My youngest Son has a rash on his ears. It is small raised, slightly itchy bumps, but not inflamed or angry looking and not bothering him enough to panic and go to the Doctor (who had no idea what caused the same problem in my oldest Son). I suspect a possible UV connection and am smothering him in sunscreen as my eldest Son has longer hair and has not developed it this year. In my eldest Son it always materialised in early Spring. The other possibility is a tree pollen allergy (but why just on his ears) as there's not very much pollen around in early spring. He suffers from mild eczema and asthma and had an allergy to soya when he was a baby. Any ideas anyone, please?
Q: My 5 year old has a knobbly itchy rash on his ears.
Answers (4)
4/22/09 9:47pm
I just took my son to the pediatrician for what sounds like the same kind of rash on his ears. It first appeared last summer and didn't last more than a week or 2. It's bothering him a lot more now. The doctor thought it might be some kind of dermatitis, more than likely related to a food allergy or environmental allergens. He is allergic to dust mites and has some seasonal allergies but nothing terribly notable. I can't think of anything out of the ordinary he's been exposed to lately or last summer when it first appeared. The doctor recommended Aveeno, aloe, calamine lotion or Sarna to help with the itching.
5/13/09 4:14pm
Hi there, Sorry I don't have an answer. Just wanted to say my 6 year old has exactly the same. White coloured itchy, raised bumps only on the tops of his ears. He had it last year at the exact same time (beginning of spring) Someone did tell me that some farmers got the same thing from Lambs!
I don't think it is to do with lambs but spring seems to be the time. My son's went lumps went down today when the sun hasn't been shining .Very strange! Oh and I have never heard of a girl getting it.
andrea
5/19/09 4:27pm
My 10 year old son has had this same thing happen to him for the last three years. It happens every May and we assume it is an outdoor allergy. Our thought is that it might be from pine trees as this is the time of year they are sapping in our area. But we have no way to know without going for an allergy test. I am glad to finally find other parents who's children have the same thing. But, it's a little odd that we all have boys....hmmm
. Our family doctor assumes it is seasonal allergy related as well. Since it is just a little bothersome thought we have never saught to pin point the allergy.
Trish
8/18/09 9:24pm
I'm a 22 year old female who gets the same thing (itchy, scaly) on my earlobes and inside the ear during certain times of the year. I'm pretty much allergic to everything, but I have noticed it has come back at the same time that I've had to start taking my zyrtec-D twice a day instead of once so I won't be miserable. In fact, I've just given myself "swimmer's ear" because I've been scratching inside it with a q-tip. But yeah, it has nothing to do with being a boy. :-P
~Meredith
5/ 6/10 12:16am
My 11 yr old son just started the same thing! white slight bumps on top of ears, and also on his forearms (the outer part - exposed to sun). it started in May and he is also asthmatic and has seasonal allergies! have an appointment with a dermatologist next week as it is really bothering him and his friends are noticing it.
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My ten year old has had the same thing starting every spring since he was about 3 or 4. Initially it didn't cause too much problem - just looked strange, but this year it has been very itchy.
We took him to a local GP who was also a skin specialist and she had seen it before. She said it was Hutchinsons summer prurigo. (It typically affects fair skinned people and starts when they are a few years old.) I don't know if she is correct or not, but her advice on managing it has been very effective. We smother the ears in strong, long lasting suncream every morning and then at luchtime add a layer of Eurax cream to stop any itching. (The doc gave us some steroid cream as well for if it got really bad, and antihistamines too, but thankfully we have not needed them yet).
Hope this helps.