Question from Indianapolis, Indiana, USA:

The summer before my son was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes he had problems with dry skin. He was only two and our climate is humid during the summer. Upon diagnosis, I asked several doctors if his dry skin was related and all of them said no there was no connection. Well, since then, I have read that it is not unusual to have dry skin prior to diagnosis because of extra water loss due to urination. My son just recently, I think, came completely out of his honeymoon stage because he started having a lot more highs and we had to raise his insulin quite a bit over a period of three weeks to get things back in target range. During this time, he developed dry cheeks with little reddish spots. When I asked his endocrinologist, she said it was not related and it was just dry skin. I have been using a high quality lotion, but the reddish spots are still there. Any ideas as to what this may be? Are there skin conditions to which diabetic children are more prone?