Brief Answer:
You may have perioral dermatitis- hormone changes due to major stressors (surgery) may trigger it.

Detailed Answer:
Hello and welcome to "Ask a Doctor" service,

I carefully read your query and understand your concern.

Surgical intervention can be very stressful for the body and cause changes in the hormones, especially in females.

Hormone imbalance may affect the skin of the face, causing pimples around the mouth (very likely perioral dermatitis).

It is very important for us to have a photo or two so I can better evaluate the rash and have a more full picture of your clinical presentation.

As for fixing the hormone changes, most of the time they come back to norm spontaneously in a couple of months, this is the case, especially if your periods are regular.
If your periods become less regular than they were before, then hormonal treatments such as low dose combined oral contraception pills can be used for 2-3 months.

To conclude:

- Very likely you have perioral dermatitis due to hormonal changes a recent major stressor (surgery) has caused

- Kindly upload a photo or two of the lesion so I can better evaluate it
- If your periods do not get altered you do not need specific treatment for the hormones, they will soon come back to the norm. If your periods are becoming irregular (different from before) then low dose oral contraception such as Mircette, Yaz or Lo Estrin Fe can be used for 3 months.

- Try to avoid makeup on the face as it may make face rash worse. Also, avoid face scrubs as these make perioral dermatitis worse.

- Use only warm water to wash your face and mild soap

- Avoid very spicy, very salty or acidic food as these may make the rash worse
- It is important for us to know if you are using any medications (prescription or over the counter, orally or locally on the skin) as some medications may cause perioral dermatitis.

I hope this gives some answers to your query.
I remain at your disposal for further medical assistance.

Regards,
Dr. Antoneta Zotaj
General and Family Physician

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Brief Answer:
I am sorry that you can not upload the images, please contact the support team

Detailed Answer:
Hello and welcome back,

I am sorry that you could not upload the photos. I will use the "Report a Problem" tab on my on my side but please check the website on your side if there is a tab "Report a Problem" or a contact email address that "Ask a Doctor" service makes available for you to contact the support team.

There is also an email address that is made available to the patients for attachments but I am not sure if this is correct, please try it:
YYYY@YYYY

I hope this will be resolved soon so that I can assist you further.

Regards,
Dr. Antoneta Zotaj
General and Family Physician

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