic reaction like this that is localized to the area on either side of his mouth with no other apparent symptoms.
He does suffer from other allergies but those reactions are typical i.e. stuffy nose, sneezing, etc. Anyone have any idea what this could be?
I believe he should be taken to see his allergist but my boyfriend can only suggest it to his ex-wife as she is the one who carries the insurance. Even then, the allergist does not want to perform any type of allergy test until he gets a little older.
Thanks :)
Try and think of things his mouth touches from the moment he gets there until he leaves. does he pet an animal, then touch his mouth? It could be the dander/pet product. When he hugs people, does his face touch their shirt? It could be fabric softener or dtergent.
Just metally go over his stays and make a mental list. If it doesn't bother him, I wouldn't rush to the doctor. Just switch up a few suspicious elements and see if it makes a difference.
I'd guess he's having a reaction to something he's eating... maybe something acidic like oranges or tomatoes. Or maybe a different (face) soap or cream then he'd use at his moms? Maybe keep a wee food diary and get the mom to see if there's anything different from his monday to friday diet?
K
There's a cat and dog at both houses... The cat at his mom's is kept outside. At first we thought is was from my homemade strawberry jam but he didn't eat any this weekend and Monday morning the rash appeared. If it was from pet dander wouldn't the rash show up WHEN he is exposed rather than after?
A food diary is a great idea! Thanks for the suggestion
There's a cat and dog at both houses... The cat at his mom's is kept outside. At first we thought is was from my homemade strawberry jam but he didn't eat any this weekend and Monday morning the rash appeared. If it was from pet dander wouldn't the rash show up WHEN he is exposed rather than after?
Not necessarily. A rash can often take a while to form. Like when I found out I was allegic to ambien, it wasn't until half way through the second night that I developed hives.
And people can be fine with one animals dander and not another. I, again for instance, am allegic to cats. However, I am used to the two we have so I show no signs of allegies. Unless I go to someone elses house with kitties.
I'm not trying to say it's the animals for sure, but don't rule it out. Becuase food seems unlikely to me. Unless it's food he's getting all over his face. I mean, he eats it, it's in his blood stream... why would the rash only happen at the mouth and not arms, legs, whatever?
It sounds to me like something topical. He touches it to his mouth and it provokes a reaction.
There's a cat and dog at both houses... The cat at his mom's is kept outside. At first we thought is was from my homemade strawberry jam but he didn't eat any this weekend and Monday morning the rash appeared. If it was from pet dander wouldn't the rash show up WHEN he is exposed rather than after?
Not necessarily. A rash can often take a while to form. Like when I found out I was allegic to ambien, it wasn't until half way through the second night that I developed hives.
And people can be fine with one animals dander and not another. I, again for instance, am allegic to cats. However, I am used to the two we have so I show no signs of allegies. Unless I go to someone elses house with kitties.
I'm not trying to say it's the animals for sure, but don't rule it out. Becuase food seems unlikely to me. Unless it's food he's getting all over his face. I mean, he eats it, it's in his blood stream... why would the rash only happen at the mouth and not arms, legs, whatever?
It sounds to me like something topical. He touches it to his mouth and it provokes a reaction.
Those are my thoughts... although he did have a bowl of spaghetti Friday night - which he definitely got on his face. And he ate mandarin orange slices on Sunday afternoon. I would think if its from tomatoes his mother would notice a rash appear when he's at her house as well. Leads me to believe its something that is coming in contact with his skin. He does have a tendency to wipe his mouth with the sleeve of his shirt when he's eating.
Hmm... acidic food + drier fall weather + rubbing against fabric... sounds like a recipe for chafe to me!
My sister and I would occasionally get a rash around the mouth after eating a fillet 'o fish. Our ped, determined it was the tartar sauce....and told our mom not to worry about it. We eventually grew out of it. Though now, I am experiencing allergies once again to certain tartar sauces. It sounds similar to my childhood experience, it was pretty benign, just unsightly. The food diary is the best idea. Also keep track of any food that is 'messy' and gets smeared on the face.
Thanks everyone!
He really doesn't seem bothered by it at all and it's in a localized area - on his cheeks, close by his mouth. I think a diary is a good idea.
My daughter would get a rash around her mouth when she ate acidic foods. Bell peppers, strawberries, tamarind(which she is allergic to. Weird.), tomato. Does he also get a, um, red wee wee? When she peed it out the next day it would irritate her, although that may be a girl thing. Sounds like a food sensitivity to something, that he'll probably outgrow.
my daughter has food allergies, and her symptoms have changed from when she was little, now she gets red welts around her mouth when she eats soy, and once when she accidentilly got a cheese flavored dorito chip from her aunt, (she is also very allergic to dairy.) We did an elimination diet to pin point her allergies when she was younger, and when she was 18 months we did a blood allergy test, which isn't totally conclusive, but can give some ideas about allergies by measuring antibodies in the bloodstream. (for example she was a level 2 in dairy, a level 1 in soy, but also a level 1 in wheat, which she has no reaction to so the doctor told us it was fine to feed it to her.) When she does have a welt/rash-like reaction we give her a small amount of children's benedryl (per our doctor so be sure to ask first!) and it goes away quickly. Hope this helps!
Thanks everyone for the suggestions/help!