I noticed a weird rash on DS1 (6) at the end of July. A rash popped up on both of his elbows and knees at the same time. It kind of looked like eczema but kind of worse. It was really itchy for him too. I noticed it on a Friday and put cortisone and aquaphor on it over a weekend and it didn’t get better and maybe even worse. So I took him to the pediatrician on the Tuesday before school started (Aug 3). The doc was kind of mystified by it in terms of presentation in different areas at once—like it’s a systemic reaction to something. Nothing has changed on our end. He called in another doc in his practice to look and she takes one look and says it’s Gianotti-Crosti. She said she hadn’t seen a case in probably 10 years but saw one the previous week. She took photos of the previous kid and sent it around to some colleagues who all agreed it was Gianotti-Crosti.
They said there’s nothing really to do. He could take oral Claritin to help reduce itch. And it would self-resolve.
So of course I Google and it’s a fairly rare rash. Like happens after mono or Hep-B or other fairly serious illnesses. None of which DS has had. He had runny nose maybe 2-3 weeks before the rash, but that was it. I dig some more and see that it’s been seen in kids and adults post-COVID. So I speculated that maybe he had it. But then a week and a half ago he just got COVID from his little brother… so him having COVID a month before is highly unlikely.
I’m just kind of stumped by what this could be and if the diagnosis is right. The issue is that the rash is spreading. It’s not as angry and red as before, and getting better in the original spot, but it’s more diffuse and over a wider area. Still itching him (allergy meds did nothing). Topical creams and lotions don’t seem to help. Like, is this worthy of seeing a derm about? Anyone have similar experiences with this particular rash?
Some pics below. First one is from a couple days after we saw the doc the first time. Second one is yesterday. This is just one elbow but it’s on both elbows and both knees. Skin is kind of peeling on his knees.
I can only touch on the mention of mono. Mono is caused by EBV (epstein-barr virus) in teens. > 90% if the population gets EBV. When a child gets EBV, it’s a mild illness (fever, etc). Most people are infected with EBV as kids. It’s possible he got EBV a few weeks ago and this is the reaction.
I can only touch on the mention of mono. Mono is caused by EBV (epstein-barr virus) in teens. > 90% if the population gets EBV. When a child gets EBV, it’s a mild illness (fever, etc). Most people are infected with EBV as kids. It’s possible he got EBV a few weeks ago and this is the reaction.
Interesting. I always thought EBV meant a longer, more obvious illness. He had a runny nose for 2 days--I remember only because I gave him kid's Flonase once night at bedtime. But I wouldn't even really call it a cold that he had because it was so minor.
I can only touch on the mention of mono. Mono is caused by EBV (epstein-barr virus) in teens. > 90% if the population gets EBV. When a child gets EBV, it’s a mild illness (fever, etc). Most people are infected with EBV as kids. It’s possible he got EBV a few weeks ago and this is the reaction.
Interesting. I always thought EBV meant a longer, more obvious illness. He had a runny nose for 2 days--I remember only because I gave him kid's Flonase once night at bedtime. But I wouldn't even really call it a cold that he had because it was so minor.
Nope, not really. All of us have probably had EBV and it was just a routine “kid virus.”
Reference - I’m a scientist and did EBV research for four years.
Interesting. I always thought EBV meant a longer, more obvious illness. He had a runny nose for 2 days--I remember only because I gave him kid's Flonase once night at bedtime. But I wouldn't even really call it a cold that he had because it was so minor.
Nope, not really. All of us have probably had EBV and it was just a routine “kid virus.”
Reference - I’m a scientist and did EBV research for four years.
I’m also not saying I’m right, but it’s possible.
Yeah, seems totally possible. I just wish this poor kid's rash would go away. I mean, it seems like it could take a couple months from reading. Blah.
So I haven’t had that particular rash. However, breathing pollen does give me a rash that looks like that on knees, neck, & arms (wrists, inside elbows mostly). My allergist prescribes .1% mometoasone furoate & it takes care of it quickly when it pops up.
Not sure if a non contact allergy rash is a similar kind of systemic rash as this but you may want to see if something like this could be prescribed to help? It’s like $5 w insurance bc generic so not pricy or anything
Post by starburst604 on Aug 25, 2021 4:57:29 GMT -5
I would just make a derm appointment, since it can take a while to get in with them. That way you have it if it isn’t improving and if it’s worsening or really uncomfortable in the meantime bring him back to the Pedi.
Do they spend much time at a pool? The second pic looks like the molluscum rash that my DD had on her upper thigh. Both of my kids caught it at our public pool.
No pool recently. We went to the neighborhood pool a few times in May/early June. And beach at the end of June. But nothing in July really.
huh, I haven't read about this one, and don't recall even seeing the name in passing. if yall were in front of me, I would have diagnosed eczema and prescribed a low potency steroid to clear it up. I will go read about it some more so I can avoid a misdiagnosis in the future.
thanks for sharing, and I hope yall get some answers and relief soon!!! I agree to go ahead and make an appointment with derm. You can always cancel that appointment if you end up not needing it.
We snagged an appointment with the derm yesterday afternoon. She took a look at it and said it looks like psoriasis. I showed her the pics from a month ago and she was like, yeah, I see why they thought Gianotti-Crosti. She said they could do a scraping but the easiest way to tell was to rx a topical steroid and if it clears up, it’s not Gianotti-Crosti (that doesn’t respond to stuff like that). We put some of the cream on last night and overnight I noticed an improvement…not dramatic, but I can tell for sure it’s working.
We have a follow up in a month with the derm because if it ended up responding to the steroid and was likely psoriasis, she said there’s “more to discuss” which sounded kind of ominous. Ha!
