Have Had Sudden And Extreme Redness Of Cheeks. Using An Over The Counter Hydrocortisone. Problem?

Posted on Wed, 6 Mar 2013

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Wed, 6 Mar 2013 Answered on

Thu, 4 Apr 2013 Last reviewed on

Question : For the last week or two, I have had sudden and extreme redness of my cheeks. These seem to be worse when I first wake up in the morning. I have been using an over the counter hydrocortisone cream and am seeing some improvement in the last two days. I have no rash and no itching. Is there a way to tell if this redness is topical or coming from a condition originating internally?

Answered by Dr. Kalpana Pathak (56 minutes later)

Hi,
Thanks for writing to us.
This redness of both of your cheeks could be due to
Allergic skin reaction
Photosensitivity due to sun exposure
Flushing due to some food, medicine or due to menopause
Rosacea
Systemic or XXXXXXX causes like diabetes, thyroid disorder, autoimmune disease like systemic lupus erythematosis too can cause such redness on cheeks.

A proper clinical assessment will be required to see whether the redness is due to skin involvement only or due to systemic involvement. For the same a visit to dermatologist is recommended.

In the meanwhile, I would advise you to avoid sun as much as possible. Do icing of the involved area. Apply steroid( hydrocortisone cream) twice in a day. Avoid hot and spicy food, caffeine and alcoholic drinks. Also take tablet cetirizine for few days. If the lesion is due to some topical cause, it should subside with these measures in few days.

Hope that answers your query. Should there be any other doubt, feel free to write back.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar