Skin rash with red spots in different stages of life
In the following, the causes of rashes with red spots at different stages of life are discussed in more detail. In babies, red patches on the skin can be an infectious disease more often than in adults because their immune system is not yet fully developed. The focus here is primarily on the classic childhood diseases, which are often accompanied by a skin rash.
What most of them have probably already had contact with is chickenpox, which is associated with a skin rash all over the body. However, it is rather untypical that chickenpox already occurs in babies. If the rash starts behind the ears and then spreads further over the body, it is usually rubella.
This is usually accompanied by swollen lymph nodes and moderate fever. However, the number of rubella infections in Germany is low because children are usually vaccinated against it. Not because it is a dangerous disease for the children, but so that pregnant women are not infected with the virus.
Scarlet fever can also cause a whole body rash. In addition, the tongue is strongly reddened (raspberry tongue) and the children suffer from swallowing difficulties and fever. Measles usually affects children from six months of age.
Only in the second phase of the disease does a non-itching rash appear. Flu-like symptoms are typical in the beginning. Three-day fever can also occur in babies.
As the name of the disease suggests, children usually have high fever for three days. After the three days of fever, a rash with pale red spots may appear, typically on the trunk and neck, and sometimes spreading to the face. Of course, red spots in babies do not always have to be an infectious disease.
There are also quite harmless causes, such as food intolerance or small pimples.In some cases, newborns develop a so-called newborn acne after birth, but this disappears again after a short time. It is suspected that the children still have an excess of maternal hormones, which causes the acne. If the red spots appear in the diaper area, this may be due to skin irritation.
If you are not sure of the cause of the rash, such as a diaper rash, you should consult your pediatrician if in doubt. Especially if fever or other symptoms occur at the same time – in this case an infection is likely. Such skin rashes with red spots can often be observed in children.
So-called maculopapular exanthema (nodular-stained skin rash) can be a symptom of an infection such as measles or scarlet fever. Other typical childhood diseases can also cause rashes with red spots. In the case of a chickenpox infection, the pustules are accompanied by severe itching and can lead to the formation of scars.
Other diseases that are associated with skin rashes are rubella, hand, foot, mouth and mouth disease and three-day fever. Depending on the disease, the rash takes on an individual, characteristic appearance. The typical chickenpox rash has raised spots in addition to the red spots.
With a rubella infection, the rash is much finer. In adults, the typical childhood diseases that cause red spots are relatively rare, but this cause should not be generally excluded. In many cases, sexually transmitted diseases are a reason for the appearance of a rash, but much more often an allergic reaction or an organ disease is the cause.
