u/xpassmethepopcornx

Almost out of nowhere I have these red patches on my face. There is a large patch on my left cheek and a small red patch on my right cheek under my eye. They aren’t raised, they don’t itch, but they burn off and on. It’ll be fine for a while and then suddenly I feel like my cheeks are on fire. My neck also feels like it’s on fire (especially under my chin where it connects to my neck), but no visible redness there. However, my chest has a few red spots and also feels like it’s burning off and on. The burning sensation always happens at the same time (cheeks, neck and chest at once). It comes and goes throughout the day with no real trigger that I’m noticing. When this happens I feel very hot but then cold shortly after. Then, the burning goes away and the cycle repeats.

I will note that the red patches on my neck randomly appeared after a trip to New Orleans back in October. I thought they were bacterial at first but eczema lotion ended up clearing it up. They’ve come and gone since then but seemed to clear up with eczema lotion each time. However, this go round the lotion isn’t working on it. The eczema lotion also hasn’t worked at all on my face. I’ve been applying colloidal oatmeal lotion to all areas with no real improvement.

I turned 40 in April. I have older friends who were this is the beginning of hot flashes, but I’m just not convinced. I assumed the red patches would come and go with hot patches, but they stay whether the burning/hot sensation is present or not.

I am a little fearful it may be the start of rosacea. It seems the symptoms align with that.

I haven’t used any new skincare that I can recall. I have started to use a light retinol lotion on my arms and neck recently but not sure if that could be causing this.

I’m unsure if I should be making a dermatologist appointment or an appointment with a different specialist who would deal with hormones. Hoping someone here may be able to shed some light.

Thanks in advance 🙏🏼

Almost out of nowhere I have these red patches on my face. There is a large patch on my left cheek and a small red patch on my right cheek under my eye. They aren’t raised, they don’t itch, but they burn off and on. It’ll be fine for a while and then suddenly I feel like my cheeks are on fire. My neck also feels like it’s on fire (especially under my chin where it connects to my neck), but no visible redness there. However, my chest has a few red spots and also feels like it’s burning off and on. The burning sensation always happens at the same time (cheeks, neck and chest at once). It comes and goes throughout the day with no real trigger that I’m noticing. When this happens I feel very hot but then cold shortly after. Then, the burning goes away and the cycle repeats.

I will note that the red patches on my neck randomly appeared after a trip to New Orleans back in October. I thought they were bacterial at first but eczema lotion ended up clearing it up. They’ve come and gone since then but seemed to clear up with eczema lotion each time. However, this go round the lotion isn’t working on it. The eczema lotion also hasn’t worked at all on my face. I’ve been applying colloidal oatmeal lotion to all areas with no real improvement.

I turned 40 in April. I have older friends who were this is the beginning of hot flashes, but I’m just not convinced. I assumed the red patches would come and go with hot patches, but they stay whether the burning/hot sensation is present or not.

I am a little fearful it may be the start of rosacea. It seems the symptoms align with that.

I haven’t used any new skincare that I can recall. I have started to use a light retinol lotion on my arms and neck recently but not sure if that could be causing this.

I’m unsure if I should be making a dermatologist appointment or an appointment with a different specialist who would deal with hormones. Hoping someone here may be able to shed some light.

Thanks in advance 🙏🏼