Dark patches on face?

[dcmom]

So- I am thinking this is not pandas related (though everything seems to tie in after a while, doesn't it)- but you guys are my "go to" moms for sensitive issues....

 

DD (11) has gotten some dark-ish patches on her face.

 

First one appeared. I wondered if it was a fungal infection? It coincided with me giving her a course of Diflucan. We tried lotrimin on it for 2 weeks- no improvement. Then we went to see a dermatologist. He thought it was likely excema, and gave her a steroid cream to use for 5 days. On the way out the door he mentioned it could also be a new mole. No improvement with the creme.

 

Fast forward 2.5 weeks. The patch looks about the same- it is a small (maybe the size half the size of a penny), roundish, borders not defined, patch of skin that seems just a little darker than normal. This one is on the side of her cheek. Now there is one closer to the hairline, and also one on her forehead.

 

Yikes! They are fair- thank goodness- but don't need to tell you that it is upsetting for a blossoming 11-yr old.

 

All I can think of is this- diflucan related? (she has been off for close to 2 mos though). Puberty related? Autoimmune related?

 

Will be looking for a new dermatologist this week..... Thoughts or experience appreciated.....

[fightingmom]

Sounds fungal to me too. They can be very stubborn especially with an already compromised immune system. We adopted a kitten that wound up with ring worm. She gave it to my son and I. My husband did not get it. Took us about 2 months to get rid of it. Tea tree oil helped a lot.

[LNN]

Not an area I've had to learn much about but I'll toss out two thoughts. One is skin damage - not skin cancer but just damage. The second is hormonal. I seem to recall something about estrogen causing spots - can't recall if that's something I read in my naive days of What to Expect When You're Expecting or somewhere else. But maybe see if puberty can trigger spots?

[shannon aka mommy]

I'm going to second the hormonal thought. My sister-in-law had something like that while she was pregnant. Your daughter's sounds like it is much smaller.... Anyway, I would have her hormones checked -- especially thyroid and cortisol. Cortisol is a hormone released in response to stress and I know we are all stressed -- parents and kids alike!

Edited April 3, 2012 by shannon aka mommy

[fightingmom]

Are these areas raised at all, or just darker?

[PhillyPA]

I don't know what this is. However, my husband has a dark circle patch in the center of his back and it is auto-immune related. It is benign. Can't remember the name of it.

 

You can reassure her that no matter what it is you can make it go away. A laser treatment can blast that brown spot clear away! They can do spot laser treatments. It is painless and takes maybe three minutes.

 

I am editing to tell you my husband's skin patch is called Morphea...

Edited April 3, 2012 by PhillyPA

[dcmom]

Thanks everyone!

 

Sigh- need to find a GOOD dermatologist. It is hard because she is old, so she is in the room with the doc the whole time. I DON'T want to make a big deal- in case something cannot easily be done. But at the same time I want to know definitively what it is.

 

I thought ringworm initially because at the same time as this started- I got a case of athlete's foot (which I have never had in my life before, and hadn't been to public showers, etc). I thought it was such a coincidence. I had also just given her a 10 day course of diflucan that I had in my cabinet (Rx'd to her quite a while ago), because she seemed to be having stomach issues with antibiotics- just wanted to be on the safe side.

 

But derm said no. Not that I have that much faith in him, however.

 

I too think hormonal- because she is definitely "developing".

 

I just haven't found anything online that has struck a chord.

 

Anyone know a really great dermatologist in NYC or NJ?

[PowPow]

Did you look up chloasma/melasma?

 

Does it look like a dirty spot you could rub off? One of my daughter's had that and her derm said it is a birthmark. I do not believe him, since it was.not always there and it is changing. My friend daughter has a similar patch.and was told it was freckles beneath the skin. She is going to a rheumatologist soon for arthritis and is going to ask the doc about it. Both my daughter and my friends daughter are very young teens.

Edited April 3, 2012 by PowPow

[bws]

I have had such a spot on my neck ever since my first pregnancy fifteen years ago. The ONLY time it disappeared was when I was taking a supplement for my liver (called Liver Balance from www.pbiv.com). These are fairly benign liver spots, although not pretty. Incidentally my Pandas DD is taking this liver balance now, and it is doing wonders for her.

[fightingmom]

I wondered about liver spots, too. I have a brown patch on the bridge of my nose that has popped up in the last few years and makes me crazy. Though, I'm not sure you'd have 3 of them of decent size show up on your face so suddenly. Mine seemed to come on rather gradually and get darker over time.

 

Dcmom,

Can you clarify if these patches are red, or brown?

Are they raised at all?

Are they peeling or scaly?

Edited April 3, 2012 by fightingmom

[dcmom]

Ok- so I have not examined them that closely, because I am trying not to make a big deal.

 

But- they are not raised, they are not peeling, they do not appear scaly- yet are not completely uniform looking, and they seem to be a darker skin color- slight tinge of brown/skin color.

Edited April 3, 2012 by dcmom

[fightingmom]

I have had such a spot on my neck ever since my first pregnancy fifteen years ago. The ONLY time it disappeared was when I was taking a supplement for my liver (called Liver Balance from www.pbiv.com). These are fairly benign liver spots, although not pretty. Incidentally my Pandas DD is taking this liver balance now, and it is doing wonders for her.

 

This is interesting, because I thought that "liver" spots were not really related to the liver at all and were considered more with age or sun exposure?

[fightingmom]

Ok- so I have not examined them that closely, because I am trying not to make a big deal.

 

But- they are not raised, they are not peeling, they do not appear scaly- yet are not completely uniform looking, and they seem to be a darker skin color- slight tinge of brown/skin color.

 

Okay, then in my experience it doesn't sound like fungus/yeast issue. More like pigmentation.

Maybe this will help? Looks like autoimmune illness and hormones are known to do this...

 

http://www.formulamedical.com/Topics/Symptoms/skin,%20darkened.htm

Edited April 3, 2012 by fightingmom

[dcmom]

they might be slightly scaly.

 

Made a new derm appt for MOnday.

[fightingmom]

Uggh, I hope it's something that goes away easily. I've been battling scaly rash crap my whole life. Eczema, psoriasis, whatever they want to call it...steroid creams, nizoral, etc...it all works while I'm using it but comes right back. Don't like to use steroid creams long term for obvious reasons and it can thin your skin I've read. So frustrating. I do think there may be a fungal/yeast connection though because it responds to nizoral shampoo (like I can wash my face with it for a day or two and it clears right up). If that's the case with your DD, it would make sense that you saw a flare with the diflucan - perhaps it was surfacing due to the diflucan dose?