Perioral dermatitis

Perioral dermatitis is an acquired condition consisting of tiny red papules and pustules in a perioral, less commonly paranasal or periorbital, distribution.
There is often an associated background erythema, and an associated diffuse fine scale.
The eruption is often pruritic.
Circumoral pallor may be present.
Women are affected more than men.
The etiology is unknown, but there is often a history of the application of moisturizers, other face creams or topical fluorinated steroids.

Treatment:

• Stop all cosmetic creams to the area.
• The topical application of 1% hydrocortisone and 1% clindamycin in a non-greasy base bid, or 0.75% metronidazole gel bid is effective.
• If severe, topical therapy may be combined with oral tetracycline, erythromycin, or minocycline.

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