14 Month Old Has Rash on Her Upper Lip

Updated on May 20, 2008
A.E. asks from Tahoe City, CA
17 answers

My 14 month old has been getting a rash on and off on her upper lip (below her nose). She is a thumbsucker, so her little fingers are always touching the skin where the rash is. In addition, she a cold with a runny nose last week so it is worse right now. I assumed the rash was a breakout from the dirt or oil from her fingers because she is always touching it so we have been making sure we wash her hands and lip a lot. Her recent runny nose just seems to be making it worse. Does anyone have any ideas on what to put on it? I read possibly lanolin. Thanks!

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M.A.

answers from Sacramento on

Hey Abby--It's Molly, Theresa friend. If not the right Abby totally disregard what I said. But my daughter gets chapped face when she has a cold too, we use vasoline of neosproin. Hope you are doing good!

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K.M.

answers from Redding on

Hi - I have been dealing with a rash on my upper lip over the last month or so. Mine is most likely a result of a recently acquired allergy to fresh pineapple. After trying many remedies, the one that I'm finally getting results from is Aloe Gel. You can get it at any health food store and maybe even in grocery stores.
Good Luck!
K.

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S.B.

answers from San Francisco on

Hi Abby,

Try Vasoline and lots of it, you want to create a barrier so the skin has time to heal. My son has had some rashes by his mouth due to drool and dry weather so this was a miracle cure! Good Luck.

S.

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G.P.

answers from San Francisco on

Your correct in that it is a reaction to her nose dripping mucous. Common actually. Mucous irritates the skin. I used soft tissues and wipe with water. A friend told me that she used Lanolin on her poison oak and it worked great. So I would trust is on skin rashes. It would coat and sooth.
Good Luck,
Gale

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L.B.

answers from San Francisco on

My 9 year old has some similar skin thing has been going on with the skin around his lips, it was so bad that we saw the pediatrician before a dermatologist It was from constantly licking them and the weather and they were getting seriously chapped and looked horrible. The doc gave us a prescription of 2% Hydrocortizone gel that cleared it up in two days. You have to be religious about no moisture in that area. Vaseline is what he said was fine to protect the skin all the time or Auquafor-dont use any wierd or herbal stuff untill you see the doc. We tried every remedy known to humans and the script cleared it up the best.
L.

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S.H.

answers from San Francisco on

The rashes are usually caused by moisture mixed with bacteria/yeasts? My daughter used to have alot of rashes around her mouth, and I used some aloe lotion, but the thing that workedthe best was putting a bunch of diaper cream (and it has o be the organic/godd all natural kind like Weleda Calendula diaper cream) on the rash when she was going to sleep. If it didn't mostly clear up in one night, it did the second.

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H.S.

answers from Sacramento on

I would take her to the doc to make sure that it is not impetigo which would require a topical anti-biotic to make it go away. I know that you are probably just as cautious as I am, but I am always very worried about putting ointments and creams on or around my child's mouth in case they get ingested and could be toxic.

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L.M.

answers from San Francisco on

My son often get a bumpy, red rash under his nose as a result of runny nose from hay fever. I rub a little cortisone cream on it three times a day. I'll slather on a good amount once he's asleep if he puts up a fuss. It usually clears up in a few days. Try the un-petroleum jelly if the rash is around her mouth, usually a result of dry skin.

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K.U.

answers from San Francisco on

Lanolin can be highly allergenic. What about something edible, like olive oil or coconut oil? She'll probably just suck it off, and I don't think lanolin will be good to ingest, even if she doesn't have an allergy.

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A.S.

answers from Salinas on

My daughter is also 14 mos, she gets chapped skin below her nose whenever she has a cold as well. I use Aquafor healing ointment once or twice, and it goes away. Hope this helps!
A.

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C.D.

answers from San Francisco on

I would try lanoilin, or A and D ointment, or even petroleum to make a barrier from moisture so it can heal. My son gets rashes on his chi a lot from teething drool, if is realy red I put a little hydrocortisone cream with a little petroleum or lansinoh on top

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K.G.

answers from San Francisco on

Hi Abby,

As many have suggested, it sounds like you need a moisture barrier. A couple of years ago, my now five year-old had this habit of sucking his lower lip into his mouth and biting on it. He ended up with a rash that looked like a smile (but not nearly as cute) underneath his lower lip. I put Neosporin on it because it created a barrier (like Vaseline does -- not sure if there is petroleum) and fought any bacterial infection that might have been there. Apparently some people can be allergic to neosporin, though I'm allergic to multiple types of oral antibiotics but have never had any problems with neosporin myself. Not only did the rash start to clear up within a day, but also the Neosporin made him not want to put his lip in his mouth anymore. BTW, re: the coconut oil suggestion, it's not that unusual for kids to be allergic to coconuts. Just something to keep an eye on if you do try it.

K.

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J.S.

answers from San Francisco on

Whenever I get a cold and end up blowing my nose a lot I use a product called Un-petroleum jelly. It's like petroleum jelly in consistency and effectiveness, but does NOT from from a petroleum source. That way you're not having her absorb any of the very harmful chemicals. :)

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C.M.

answers from Chico on

This could be impetigo or hand foot and mouth disease. Take your little one to the doctor to be sure.

If it is just raw skin, the lanolin they make for nipple soreness for nursing women wold probably work well.

Good luck with the rash!

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K.B.

answers from San Francisco on

My daughter has a rash around her mouth right now. She's had it for over a month, and it just kept getting worse. I finally had to take her to a dermatologist who told me that it is a fairly common bacterial skin infection. It does need perscription drugs to make it go away.

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S.B.

answers from Redding on

Dear Abby,
Both of my children got rashes on their upper lips.
But it was from nursing or drinking bottles and if a little milk got up there, maybe mixed with some sweat, they broke out. So, I just had to very gently rinse them. My son got a rash down on his chin from putting his top lip over it constantly while he was teething.
You can take a vitamin E liquid capsule, bite a small hole in it, and gently rub some of that on. It's pretty thick, but has no taste and won't harm your baby if she licks it. It will provide a barrier from other moisture, but it's far less "gunky" and won't prevent air getting to it which I would guess it needs some of in order to dry and heal up. Vitamin E oil worked great for my kids.

Give it a try.
It also helps with scrapes and scratches after being sure they're not infected. But so close to the mouth, try the vitamin E.

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P.C.

answers from San Francisco on

Since many people are allergic to lanolin, I would avoid putting anything like that on your baby's face. Sinus mucous is a caustic substance. It's quite likely that the running nose is exacerbating the rash condition. The trick there is to try to keep the baby's nose clear, using a syringe and teaching her how to blow her nose (a difficult skill) with your help. If you're looking for something to heal and protect, you should see what your pediatrician thinks of using a thin film of zinc oxide ointment. Zinc is a miraculous healing agent and the ointment would provide some protection.

I'm sure you'll get lots of recommendations for how to break your 14-month-old of her thumb-sucking habit. There are so many bad side effects of thumb sucking that it seems worth some consistent effort to help your daughter learn to soothe without sucking. She's at a great age to learn to get comfort from a blanket or stuffed animal or other toy that won't cause the permanent problems caused by thumb sucking. Your pediatrician can also give you some great hints on how to make this transition.

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