Occurrence and cause of perioral dermatitis
Perioral dermatitis, also known as perioral eczema or "stewardess disease", is an inflammatory disease limited to the facial skin, which mainly occurs around the mouth. It mainly affects women between the ages of 16 and 50.
The cause is a disturbed skin barrier, which is induced by using too many skin care products (e.g. moisturizers). However, it can also be caused by prolonged use of topical cortisone ointments. Perioral dermatitis develops slowly and lasts for months with varying intensity.
Therapy of perioral dermatitis
Less is more. All glucocorticoids, cosmetics and oily external agents should be consistently discontinued. Perioral dermatitis can worsen after discontinuation of cortisone-containing creams in the sense of "steroid withdrawal".
Local application of a base cream
Cream with 1-2% metronidazole
Oral antibiotics (e.g. tetracycline, minocycline or erythromycin)