Causes of Skin Rash and What NOT to Do When You Have It

Skin rash is common. It may happen due to a simple allergy or a food allergy or may indicate some underlying health problem. Your skin may break into a rash in different ways. It could be a highly itchy rash, a raised rash with little bumps, rash with redness, or other. The rash may be limited to one body area or may spread all over the body.

It is better to consult a doctor when you get a skin rash. Please avoid self-medication.

Causes of skin rash

The causes are many. A few of them include:

• Lupus
• Lyme disease
• Allergy due to medication
• Food allergy
• Allergy due to a chemical in some new soap or perfume or skin product that you used recently
• Skin conditions such as contact dermatitis, eczema, scabies, impetigo (a highly infectious condition)
• Fungal infection such as ringworm
• Yeast infection such as candidiasis, and so on.

Diseases that can make your skin break out into a rash include:

• Dengue fever
• SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)
• Ebola
• Typhoid
• Measles
• Scarlet fever
• Rheumatic fever
• Hay fever and others

Besides this, rash can be an early sign of HIV or syphilis.

So, do not take rash lightly. Even if it goes away after skin treatment, you must recall whether you had certain food or you indulged in unprotected sex anytime in the past. If yes (for the latter), then you must discuss this with the doctors in Arlington, VA, urgent care clinic. They might recommend you to undergo STD test, especially that of HIV.

Insect stings

Many times, insect stings or tick bites may cause rash. Lyme disease is one such example. The disease is actually caused by bacteria rather than the tick, but when a tick infected with the bacteria bites you, it transmits the bacteria to your skin, causing it to break into rash.

Rash of Lyme disease starts in a small area of the body. As you touch the affected area, you feel it warm, but not itchy. Interestingly, the rash may not always appear at the site of the tick bite.

Arlington medical clinic is equipped to treat Lyme disease. Please walk in the clinic at any time of the day till extended hours and get immediate primary medical care.

When is rash a serious issue?

In case of sepsis, you must rush to the hospital straightaway. This is blood poisoning and a consequence of a large scale immune response in the body to some infection. Symptoms are rash accompanied with increased heart rate and high fever.

Apart from this, if the rash is accompanied with difficulty in breathing, rapidly changing color of skin, dizziness, confusion, repeated diarrhea and/or vomiting, swelling of the face, or severe pain in neck or head, please rush to the hospital.

Other than this, you can safely consult doctors in Arlington, VA, urgent care clinic for a skin rash.

What NOT to do when you get skin rash

• Do not use scented soap. Use baby soap or soap meant exclusively for sensitive skin.
• Avoid washing skin with hot water. Use lukewarm water.
• Do not cover the rash with bandage. Keep it open.
• If your skin feels dry at the rash area, use a mild, unscented moisturizer.
• Do not scratch the affected area, lest you may trigger an infection or spread it.
• Do not linger on with the problem. Consult doctors in Arlington VA urgent care clinic immediately.

It is better not to self-medicate in case of rash. The doctor at the clinic can recognize the type of rash you have and prescribe the appropriate treatment. For example, HIV rash is slightly raised, itchy, and red or purplish. It usually occurs on the face, shoulders, chest, and the upper body area, including arms and hands.