Suggest Treatment For Allergic Skin Reaction On Chest

Posted on Mon, 14 Jul 2014

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Mon, 14 Jul 2014 Answered on

Wed, 30 Jul 2014 Last reviewed on

Question : Yesterday 7/12/14 I decided to use XXXXXXX to remove hair on my chest and stomach. The first use didnt give me the results I wanted so I applied a second layer. I instantly started feeling burning everywhere. I took a shower and used a loofah to scrub the areas free of hair. This morning while looking over the areas, I noticed an existing mole I had that was in the area that I used the XXXXXXX and loofah on had what looked like a scratch on it. I'm 99% sure it was from the hair removal process. If this was an pre-exisitng ulceration of a mole, would I have felt any stinging from soap or chemicals prior to yesterday? This mole is not raised or crusting or changing, it looks like it was scratched. I know the cautiousness of skin cancers so I figured it would be a good question to ask. If it does not start healing I will go to the dermatologist.

Answered by Dr. Geetika Paul (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
Possibility of cancer very less

Detailed Answer:
Hi

I have seen the attached picture.
Going by the sequence of events, I would say that it is most probably a scratch mark only.
You seem to have rubbed the allergic skin by loofah. Now this can lead to ulceration which is seen in your case.
I would suggest you to apply a topical steroid cream like cortisone over the affected areas twice a day for three days. This will heal the allergic component .
However in case there is no improvement, then I would suggest you to see a local dermatologist .

Dr Geetika Paul

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Geetika Paul (27 minutes later)

Thank you for your prompt answer. The more I looked around at other areas of my chest and stomach, I saw few other areas that exhibited the same type of ulcerations or wounds from the nair/loofah treatment. This one was alarming since it was on a mole.

I'm not even entirely sure that the area is even a mole. I just had a few dermatofibromas removed that looked somewhat the same.

Answered by Dr. Geetika Paul (4 hours later)

Brief Answer:
You need not worry, take treatment

Detailed Answer:
Hi again

These lesions do not seem to have any relation to the dermofibromas that you had earlier.
You basically developed a severe allergic reaction to the use of the depilatory cream. Aggressive rubbing with a loofah seems to have caused the skin damage.
Take oral antihistamine tablet like benadryl or tablet claritin once a day for two to three days so as to decrease the skin allergy.
In addition, apply the medicine as suggested earlier.
I do not see a reason to be really worried about these lesions. In case however, they tend to persist or increase , then you should surely see a local dermatologist .

Dr Geetika Paul

Note: Hope the answers resolves your concerns, however for further guidance of skin related queries consult our Dermatologist.Click here to book a consultation

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar