A 3-year-old girl presented with a rapidly progressing rash. The rash began the previous day with redness around her lips and nose (FIGURE 1). Twelve hours later, the rash had progressed to involve her neck, trunk, and inguinal area (FIGURE 2). The child’s parents reported that she had no recent illnesses or treatment with antibiotics.
On physical examination, she was febrile (101.8° F) and irritable throughout the encounter. She had perioral and nasolabial erythema and dryness. Her lips were dry with no intraoral mucosal lesions, and her conjunctiva was clear. She had a tender erythrodermal rash that was most prominent on her neck folds, back, and inguinal folds. Superficial layers of skin sloughed off when pressure was applied to areas along her back.