Skin rash is medically called exanthema, and a close look at the rash reveals differences in spread, scaling and painfulness – together with the accompanying circumstances such as fever, feeling sick or contact with other people with a contagious disease, the wide range of diseases with exanthema can already be narrowed down by the expert.
- Measles exanthema is usually accompanied by high fever, it is large-spotted, starts behind the ears and then affects the whole body. It appears only after a few days, during which the child is already ill with flu-like symptoms. When the exanthema fades, the upper layer of skin peels off with small scales.
- With rubella, on the other hand, the child usually seems less sick, the rash begins on the face and is paler and small-spotted.
- Scarlet fever exanthema leaves out the face, the child is seriously ill for about a day before a small-spotted, very dense rash appears, which can disappear after a few hours in milder courses.
- In chickenpox, after a short phase with a general feeling of illness, many very itchy spots appear all over the body, which after a short time turn into small blisters. Often all stages of chickenpox occur side by side, the vesicles are infectious and burst easily. In contrast, three-day fever is a milder disease, the exanthema affects more the body, less the face and disappears quickly.
- The disease ringworm owes its name to the garland-shaped rash that often begins on the face and then spreads over the body. It can persist for more than a week.Impetigo contagiosa (ringworm) is caused by bacteria that are also part of the normal skin flora. It usually forms localized crusted vesicles in the mouth area, which may fuse together.
- Herpes simplex and herpangina are viral diseases that preferentially affect the lips and oral mucosa, where they lead to the formation of vesicles. Allergies can lead to extremely different exanthema. Whereas in the case of contact allergies (e.g. to diaper material or clothing) redness often occurs only on those parts of the body that are also in contact with the triggering allergen, in the case of food intolerances the exanthema can occur on the entire body or face. In addition to redness, vesicles, small papules and scaling also occur, the accompanying itching often leads to secondary inflammation of the damaged skin.
- Cradle cap (on the hairy scalp) and neurodermatitis are often coupled with intolerances, but can also occur without allergic tendencies. The scaly, reddened skin is particularly sensitive and in need of care.
- The exanthema of psoriasis and atopic dermatitis differ in terms of their localization – while psoriasis foci often occur on the scalp and the extensor sides of the joints, atopic dermatitis occurs more often in the flexural folds.
- Porphyria and pemphigus are blistering chronic skin diseases that occur all over the body and require long-term therapy.
