It may happen to anybody. Very sure, you are not the first person who has some itching red spots on your skin. Even more, you forgot when it happened first time in your life.

Rashes mean change in the color or look of your skin. Rashes are either localized to one part, or spread all over your body. The causes and cures for rashes vary form case to case. Most often, people mean red bumps on the skin as the “Rash”. It represents many different conditions.

Rashes could be of different color they may itch, be painful, be warm, feel bumpy, look dry, have crackles or blisters, swell and annoy. Doctors compare such things as the appearance, whether other signs of diseases exist, and patient s exposure to substances, patient s occupation, and family medical history.

The causes of rashes include:

1. Allergies. Different foods soaps, detergents, medicines, dyes, insect bites cause allergic rashes. A new medication may cause allergic drug rash. Medicines, which have been prescribed for years, rarely cause an allergic reaction. There is hardly a test to check whether a rash is allergic. Hence, doctors often just advice to stop a drug and to see what happen. If the rash stays for a week without the medication, it is doubtfully an allergy. Foods rarely cause allergies.

2. Contact Dermatitis. Derma = skin, dermatitis = skin inflammation. Skin contact with an irritant leads to the rash. Some people are sensitive to metals such as zinc or nickel. Example is reactions to jewelry made with nickel. Dyes and other chemicals in clothing, chemicals in latex and rubber products, cosmetics, soaps, and detergents, poison ivy, oak, or sumac may cause rashes. The mechanism is direct irritation, but may include allergic component.

There is a difference between allergy and direct toxicity. Immunologic mechanism causes allergy. It means: Immune cells of your body produce numerous immunological substances to fight infections, bugs and worms. The regulation is very complex and intricate. However, for the immune system, sometime innocent things look like a dangerous intruder. For example, latex in gloves, which is relatively safe substance, suddenly looks like a malicious worm. The immune cells start to fight this substance as if it is a bug. The immune cells produce huge quantities of fighting chemicals, which normally should kill a worm. However, in this innocent situation, those substances attack own body and cause the rash. The good intentions were to kill the non-existing bug and to prevent it s spreading all over the body. Direct toxicity is just direct toxicity no duped immune cells were involved.

Why is it important to distinguish? Because, the treatment and prevention of these two conditions might vary.

3. Seborrheic dermatitis appears as rash with patches of red and scaling skin. It happens often on scalp, eyebrows, mouth, nose, ears and on trunk. Seborrheic dermatitis on scalp has name dandruff. Seborrheic dermatitis on scalp in children is named cradle cap.

4. Eczema happens in people with allergies or asthma. The rash has scaly, itchy skin patches. Atopic dermatitis is a common form of eczema. Atopic dermatitis is hereditary skin disease. Atopic diseases happen in families. They include: hay fever, asthma, and atopic dermatitis. Those all are allergic diseases. Atopic dermatitis commonly starts from childhood. Chapped cheeks and scales on the scalp, arms, legs, and trunk, represent atopic dermatitis.

Atopic dermatitis also hurts elbows and knees. Adults may get atopic dermatitis all over the body. Red skin itches, swells, cracks, weeps, crusts, and makes scales in atopic dermatitis. It is often worse in the winter. There is no obvious reason, why atopic dermatitis starts. Sometime atopic dermatitis does not look as an allergic reaction.

5. Infections produce rashes often. Scaly patches are signs of fungal or bacterial infection Fungal infections happen often, though less than eczema. Scaly rashes are not always fungal “ringworm”. According to some studies, people with good hygiene, also get fungus. Fungus can be transmitted form person to person in gyms, showers, pools. However, again some dermatologists found in studies that the transmission is not so common.

Impetigo is common bacterial infection of skin, caused by staphylococcus or streptococcus bacteria. The appearance is of bumps or patches all over your skin. Impetigo in children looks like red sores that become blisters, ooze and crust.

Viral infections include herpes viruses. The viruses could be Herpes simplex or Herpes zoster. Zoster means belt-like. Herpes zoster virus causes shingles. It also causes chickenpox in children. Viral rashes last up to a week. They are usually symmetrical. Patients may have additional signs (coughing, sneezing, nausea, watery itching eyes, etc). Shingles are painful blisters on skin. The virus sits quietly in neural cells for years and flares up when your immunity is down after another disease or cold.

Children also suffer chickenpox, rubella, measles, fifth disease, roseola, hand-foot-mouth disease, scarlet fever, etc. They all may cause rashes.

Typhus, viral or bacterial, different types of hemorrhagic fevers and bunch of other diseases also develop rashes. However, those diseases show rarely in developed countries.

6. Reaction to a vaccine Serious reactions to vaccines happen rarely.

7. Acne includes several types: acne (pimples, zits) range from mild to severely disfiguring. Acne Vulgaris is the most common. It includes blackheads, whiteheads, papules, pustules, nodules and cysts. Whiteheads appear when a pore is totally blocked. It traps oil and, bacteria. Blackheads happen when a pore is only partially blocked. The black color is the result of the reaction between oxygen and skin pigments. Red, tender bumps are named papules. Inflamed whitehead would form a pustule (a small vesicle with pus). It looks like a red circle with yellowish center. Big, hard bumps under the skin s surface are named nodules. Cysts look similar to nodules. They contain pus and have diameter more than five mm.

Acne Rosacea appears as a red rash on cheeks, nose, or chin mostly. Small blood vessels become dilated on the skin. It is more characteristic for adults.

Acne Conglobata presents as numerous large lesions on the face, chest, back, arms, and thighs. The Acne Conlgobata is a severe form requiring aggressive treatment.

Acne Fulminans represents severe nodulo-cystic acne. Scarring is common. Acne Fulminans also causes fever and joints aches.

8. Hives (urticaria) look like itchy, red wheals. Their reasons vary and are not always predictible.

9. Autoimmune disorders such as dermatomyositis, lupus or rheumatoid arthritis may produce characteristic rashes. Some rashes are very distinguishable. Watch out butterfly rash.

10. Psoriasis is a hereditary condition, which affects skin and joints. Skin is mostly affected in characteristic areas near elbows and knees with appearance of silvery scales. Psoriasis often looks like red, itchy patches over joints and along the scalp. Fingernails suffer too.

11. Cancer or other disease may give several types of rashes. Obviously, skin cancers have specific appearance, but other cancers may affect skin too.

12. Sun burns and other burns also cause rash, pain and itching

13. Lead poisoning may give some rashes that are not so easy to suspect, unless you know about the patient s contact with lead.

14. Skin irritation, for example rubbing of clothing, will cause the rash at the site of rubbing.

15. Some rashes may happen during pregnancy.

16. Pityriasis rosea produces scaly patches on the chest and back.

17. Xerosis means dry skin. This disease may also appear as a rash during the cold, dry months of the year. 18. Kawasaki disease, Henoch Shoenlein purpura, insecct bites or stings and many other medical conditions cause a rashes as well.

In majority cases with a simple rash, good skin care and avoidance of skin irritants will improve your condition. However, a good idea is to check with your doctor. The cause of the rash may be a serious disease. Rash appearance, sensations, type of spreading and changes of the rash over the time give the clues for diagnostics of certain diseases.

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