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Rashes

Definition:

Rashes involve changes in the color or texture of your skin.

Alternative Names:

Skin redness or inflammation; Skin lesion; Rubor; Skin rash; Erythema

Considerations:

Often, the cause of a rash can be determined from its visible characteristics and other symptoms.

Common Causes:

A simple rash is called dermatitis, meaning inflammation of the skin. Contact dermatitis is caused by things your skin touches, such as:

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.

Other common causes of a rash include:

Many medical conditions can cause a rash as well. For example:

References:

Auerback PS, ed. Wilderness Medicine . St. Louis, Mo: Mosby; 2001.

Marx J. Rosen’s Emergency Medicine: Concepts and Clinical Practice . 5th ed. St. Louis, Mo: Mosby; 2002.

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