I'm glad you got an appointment and it's responding to treatment! A friend got terrible poison oak on her legs while running (bit of an odd story - she had to go off the path to avoid a cow) and topical steroid made a huge difference in her rash and healing timeline as well.
I don't know what struck me to do this, but I thought I would post an update in case any one else's kid gets this freaking annoying rash. After three courses of topical steroids (that made things better but not go away), one oral courses of steroids, two courses of antibiotics (for secondary infections caused by the rash)...and an ever-evolving guess of a diagnosis... from Gianotti-Crosti to psoriasis to eczema to 'reactive skin, maybe try antihistamines,' we felt like we were getting the runaround and my poor kid's skin was a mess.
We went back for a second opinion of his pediatrician (the original one we saw for the sick visit wasn't his primary pedi) and she recommended a specific dermatologist at a different practice. Took awhile to get in with her, but we saw her last week, she examined his current rash (which isn't too bad but still hasn't gone away--since JULY). I showed her probably two dozen photos of how the rash has changed over time--gotten worse, better, worse, different, the skin infections. And... we're back to the original diagnosis of Gianotti Crosti. She said it's not as rare as it seems, but definitely not the most common rash a kid can get. It is post-viral, but we still don't know wtf virus caused it. It popped up during the summer and he hadn't been sick for months before that. She also said, despite what Dr. Google says, it can last for months and months to over a year.
So we're now on CeraVe SA and Aquaphor, with daily OTC Claritin to help with the itchiness. She also wants me to start using Dankin solution (diluted even more than it comes) after his shower every night. We just haven't started that yet but will.
Man, this has been a long and frustrating journey. And my poor itchy kid has been so patient with all of this. So I'm posting the update for posterity if some other mom here does a search for this term!
I don't know what struck me to do this, but I thought I would post an update in case any one else's kid gets this freaking annoying rash. After three courses of topical steroids (that made things better but not go away), one oral courses of steroids, two courses of antibiotics (for secondary infections caused by the rash)...and an ever-evolving guess of a diagnosis... from Gianotti-Crosti to psoriasis to eczema to 'reactive skin, maybe try antihistamines,' we felt like we were getting the runaround and my poor kid's skin was a mess.
We went back for a second opinion of his pediatrician (the original one we saw for the sick visit wasn't his primary pedi) and she recommended a specific dermatologist at a different practice. Took awhile to get in with her, but we saw her last week, she examined his current rash (which isn't too bad but still hasn't gone away--since JULY). I showed her probably two dozen photos of how the rash has changed over time--gotten worse, better, worse, different, the skin infections. And... we're back to the original diagnosis of Gianotti Crosti. She said it's not as rare as it seems, but definitely not the most common rash a kid can get. It is post-viral, but we still don't know wtf virus caused it. It popped up during the summer and he hadn't been sick for months before that. She also said, despite what Dr. Google says, it can last for months and months to over a year.
So we're now on CeraVe SA and Aquaphor, with daily OTC Claritin to help with the itchiness. She also wants me to start using Dankin solution (diluted even more than it comes) after his shower every night. We just haven't started that yet but will.
Man, this has been a long and frustrating journey. And my poor itchy kid has been so patient with all of this. So I'm posting the update for posterity if some other mom here does a search for this term!
My son has this intense rash on his face from the time he was 2.5. It lasted until well after he turned 4. We saw multiple derms and had multiple treatment regimens and never got a diagnosis. It eventually went away but took 2 years!
I'm so sorry to hear of his issue but it sounds like you have a good plan which is great. My son has severe eczema and we've been through a similar odyssey and he is now 7 years old. I wanted to mention that while I'm not the "woo" type, I did end up stopping bleach baths and actually started using a probiotic lotion for a few weeks as the baths seemed to just decimate his skin over time. A lot of people have good results with those baths, so I do not mean to deter you at all - but wanted to mention if you get to that point as well.
Did they give you a topical antibiotic? We have Mupirocin ointment on hand when things start looking a little crusty. My son is the WORST with messing with scabs and rashy areas so its been a nice tool in the tool kit.
Does he leave it alone more when covered? You may find that certain shirt fabric annoys it more than others, and you can stop the itch/rash/infection cycle with the right sleeve situation. We also ended up investing in enormous Band-Aids, and my son felt like using them on certain areas allowed him to leave them alone more than anything else.
momof2ms,Thanks for this! We didn’t get a topical antibiotic. Just a rec to use aquaphor on trouble areas or the topical steroid we have (only for bad spots, not for wide application).
This kid wears long sleeves and jeans all the time. He’d wear them in July if I let him. Same with pajamas, long sleeve and pants… weirdo wore flannel PJs when we went to FL for Christmas and my mom keeps the house 78 degrees. I’m sure it might add to the irritation a bit, but it’s not a battle I want to fight daily. I think he tends to leave it a bit more alone by wearing things that cover them, but he’s also come home from school with blood spots on shirts from itching through his shirts.
I like the big bandaid idea. I have some from a couple years ago when I fell and tore up my knee.
I like the big bandaid idea. I have some from a couple years ago when I fell and tore up my knee.
The clear waterproof dressing style of bandaids (Tegaderm etc) might also be worth trying - they come in large sizes and look and feel more like normal skin, but still provide protection. They're the only type of bandage my daughter will keep on all day at daycare. I think you could use some aquaphor underneath as long as you were careful and kept it in the center.
My mom had something similar and tried all sorts of things. Derm recommended using an anti fungal cream like you would use for athletes foot and it cleared up.