A rash is a change of the skin which affects its color, appearance, or texture. A rash may be localized in one part of the body, or affect all the skin. Rashes may cause the skin to change color, itch, become warm, bumpy, dry, cracked or blistered, swell and may be painful. The causes, and therefore treatments for rashes, vary widely. Diagnosis must take into account such things as the appearance of the rash, other symptoms, what the patient may have been exposed to, occupation, and occurrence in family members. The diagnosis may confirm any number of conditions.

So you have a rash and you're trying to figure out what it is. More importantly, you want to know what to do about it. You've come to the right place. This article is designed to give you a starting point with general rules about rashes. It's not designed to diagnose a rash.

Common Causes:

Seborrheic dermatitis is a rash that appears in patches of redness and scaling around the eyebrows, eyelids, mouth, nose, the trunk, and behind the ears. If it happens on your scalp, it is called dandruff in adults and cradle cap in infants.

Age, stress, fatigue, weather extremes, oily skin, infrequent shampooing, and alcohol-based lotions aggravate this harmless but bothersome condition.

Introduction of new foods. As babies start to eat solid foods, generally when they're between 4 and 12 months old, the content of their stool changes, increasing the likelihood of diaper rash. Changes in your baby's diet can also increase the frequency of stools, which can lead to diaper rash. If you're breast-feeding, your baby may develop diaper rash in response to something you've eaten, such as tomato-based foods.

Eczema comes and goes on its own schedule, in a manner not related to the allergy usual suspects—foods, soaps, and detergents—which may be blamed for flare-ups. In most cases, changing diet and detergents helps eczema very little.

Symptoms Skin Rash

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Changes in your baby's disposition. You may notice your baby seems more uncomfortable than usual, especially during diaper changes. A baby with a diaper rash often fusses or cries when the diaper area is washed or touched.

Prevention

Identify and then stay away from products that irritate your skin. If allergies are suspected, your doctor may want to consider skin testing.
Receive appropriate vaccines for childhood illnesses, like the varicella vaccine for chicken pox and MMR immunization (a combination vaccine that protects against measles, mumps, and rubella).
Get strep throat treated right away to prevent scarlet fever.


Threatening Skin Rashes


Blisters involve the thin outer layer of the skin that covers large parts of the body. This may mean several small blisters about 1 cm across or a few very large blisters several centimeters wide. Blisters are tense (full of fluid) at first, and then may become loose before breaking open. When they do rupture, the skin underneath is moist and usually painful. The underlying skin surface then dries up and crusts over.

Anti-itch creams containing camphor, menthol, pramoxine (Itch-X), or diphenhydramine (Benadryl).

Antihistamines like diphenhydramine, chlortrimeton, or loratadine (Claritin, Claritin RediTabs, Alavert).