Diagnosing Skin Rashes

Skin rash is defined as a group of spots or the inflammation of the skin, may be caused due to sun exposure or any other reasons. These skin rashes may pain, burn, itch, tingle or sometimes don't even cause any discomfort. Skin rashes may be localized or generalized. That is some skin rashes may appear on distinct areas of the skin and some may appear on the whole body. Skin rashes may or may not be contagious depending on the type of the skin rash.

Diagnosing skin rashes is not so difficult. There are many different types of skin rashes. They are many different symptoms of skin rashes. These symptoms help you in diagnosing the skin rash easily. Most of the people ignore the early symptoms of skin rashes. But the early diagnosis of skin rashes helps you to seek an immediate medical treatment. Earlier the diagnosis of skin rash, earlier is the treatment and easier is the cure. Given below are the different types of skin rashes, with the related symptoms and causes. This will definitely help you in diagnosing the skin rash.

Eczema

Eczema also called, as dermatitis is an inflammatory disorder of the skin. It causes inflammation of the skin and is characterized by swollen, reddened and itchy skin. It can affect any region of the body. In adults it generally occurs on neck, face knees or ankles whereas in infants it affects cheeks, legs, neck, scalp and forehead. Eczema is not very dangerous and is also not contagious. In case of mild eczema the skin becomes dry, hot ant itchy whereas in severe cases of eczema skin may become raw, broken and bleeding. There are different types of eczema with different causes and different forms.

• Atopic eczema (Atopic dermatitis): Atopic eczema is a hereditary skin disorder and is the most common form of eczema. In this case the skin rash that develops becomes red and itchy. This causes cracking, swelling, weeping, crusting and scaling of the skin. In childhood, it begins with scaly patches on the arms, legs, and scalp and later may affect inner parts of the elbows and knees. In adults it affects hands, genitals and the area around eyelids. Though it may affect any part of the body, it is not at all contagious.
• Contact dermatitis: Contact dermatitis as the name itself says is a rash that is caused by the contact of a body with a specific material, which causes allergy on the skin. It affects only those parts of the skin, which comes in contact with the material causing the allergy.

Rosacea

Rosacea is a chronic skin disorder that causes skin rashes usually on the face and chest. It causes facial redness and swelling. Skin rashes may also appear on the neck, back, scalp and ears and sometimes even the eyes are affected. The eyes may have a burning sensation and appear watery. The skin rash may develop into skin lesions called acne rosacea. It affects most of the adults of the age group 30 to 60. It is not life threatening but if left untreated, causes visible small blood vessels on your nose and cheeks.

Lupus rash

Lupus rash is a red or purplish colored rash, which generally appear on the areas exposed to sunlight. The location and appearance of rash differ with the type of lupus. The rash generally affects face, nose, scalp, ears and neck. In some cases, the rash appears in a form of butterfly on the cheeks and across the bridge of the nose. In other cases, where the rash appear on hairy areas it may lead to hair loss.

Psoriasis

Psoriasis is a chronic, inflammatory skin disorder that affects the life cycle of skin cells. It is caused due to the rapid multiplication of the cells present in the epidermal layer of the skin. The skin rash may appear on any part of the body like hands, feet, knees, elbows, scalp and genitals. The rash may appear as a red patch with silver scales or may appear as small scaly spots. The skin may become dry, cracked and may bleed. Psoriasis is not contagious.

These are some of the types of skin rashes. Hope so that this information will help you in diagnosing the skin rashes. But remember that many skin rashes look very similar to one another and be the early symptoms of some dangerous disorders. Therefore self-diagnosis of skin rashes is not recommended. So for proper diagnosis of skin rashes seek medical advice as soon as possible.