Please help! In the last two months I have developed a nasty red rash on my chin which simply will not go away. I went to the pharmacist, who said it was because I was new to Taiwan and unfamiliar with the air (?), and she gave me some Hydroxine (it’s a hydrocortisone cream), which doesn’t seem to have helped at all. The rash comes and goes a bit, but it’s never completely gone and in the last week it’s been getting worse and worse and looks dreadful. I can’t stand it! Does anyone have any idea what it might be and how I can get rid of it?
Skin disorders can be hard to diagnose by appearance. Often a doctor will prescribe a medicine for the most likely culprit first. If that doesn’t work, then they’ll try another, sometimes for the same culprit but a different med, and sometimes a different med for a different culprit. So usually the first thing is to revisit the doctor, tell them the first med didn’t work, and try another, and sometimes a third. KEEP RECORDS of the names of the meds; if you decide your doctor isn’t very smart and you go see another, you’ll want to be able to tell her or him what has already been tried.
Doctors also vary in intelligence, quality of training and experience. So sometimes switching docs is good. Also, GP’s won’t know skin diseases as well as a skin specialist will. So you might need a specialist.
The above, in general, is true of all health problems, so keep it in mind.
The above advice is good. I had a skin rash on my forearm once while at the same time my wife had one on her leg. My wife went to the doctor and was given some cream. It worked well on her leg so I tried it on my arm. My arm got worse. I went to the doctor and he said my rash was compeltely different and the type of cream my wife was using would actually aid the growth of this rash. So he gave me my own prescription and voila, the rash went away.
I’ve recommended Lin’s Skin Clinic on Tienmu West Road to other Forumosans. I’ve gone there for some minor rashes and moles etc., and they’ve always been really good.