Warts-up: Your maskne might not be acne at all

In fact, they grew larger, spawning dandruff-like scales and flakes. Within days, the red dots had spread to the left side of my mouth, and even — to my horror — sprinkled across my eyelids. When I opened my mouth, I felt the raw, burning skin at the corners crack.

After a telemedicine visit with my dermatologist, I learned that I had perioral dermatitis — a non-contagious facial rash that often shows up as clusters of tiny, scaly, red, uncomfortable bumps above irritated skin. “We see it mainly around the mouth,” said Dr. Anna Chien, a dermatologist at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. “Some people can have similar breakouts around the eyes.”

Cases have become more common since the coronavirus outbreak began, some experts say. In one Canadian survey of 77 dermatologists published in September, more than a third reported either a large or slight increase in perioral dermatitis instances since the beginning of the pandemic. “In our clinic,” Dr. Chien said, “we are seeing many more perioral dermatitis and other rashes related to masks.” Dr. Jessica Sprague, a dermatologist at the U.C. San Diego School of Medicine, noted a similar phenomenon. “Masks alter the skin environment, and they can also cause a lot of skin irritation,” she said, adding, “I’m definitely seeing it more now in the setting of mask wearing.”

Perioral dermatitis might look a lot like acne, but the resemblance is deceptive, said Dr. Carrie Kovarik, a dermatologist at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and a member of the American Academy of Dermatology’s Covid-19 task force. “People confuse it with ‘maskne,’ and they are two different things.”

With mask-induced acne, your pores get clogged with dirt, skin flakes or oil, giving rise to inflamed cysts that may burst. But perioral dermatitis is more of an inflammatory rash. There can be various causes, but it tends to be triggered by a disruption of your skin’s natural equilibrium, Dr. Sprague said, from the use of topical substances like steroid medications or irritating cosmetics.

The humid, enclosed space behind a mask may also encourage perioral dermatitis rashes to form. “Depending on what kind of mask you’re wearing, you could really have a lot of moisture sitting there on your face,” Dr. Kovarik said. “You’re almost creating this skin fold-type area,” a little like the damp crevices that can form between rolls of skin. That can modify the face’s natural microbial balance, research suggests, contributing to perioral dermatitis and related conditions. —NYT