Skin Rashes And Your Health

Rashes develop for many different reasons and the types of rash that exist are just as various. There are spotty rashes, itchy rashes, blotchy rashes and lumpy rashes. Deciding what has caused a particular rash is hardly ever easy but there are sometimes useful clues. For example, if someone who is taking a medicine of any kind develops ~ rash, there is a good chance that the rash and the medicine are linked.

Similarly, many rashes are caused by allergy reactions, so changing soap powder or using a new type of deodorant or perfume can result in the development of a rash. If you suspect that a rash is caused by a drug side effect or an allergy, the best way to relieve any associated symptoms (the commonest being itching) is to apply calamine lotion.

You should also see your doctor, particularly if the problem could be related to a prescribed medicine. Differentiating between the various types of rash produced by infectious diseases is never easy - even for doctors. Chickenpox is one of the easiest to recognize since, although the disease commonly starts with a red, blotchy rash, the spots become watery blisters fairly quickly.

A measles rash usually starts at the back of the neck and consists of small red spots grouped together to form red blotches. These eventually appear over the whole of the body.


A rubella or German measles rash tends to consist of small, flat pink spots but these also can run together to form red patches or blotches, making it difficult to distinguish the rash from that of ordinary measles. If the rash is confined to the face then it is possibly acne, if it is accompanied by severe pain then shingles are a leading contender. On the feet, athlete's foot is a possible diagnosis and when rashes appear between two areas of skin which rub together then it is very likely to be intertrigo.

When a rash consists of weeping, pus-filled spots, impetigo is a likely explanation. Among babies and young children, ordinary heat rash is the commonest rash. Although it usually occurs, as its name suggests, in warm weather a heat rash can also develop in the cold if the baby is covered with too many clothes or bed-clothes.

Heat rashes usually begin on the cheeks, shoulders, bottom and skin creases and consist of pinhead-sized red spots. Red-headed and blond children are the ones most likely to suffer and the most important thing to do is to try to keep the child fairly cool. Nappy rashes are very common, too, among children.

These tend to be red, rough and rather scaly, and are usually caused either by the contact between urine and the skin or by the use of a too powerful detergent. From all this, you will see why rashes can be exceedingly difficult to diagnose. I certainly think that if you find a rash that you cannot- identify with absolute certainty then you should ask your doctor for help.