Introduction
Red spots are generally called erythema. Erythema is a skin reaction caused by increased blood circulation in a certain area of the skin. Reddened skin patches on the back or smaller red patches on the back can have different causes. Accompanying symptoms such as itching, dry skin, pain or even the age of the person affected can provide clues to certain causes.
Causes
A distinction is made between mechanical, inflammatory and allergic causes. Mechanically caused red spots on the back can be caused by pressure points. These occur, for example, when you have carried a backpack on your back or leaned against a wall or an armchair.
Treatment is usually not necessary. In the case of an inflammatory cause, which occurs very rarely, larger or converging red spots on the back are usually visible. The cause of the reddish inflammatory skin change also known as dermatitis is not known.
Treatment with cooling gels usually helps the skin to heal. The most common causes of reddish spots in the back area are allergic causes and infection-related causes. In the case of allergic causes, contact with a textile that has been washed with a new detergent, for example, is usually the cause.
As a result, the skin on which the T-shirt or shirt is lying begins to change. Inflammatory cells migrate into the skin area, the vessels there dilate and reddening occurs. Usually the redness is also associated with itching (see: Red spots on the skin with itching).
The clinical picture also known as contact eczema can usually be treated by avoiding contact with the triggering substance. Creams or lotions containing cortisone can also be helpful. Infectious causes include the typical childhood diseases such as measles or scarlet fever, which are always associated with erythema on the back.
In principle, adults can also fall ill with this childhood disease. Apart from scarlet fever, which is a bacterial disease, measles or rubella can only be treated wait-and-see or symptomatically, as the triggering factor is a virus. The described childhood diseases, which can cause reddish spots on the back, are almost always associated with severe tormenting itching.
To find a diagnosis it is also helpful to examine whether a recent contact with a sick child has taken place before. and rash Measles. Red spots after showering can usually have two causes.
The more frequent cause is the increased blood circulation of the skin (hyperemia) caused by exposure to heat. The hot water leads to a widening of the skin vessels with increased blood flow into the skin, which manifests itself in red spots. The red spots can also have an allergic cause.
In most cases the allergenic substance is a new shower gel or shampoo. In this case, the reddening of the skin often begins during or shortly after showering and can be accompanied by itching. In this case a change of the products used solves the problem.
