Rash Update and Randomness

So, I am a terrible blogger.  I mean, I haven't posted in FOREVER.  This is even the case after I said I would post more often.  What the heck is wrong with me?? haha  Hope you can forgive me ;)

Anyways, I thought I would revisit Kason's crazy rash he got this time last year, and give an update.  It all started  in this post when he looked like this-

We were finally able to get it calmed down after numerous doctor visits, medications, creams, and then finally referred to a dermatologist.  The dermatologist was just as confused by this weird rash though, that after a scraping and ultimately a biopsy on his inner thigh (where the rash was also present), there was still no clear diagnosis.  I'm still a bit traumatized to be honest by watching the doctor cut a chunk out of my baby's rolly thigh with a little circle razor-sharp cookie-cutter.  Lots of stuff was ruled out, but there was nothing that you could pin point what exactly his ailment was.  His face, up into his eyes was covered in this rash that made his skin red and raw.  It was also covering his whole diaper area and down his thighs.  Then it showed up on his just-learned-to-crawl knees.  I was told it just must be an irregular presentation of Eczema.  We tried a few more creams and after a nightmare three months it cleared up.

The rash was gone for a few months after that until some little tiny bumps and redness started showing up around Kason's mouth around Valentine's Day.  They weren't too bad at first.  They would even come and go.  But before long, his face started looking like this-

I tried using the stuff prescribed for him earlier, but it was all to no avail.  It seemed no matter what I did, it just got worse.  Just like the previous rash.  But this one was obviously different.  It looked different, acted different, and needed to be treated different.

We took a few more trips to the doctor and I voiced my frustration for not knowing how to treat my poor sensitive-skinned baby's face.  I was FINALLY referred to the only pediatric dermatologist in the great state of Utah.  The only problem was that I would have to travel to Salt Lake City which is a couple hour drive, and that she is usually booked out about four months.  The drive didn't really bother me, but 4 months is a long time to wait to treat such an uncomfortable rash on my sweet baby!  Luckily the nurse understood my urgency and was able to squeeze us into a cancellation for two months out.

All summer long Kason struggled with this bumpy, red, and itchy face.  Then, when August rolled around, we made the trek to Salt Lake to Primary Children's Medical Center.  It took the doctor there only about three seconds after getting his history and seeing pictures of his previous rash to make a diagnosis on both.  His first rash was in fact an irregular presentation of Eczema.  The current rash is a condition known as Perioral Dermatitis.  It is a common skin problem that mostly affects young women.  Although it can occasionally effect both men and children.  Just like it did with my Kason.  It is known by its redness, small red bumps or pus bumps, and mild peeling.  There is no known cause although it's believed strong corticosteroid creams applied to the face can cause it.  It's thought that it will make it go away temporarily only to come back worse once treatment is stopped.  I made sure to bring in my big bag of creams and ointments Kason had been previously prescribed to show the pediatric dermatologist.  She told me not to use any of them and that most of them would make his face much worse.

After using his new prescribed ointment for a few weeks, his face cleared up completely!

 I am so happy and relieved.  My poor baby has had quite the year with these not fun skin conditions, and it has been both heartbreaking and frustrating.  Two months after our first visit with Pediatric Dermatologist extraordinaire Dr. VanDerhooft, we had a follow-up appointment to see how Kason's skin was doing.  So with a husband who took the day off and three kids in tow, we headed back down to Salt Lake.

Dr. VanDerhooft didn't seem surprised by how well his skin looked and gave him the thumbs up to not have to come back unless he starts having issues again.  I'm so glad that his skin is better and that I can caress his baby soft skin again!

With Rhett off work for the day and kids out of school, we decided to make the most out of our trip to Salt Lake and spend the day taking in Temple Square, and trying out one of Guy Fieri's Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives visited restaruants and go to The Red Iguana.  The food was awesome!  And going to Temple Square in the middle of the week was good because there weren't many people there. In fact, we were the only people in the visitor's center theater to watch Legacy. Haha  It made for good quiet time for the kids and I have always loved that movie.  Please tell me I'm not the only one!  Rhett said it's not so bad even though he thought it was so boring as a kid.

Speaking of olden day movies, I stayed up until 12:30 the other night watching Gone With The Wind.  That movie goes on forever!  I was definitely dragging the next day, but I felt obligated to watch it knowing that's where Rhett got his name from.  But I couldn't help but becoming so engrossed in the story, wondering what was going to happen next, and falling in love with the costumes.  I also couldn't help but falling for the handsome Rhett Butler.  He was definitely a charismatic, witty character and I have a new appreciation for my cute hubby's name.  I was also waiting and wondering all the way through the three-and-a-half hour movie for the famous line Rhett Butler gives to Scarlet- "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn."  As luck would have it, it ended up being in the last three minutes.

This post started about a persistent rash and ended with Gone With The Wind.  I'm totally random I know.

Has anyone else experienced anything like what we went through with Kason's skin issues?  Also, do I have any fellow really old "boring" movie lovers out there??  Like to the point that my sisters and I watched Seven Brides For Seven Brothers on repeat so many times that we picked out and assigned which character each of us were, and knew every song and almost every line by heart until we annoyed my Mom enough to hide the movie?

*crickets chirping*

 Oh, so it's just me? ...well and maybe my 3 sisters ;)