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Types of Skin Rash
There are many different types of common skin rash that can occur. The term “rash” applies to any outbreak of bumps that appear on the body and change the appearance, color and texture of the skin.
They can be scaly patches of skin that may or may not be caused by an infection. These Infections are usually bacterial or fungal. Equally, the rash may take the form of red, itchy bumps or patches that occur as a result of an allergic reaction.
The rash can break out over the whole body or be specifically localized. Common rashes are not often dangerous, but can cause enormous physical and mental discomfort. The causes of a rash are extremely broad making any evaluation extremely difficult.
Skin Rash Diagnosis
Diagnosis will require a visit to a doctor or a health care professional and will take into account the general appearance of the skin rash and try and establish what the patient has been exposed to.
This can be linked with occupation and occurrence in other family members as well as any ingested substances or medicines. All this information along with the physical symptoms will help build a picture of the problem so that the best form of medication can be administered to treat the skin rash.
Common types of Skin Rash
Common skin rashes may cause severe itching, cracking, blistering, swelling and may well be painful. In some cases the presence of a skin rash can help with diagnosis of certain diseases such as measles, chicken pox and scarlet fever. These are serious conditions and are usually accompanied with a fever, tiredness and sore throat. Medical advice should be sought immediately if these symptoms occur for a full diagnosis.
Scaly, dry skin patches that are generally itchy often represent one of the conditions referred to as eczema. Atopic dermatitis is one of the most common forms of this skin rash complaint. Atopic simply refers to a disease that is associated with allergies and is fairly common in family histories. Atopic diseases include asthma and conditions such as hay-fever as well as atopic dermatitis.
Atopic dermatitis
Atopic dermatitis is often a hereditary skin rash and usually starts in childhood. It presents as scaly, very dry patches of skin on the scalp, arms, legs and body. It can develop further affecting the inner knees and elbows. Adults are more likely to have the condition localized on their hands, eyelids and genitals, but it can also be more widespread covering the body.
It is not contagious and does not get progressively worse with age. It can however appear on and off for many years with long intervals where the skin is completely clear.
The symptoms of this type of skin rash are unpredictable and can be irritated by foods, soaps and detergents. Skin can be extremely itchy and red, becoming swollen and cracked. In some more severe cases the skin can also weep. However the liquid that is present is not usually infected, it is simply the body’s normal tissue fluid. Treatment with anti-biotics therefore, is not often required.
Skin affected by atopic dermatitis frequently gets worse in the colder months when the skin tends to become drier. The skin is not just dry it is inflamed and so regular moisturizers do little to help. Frequent washing may also irritate the skin and aggravate the skin rash condition more.
Other types of dermatitis are caused by allergens or direct contact with something that irritates the skin. This can be anything from simple over hand washing to a reaction to skin lotions and certain types of jewelry – usually containing nickel.
Professional treatment of any type of eczema is essential and usually centers on minimizing the irritation, using prescription strength steroid applications.
Natural Skin Rash Remedies
There are also numerous natural remedies that can be used to ease the irritation of a skin rash. Burrow’s solution is a tap water soak that can help to dry up atopic dermatitis in its weeping stages. It is recommended by many professionals and is available over the counter at most chemists.
Contact dermatitis is most often localized affecting the parts of the body that have touched the material that causes the rash. Effective treatments include topical steroids that can be obtained on prescription or over the counter.
Psoriasis
There are numerous other skin rashes that present scaly skin type symptoms, but two more common forms of skin rash are pityriasis rosea and psoriasis. The former is more common in young adults and teenagers and involves the chest and back.
Fortunately this condition usually disappears after a month. Psoriasis is a hereditary condition that is often found on the knees and elbows and like dermatitis it tends to appear on and off for prolonged periods.
Fungal Infections
Many skin rashes are caused by an infection. The most common type of infection is caused by a fungus or by bacteria. The symptoms are similar to that of atopic dermatitis skin rash and this similarity can often lead to a wrong diagnosis.
Fungal or yeast skin rash infections are not highly contagious between people and have little to do with hygiene. They are not easily contracted in communal showers or pools. The good news is that treatment is relatively straightforward with many anti-fungal creams available at the chemist without the need for a prescription.
Bacterial Infections
Bacterial skin infections are also easily treated. The most common of these infections is impetigo, which is caused by strep germs and is more common in children. Bad hygiene has little or no impact on the condition. As with a fungal skin rash, the treatment is simple and effective with oral antibiotics or prescription strength creams.
Viral Skin Rash
There are other skin rashes that cause the skin to break out in red itchy lumps, bumps and welts. These are incredibly uncomfortable and can either be caused by a virus or an allergic reaction.
A Viral skin rash (as opposed to a viral infection of the skin) will generally appear over the whole body and will last a week or so. There may or may not be other viral symptoms that accompany the rash such as sneezing, coughing or an upset stomach.
Allergic Skin Rash
A skin rash that breaks out as a result of an allergic reaction can be very difficult to treat if the cause of the initial reaction is not evident. Reactions to medication are very common with the rash erupting within two weeks of taking the drug. However, it is very unlikely that medication will be the root cause if it has been taken over a long period of time. The same applies to any foods ingested or topical lotions.
The only successful way of finding the cause is to stop taking/ingesting/applying whatever is thought to be the trigger and see whether the rash improves. If the itchy lumps and bumps do not go away within five days of stopping the suspected medication/food/cream, an allergy is unlikely. Indeed it is generally rare that food, soap or detergents cause a rash.