Red spots on the body without itching
Red spots on the body that do not cause itching can have many different causes. Here only some causes will be presented. Measles is a highly contagious infectious disease caused by the measles virus, which is actually one of the children’s diseases, but is also increasingly affecting young people and adults who have not been vaccinated.
The measles virus is transmitted by droplet infection and causes the first symptoms (fever, rhinitis, cough, conjunctivitis, whitish spots on the oral mucosa) after an incubation period of eight to ten days. Three to seven days after the onset of the first symptoms, the typical skin rash appears: It starts in the face and behind the ears and then spreads over the entire body trunk, persisting for about a week. Patients are contagious from three to five days before the rash appears until four days after the rash appears.
In the course of the measles infection, a weakness of the immune system occurs, which lasts for several weeks and favors bacterial infections during this time.Measles has a dreaded late complication that occurs in about 20 out of 100,000 measles cases several years after infection: subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, an always fatal inflammation of the brain. Measles can only be treated symptomatically; vaccination is the best and safest protection. Syphilis is caused by the bacterium Treponema pallidum, which is transmitted during sexual intercourse.
The course of the disease can be divided into three stages, not all of which have to occur. At the beginning, there is a painless ulcer (ulcer) at the entrance of the pathogen and swelling of the local lymph nodes. In stage II, the pathogen spreads throughout the body and can cause a non-itchy rash with fever and swollen lymph nodes throughout the body.
The red spots in a syphilis infection can take different forms and are therefore not always easy to distinguish from other diseases. Typically, however, the soles of the hands and feet are often also affected by red spots. About one third of all syphilis infections that are not detected or treated end up in stage III after several years.
Patients develop neurological deficits, damage to the vessels and damage to the soft tissue, so-called gums. If syphilis is detected, it can be confirmed by various laboratory tests and treated with penicillin. Purpura Schönlein-Henoch usually affects children of pre-school age, but by definition it only occurs up to the age of 21.
Purpura Schönlein-Henoch (also known as IgA vasculitis) is an inflammation of small blood vessels that occurs as an allergic reaction to a previous infection of the upper respiratory tract. The deposition of IgA immune complexes in the small vessels leads to an inflammation that attacks the vessel walls and makes them more permeable. This results in red, mostly palpable spots (petechiae), which occur mainly on the shins and buttocks.
The children have a fever and feel ill, in addition the joints can be painfully swollen. Abdominal pain, vomiting, headaches and blood in the urine are other, somewhat less frequent symptoms. The chances of recovery through the administration of steroids are good, but in the long term the kidney function must be checked regularly to rule out consequential damage.
Drug exanthema is a skin rash that has occurred due to an allergy to a drug. The rash can, but does not necessarily itch. As a rule, an allergy to a certain drug only occurs after a repeated administration, i.e. not at the first dose.
Virtually any drug can cause a drug allergy, but reactions to antibiotics, painkillers, sulfonylureas and various other drugs such as allopurinol are particularly common. An allergic reaction to a drug can affect any organ, but the most common is a red blotchy rash that can appear all over the body or only in certain areas. The most important therapeutic measure is to stop the medication that is causing the reaction.
If a stronger allergic reaction occurs, it is treated with medication, depending on the severity of the allergic reaction. Ptyriasis rosea is a non-infectious skin disease. The cause of this disease is still unknown.
It shows an acute course and usually heals on its own after about 8 weeks. In most cases, rose lichen does not require treatment. Typically, the rash appears mainly on the upper body. If there are also affected areas on the face or hands, another disease could be the cause.
