Can you get eczema on your face?

What does facial eczema look and feel like?

Itching is the main symptom. The skin can feel dry and sore, with cracked, scaly or thickened patches. Eczema does not always look red: depending on your skin tone, patches can look purple, grey, white, or lighter or darker than surrounding skin. Repeated scratching can worsen inflammation and cause bleeding or thickening.12

Eczema is a name for several types of dermatitis, meaning skin inflammation; atopic dermatitis is the most common type. A clinician usually diagnoses atopic eczema from its appearance and symptoms rather than blood or skin tests. A facial rash without itch is less likely to be atopic eczema. If a rash changes pattern or worsens with treatment, contact allergy is another possibility to assess.345

Why does eczema flare on the face?

Atopic eczema involves a weakened skin barrier, which lets moisture escape and irritating substances enter more easily. Genes and the environment both contribute. Soap, detergents, perfumed cosmetics and excessive washing can aggravate eczema. Heat, stress and skin infections can also trigger flares, although sometimes there is no obvious trigger. Eczema is not contagious, so you cannot catch it from someone else.12456

How do you treat eczema on the face?

Start with an emollient, the medical name for a moisturising treatment. The best moisturiser is one you are happy to use regularly, which is a less glamorous selection process than the packaging suggests. For adolescents and adults with facial eczema, a lighter emollient can help avoid provoking acne or a rash around the mouth.16

1. 1Wash with an emollient soap substitute rather than ordinary soap, and avoid excessive washing.
2. 2If prescribed a steroid or tacrolimus ointment, apply it to the affected skin as directed. For children, apply the medicine before moisturiser, then wait 30 minutes if possible before moisturising.
3. 3Apply moisturiser at least twice daily and continue when the skin improves. Children can need more frequent application; childhood eczema care can include at least four applications daily.
4. 4Use a pump dispenser or a clean spoon for moisturiser in a pot rather than putting your fingers inside. Do not share emollients.

Facial skin needs carefully chosen steroid strength and duration. A clinician can prescribe a mild steroid such as hydrocortisone 1%; do not substitute a stronger body treatment without advice. Tacrolimus or pimecrolimus are other options when steroids are unsuitable or insufficient. These medicines can sting initially and increase sensitivity to sunlight, so use SPF 30 or higher sunscreen during the day. They should not be used on infected eczema.137

Will facial eczema go away?

Atopic eczema has no cure, but treatment can control symptoms. It commonly alternates between flares and quieter periods, and childhood eczema often improves with age. Moisturisers help reduce dryness and itching rather than permanently removing the condition. Moisturisers come in greasier and less greasy forms, so the jar with the most ceremonial packaging does not get the deciding vote. If treatment is not helping, arrange a review rather than repeatedly increasing steroid strength yourself.1245

When should you get medical help?

Arrange an appointment for a new suspected eczema rash or symptoms that persist despite treatment. Seek urgent care if eczema becomes painful, swollen, warm, blistered, crusty, leaks fluid or develops pus, especially with fever or feeling unwell. Sudden painful clusters of similar blisters or open sores can signal eczema herpeticum, an infection with the cold sore virus that needs emergency assessment.23