Perioral dermatitis can be an uncomfortable and frustrating skin condition, causing red, bumpy rashes around the mouth, nostrils, and sometimes eyes. The rash often burns, stings, or itches. Perioral dermatitis seems to appear somewhat suddenly, stick around for weeks or months, and then finally heal. But how do you know when perioral dermatitis is clearing up and healing? Does perioral dermatitis dry up when healing? Looking for certain signs can help identify that your skin is on the mend.
Being able to recognize these perioral dermatitis symptoms of healing means you’ll better know the treatments are working and can hopefully stop using them soon. This article will cover some of the main signs and stages to look for when trying to determine if perioral dermatitis is going away and healing. Spotting these signs of healing perioral dermatitis can give hope that annoying facial rash will soon clear.
Top 10 Signs Of Perioral Dermatitis is Healing
The most obvious sign that perioral dermatitis is healing is when the key symptoms start fading away. The bothersome rash is often the first problem to develop with perioral dermatitis. So when the red bumpy skin, pus pimples, or scaly patches around the mouth, nose, and eyes begin disappearing, that likely indicates signs perioral dermatitis is healing. Checking for a fading facial rash is one of the main ways to know if your treatment is working and if signs of perioral dermatitis are healing.
Along with the rash improving, the other symptoms should also start going away as signs of perioral dermatitis are healing. Common symptoms that begin resolving include reduced skin redness, less burning or stinging skin, a decrease in itchiness, and smaller or fewer facial bumps or pimples. When the signs of perioral dermatitis flare up like irritation, burning, and redness ease up, that shows the condition is calming down and improving. Make sure to closely track your original perioral dermatitis symptoms then watch for them to slowly fade away.
Many people find their perioral dermatitis symptoms seem to quickly disappear during treatment after lingering for weeks or months. However, as the signs of perioral dermatitis are healing occurs rapidly, the condition sometimes flares back up a short while after stopping treatment. This rollercoaster pattern means you’ll have to carefully notice if symptoms stay away this time or return soon.
Here are 10 signs that perioral dermatitis may be healing:
- Redness and inflammation are reduced. As the condition improves, the red rashes should become less angry-looking.
- Flaking/peeling is minimized. There should be less dry, dead skin coming off the affected areas.
- The itching is decreasing. As inflammation goes down, the itchy feeling should bother you less.
- The burning sensation is easing. Any stinging or burning discomfort should steadily be alleviated.
- No new bumps or pustules forming. The condition is likely healing if no new red, fluid-filled bumps appear.
- Skin is less sensitive and reactive. Healthy skin becomes less prone to flaring from irritants or weather changes.
- Skin texture feels smoother and less rough/scaly. As skin heals it regains a smoother, less irritated texture.
- Makeup applies more evenly onto the skin. Another sign of smoothness returning as the flakiness subsides.
- Redness/swelling after waking up is reducing. Less overnight inflammation is a good healing gauge.
- Skin resumes a more uniform complexion. As red blotches and inflammation fades, normal skin tone reappears.
Perioral Dermatitis Healing Stages
Perioral dermatitis healing has two main phases – clearing infection and restoring skin. Firstly, antibiotic creams or medications reduce inflammation causing redness and bumps. Then later barrier repair ingredients like niacinamide strengthen skin to resist recurrence. Signs of transition to stage two include fading redness plus no more stinging, oozing, or spreading of the rash. Lastly, the skin returns to normal tone and texture without vulnerability to triggers.
Perioral Dermatitis Treatments
First-line treatments for perioral dermatitis utilize topical antibiotics like metronidazole or anti-inflammatory creams with azelaic acid. For mild cases, OTC hydrocortisone cream reduces redness and itching. Oral antibiotics may be added for severe, stubborn flares. Most patients also need gentle skin care and avoiding triggers to aid healing and stop recurrence. Complete recovery takes 4-12 weeks with diligent treatment application and not using irritating products.
Metronidazole for Perioral Dermatitis
Metronidazole antibiotic gels, creams, or pills combat perioral dermatitis by killing troublesome skin bacteria. Reducing the microbes rebalances the skin so inflammation driving rashes and bumps calms down. Brand names like Metrogel require a prescription but treat moderate to severe cases well. Side effects like skin drying and stinging often fade after a couple of weeks allowing metronidazole to fully control infection.
How to Get Rid of Perioral Dermatitis Overnight?
Unfortunately, no overnight cure exists for perioral dermatitis yet. The facial rash and bumps result from internal factors like bacteria and inflammation – not just surface issues. So one requires weeks of oral or topical medications that penetrate deeper skin layers to tackle the root causes. You can use hydrocortisone cream to temporarily relieve next-day symptoms like redness and itching. But the rash and pimples keep recurring until properly treated over a longer period targeting the inner skin infection.
Also Read:- Spongiotic Dermatitis: What Causes It And How To Treat?
Final Verdict
Dealing with the annoying redness, burning, bumps and discomfort of perioral dermatitis can be burdensome. You just want the facial rash to disappear so your skin can feel and look better! The good news is perioral dermatitis does eventually heal up, typically in a few weeks or months. You just have to stick with effective treatment and wait out the recovery phases.
The healing process has several signs that let you know if treatments are working and if perioral dermatitis is successfully clearing up. Major symptoms like visible rash, burning, redness, and itchiness fading away mean signs that permanent dermatitis is healing is happening. Subtler improvements like skin texture changes and color changes also indicate the condition is resolving. Lastly, the biggest sign perioral dermatitis is healing is no return of symptoms long after stopping treatment.
If that frustrating mouth rash stays away for good, then you’ve defeated your bout with this skin disorder. Learning to recognize the signs your perioral dermatitis is disappearing can provide hope and patience during the healing period. And if symptoms ever try to come back, you can catch them early and restart treatment again. But in many cases, spotting the right signs means happy skin and no more perioral dermatitis again!
Does noticing symptoms fade mean perioral dermatitis is finally ending for you? What other subtle signs have you seen that showed your skin was healing?
References
- American Academy of Dermatology Association. Rosacea Resource Center (https://www.aad.org/public/diseases/rosacea). Accessed 9/8/2020.
- CDC. Candidiasis (https://www.cdc.gov/fungal/diseases/candidiasis/index.html). Accessed 9/8/2020.
