Red spots on the body with itching
Itching is a not yet fully understood unspecific response of the body to an internal or external influence that is subjectively felt. Itching is mediated by various chemical messengers that transmit the feeling of “itching” to the nervous system via free nerve endings in the skin. Diseases with red spots on the body and itching are, for example, chickenpox, scabies, skin diseases such as neurodermatitis or psoriasis (psoriasis), hives, nodular lichen, skin fungus, and shingles.
Chickenpox is a disease that occurs mainly in children under 10 years of age and is caused by the varicella zoster virus. The virus is transmitted by a droplet or smear infection. After an incubation period of about two weeks, the chickenpox disease begins with a general feeling of discomfort, shortly after which the patient develops a fever and an itchy skin rash.
The rash mainly affects the head area and the trunk of the body (back, chest, abdomen). The mucous membranes in the mouth are also affected, but hands and feet are almost never affected by the rash. The rash initially consists of small red spots that quickly develop into small nodules (papules) and blisters.
The vesicles finally dry up and crusts form, which simply fall off after two to three weeks without leaving a scar. During a chickenpox infection, all stages of the rash (spots, nodules, blisters, crusts) appear simultaneously. The disease is usually more severe in adults than in children.
The most important therapeutic measure for children is to prevent the blisters from scratching, as scratching can lead to infection of the blisters with bacteria. Parents should shorten their children’s fingernails, the pediatrician can prescribe antipyretic drugs and medication to be applied to the skin to minimize itching or treat a bacterial infection.Therapy with acyclovir, which acts directly against the varicella, is only necessary in immunocompromised children and adults. In cases of severe itching, oral administration of antihistamines is possible.
After a chickenpox infection, the viruses remain in the ganglia of the peripheral nervous system. In old age or with immune deficiency the viruses can be reactivated and cause inflammation along the affected nerve area (dermatome). This results in a very itchy, belt-shaped skin rash with red spots, nodules, blisters and crusts that usually appear on one side of the body trunk.
In addition to the skin lesions, patients generally feel weak and may experience headaches and mild fever. Shingles is associated with the risk of zoster neuralgia, an extremely painful nerve inflammation even after the rash has healed. In order to prevent the development of zoster neuralgia, the pain must be well treated during the episode of the rash.
The infection itself is fought by the administration of the antiviral drug Aciclovir. Dangerous are shingles, which manifest themselves in the head area, as the inflammation can spread from the optic nerve to the remaining parts of the eye and cause permanent damage to vision. Scabies is a disease transmitted by mites (Sarcoptes scabiei hominis), which manifests itself by small red spots on the skin and severe itching, especially at night.
The red spots in an infection with scabies mites are mainly located between the fingers (rash on the finger), in the crook of the elbow (see: rash on the elbow), in the axillary fold, in the hollow of the knee, in the anal fold and in the genital region. Scabies mites are transmitted through close physical contact, for example during sexual intercourse or from the mother to her breastfed child. Only in individual cases is transmission also possible indirectly via shared underwear.
The treatment is carried out with the active ingredient permethrin in a cream, e.g. InfectoScab. The whole body must be lubricated from the neck down after showering, after which the active ingredient must be left on for 12 hours, which is why the treatment is best carried out in the evening. At the same time, all textiles (bed linen, worn clothes) must be packed in a plastic bag for at least three days, because after two to three days without a human host, the mites die.
In addition, all close contact persons of the patient must also be treated to prevent a new infection. If necessary, the treatment must be repeated after 14 days. or What are the symptoms of scabies?
Neurodermatitis is often also called atopic dermatitis, “atopy” refers to a genetic predisposition to hypersensitive skin. Neurodermatitis is a chronic disease, which can be chronically progressive (getting worse and worse) or chronically recurrent (relapsing). The itching in neurodermatitis can be very pronounced, but also almost absent.
The disease often occurs already in infancy or childhood and is manifested by eczema, which can look very different: Possible are red, weeping skin changes as well as rather light and dry areas. The elbows (see: skin rash on the elbow) and the hollows of the knees are places where neurodermatitis occurs particularly frequently, the distribution is also known as flexor-side-emphasized. Especially in adults, other areas such as the back of the hand are also frequently affected.
Indications for the presence of atopic dermatitis can be a wool intolerance, a double fold on the lower eyelid, narrow lateral eyebrows and other special features. The treatment approaches for atopic dermatitis are varied and different for each patient individually and should be carried out under the supervision of an experienced physician. Psoriasis is also known as “psoriasis”.
Besides neurodermatitis, it is one of the most common chronic skin diseases and can occur at any age. The skin changes in psoriasis are red and are usually found on the extensor sides of the extremities, for example on the patella. The appearance can be limited to a single spot on the body or spread over many different affected areas.
The red patches in psoriasis are compounded and therefore clearly palpable, but it is possible that the skin changes are covered by white scales, which gave the disease the name psoriasis.In up to 30% of patients, the joints are also affected and inflamed by psoriasis, which is known as psoriatic arthritis. Hives is called urticaria in the technical language and describes a red, itchy skin rash with wheals. Hives is a hypersensitive reaction of the body to various possible triggers.
Drugs, food, allergies or even a viral infection can trigger hives. A so-called pseudoallergy, such as allergy to sweat, can also be the cause. The hives can appear a few minutes to hours after contact with the trigger.
The hypersensitivity reaction of the body releases the messenger substance histamine, which causes a dilatation of the blood vessels in the skin, resulting in small water retention, the wheals. It is typical for hives to disappear in one place and then reappear in another. Hives is very unpleasant for the patient because of the severe itching, but it is usually harmless.
A threatening complication is a swelling of the throat area so that the patient does not get enough air. For this reason, patients should always carry an allergy emergency kit compiled by their doctor. The hives can last for several days or weeks.
If hives occurs for the first time, the cause should be sought. Once a trigger has been found, it should be avoided from now on. However, it is not always possible to find a trigger for hives.
Until the cause is found and the symptoms subside, hives is treated with high doses of an antihistamine. These drugs inhibit the release of histamine, which reduces wheals and itching. Nodular lichen is called lichen ruber in the technical language and describes a skin disease that can occur at any age.
In the case of nodular lichen, small reddish to brownish nodules are formed, which are covered by a white net. The nodules can appear all over the body, but they are particularly common on the wrists, forearms and neck. The nodules cause very severe itching, the cause of the disease is not known.
In most cases the disease heals within one to two years, but treatment is still advisable because of the severe impairment. For therapy, external treatment with cortisone preparations or other immunosuppressive substances is available. Irradiation with UV light is also possible among many other therapy options.
The infestation with skin fungus is also called skin mycosis or tinea corporis. Characteristic for a fungal infection of the skin are roundish, reddish foci that appear whitish and flake in the outer area. The red spots of skin fungus can itch a lot, but scratching should be avoided at all costs, because it can spread the fungus further.
In most cases skin fungus develops on skin that has been previously damaged by smaller injuries or on parts of the body where it is moist and warm: under the armpits, in the groin, in the genital region, under the breasts in women or between the bacon folds in babies. This is where skin fungi find optimal growth conditions. In most cases, skin fungi can be treated easily by applying an antifungal agent. Clothing worn directly on the inflamed skin should be washed at 60° Celsius.