Contact & assessment

If the skin is eroded, oozing or painful

Do not start by buying another product. Skin that is eroded, oozing, crusted, blistering or painful rather than merely reactive needs medical assessment, and so does a reaction that spreads beyond the area a product touches, one that continues while the product is still used, swelling of the lips or eyelids, and a gritty, burning or light-sensitive eye. If there is fever with feeling unwell, or swelling that is spreading quickly, seek care urgently rather than waiting for a routine appointment.

Arranging an ordinary assessment

Where the reactivity is long-standing, general and has not responded to a shorter routine, appointments are made through the hospital outpatient line or through the appointment service described on the appointments page. Say that you are asking about a facial skin reaction so that the right clinic time is booked. If you are travelling from outside Chongqing, say so when you book, because patch testing is read over several days and can sometimes be arranged so that the visits fall together.

What to bring

Bring a list of your current medicines and allergies, and the actual products you are using on your face, hair and hands — bottles rather than recollections, because the ingredient list is what matters and the same kind of product can differ entirely between brands. Bring any previous patch test report if you have one, and note roughly when the reactivity started, what has changed since, and which product you suspect and why.

What happens at the consultation

Expect an examination of the whole face, the eyelids, the hairline, the ears and the neck rather than of the patch that is sore, because the distribution is the first useful finding and it is often visible somewhere you have not been looking. The history covers what is being applied and how often, when the trouble started, what else changed at around the same time, family history of eczema or rosacea, and what has already been tried and for how long. You should leave knowing whether this is a barrier problem, a dermatosis, a possible allergy or a sensory reactivity, whether patch testing is worth arranging, and what the routine should be in the meantime.

Questions without booking

Questions about the content of this site, including any correction you believe should be made to it, are welcome through the hospital administration line. Clinical questions about your own skin are best answered in person, and we will say so rather than guess.