Posted 11/3/2014 7:42 PM (GMT 0)
Hi all - I posted this in the Allergy part of the forum as well, but I have 2 different doctors telling me 2 different things, and I don't know how often people travel to other parts of the forum.
about 7 weeks ago, my 2 year old had red swelling on his left index finger (the one he uses to dip into and eat ranch dressing, ketchup, etc). It didn't get worse, only better after about a week and then there was a little peeling of the skin. He never complained about pain. We thought it was a bug bite.
4 weeks ago, same thing happened, this time the swelling was more noticeable. We saw it right after he was eating ranch. Doctor thought is was a minor skin issue. This time the skin started to appear purplish a few days before it was "healed".
Last Saturday, it appeared once again and we noticed it after ketchup. Swelling even more noticeable and the redness was mostly around the joint areas. Took him to a dermatologist who immediately said it was a joint issue and wants me to see a rheumatologist. I asked if an Ortho was okay bc I could get him in that night and she said that was fine to get some X-rays. Nothing appeared on the X-rays. He has mobility of the finger, uses it all then time without complaining. Ortho said it was contact dermatitis and I have a hard time believing it bc it is only one the one finger and the swelling is mostly around the knuckle areas. She said she could see little bumps, but I had a hard time seeing them.
I relayed the info to the dermatologist and she has him in hydrocortisone 2.5% 2 times a day for 1 week and 1x/day for 1 week.
It is starting to go through the purple phase again and still a little swollen.
Does this sound like dermatitis? I'm thinking worst case and thinking it is arthritis. Ugh....