Skin rashes
The skin is the largest organ of the body. Our skin provides us with a waterproof covering, protects the interior of our body by moderating temperature extremes, and guards against invasion by harmful bacteria. Our skin grows faster than any other organ, and it keeps renewing itself for life. The skin is so important that the loss of more than one third of it from burns can be fatal.
II. SKIN RASHES:
Rash is a general term that describes an eruption of the skin. A rash is a reaction of the skin. A rash can be flat, raised, or blistered. It can be caused by many things, such as a drug reaction, an infection, or an allergic reaction. It may be pink, red, purple, or brown in color. It may be made of separate, distinct spots or consists of a diffuse reddened area. It can be moist and weepy or dry and scaly. Some rashes start on one part of the body and spread to other parts; others appear in one area only. There may be no sensation with it, or it may be itchy or burning.
Many different things can cause a rash to develop. The skin can only react to injury in a few ways, and many different agents can cause rashes that look the same. A rash can be a result of infection or allergies, whether a bacterial infection such as impetigo, a viral infection such as chickenpox or herpes, a fungal infection such as ringworm or yeast, or an airborne or contact allergy to foods, mold, a plant, or a drug. Contact dermatitis is the medical term for a contact allergy that results in skin rash. Common allergens involved in contact dermatitis include cosmetics, detergents, certain plants and metals and household chemicals.
Rashes can also be due to physical and environmental agents. Sun poisoning, not the same thing as sunburn, can cause a localized rash consisting of tiny white itchy bumps. Exposure to wind, especially cold wind, can cause the reddened skin condition known as windburn. Friction caused either by two parts of the body rubbing against each other or a part of the body rubbing against some external item can provoke a skin rash as well. Skin disorders such as psoriasis and eczema are responsible for many rashes.
Most rashes caused by viruses do not harm children and go away over time without any treatment. However, some childhood rashes have serious or even life-threatening causes. Parents should be familiar with these rashes. Many rashes can look the same, making it difficult to know the exact diagnosis.
a. CHICKENPOX (VARICELLA):
A virus called VARICELLA-ZOSTER causes this very contagious disease. Although it is not a serious disease to otherwise healthy children, the symptoms last 2 weeks and can make the child very uncomfortable. In addition chickenpox can be a serious illness in people with weak immune systems such as newborns, people on chemotherapy for cancer, people taking steroids, pregnant women, or those with AIDS. A safe and effective vaccine is now available to children aged 1 year or older to prevent chickenpox. It takes about 1 week to develop chickenpox after being exposed to the virus.
b. MEASLES:
A PARAMYXO virus causes the measles. A safe and effective vaccine is available to prevent this disease, but outbreaks in people who have not been vaccinated still happen.
c. LIFE THREATENING RASHES:
Life threatening rashes are uncommon, and the child usually appears quite ill if he or she has a life threatening rash. There are five potentially life-threatening disorders that have skin rash as the primary symptom i.e., PEMPHIGUS VULGARIS, STEVENS-HOHNSON syndrome, TOXIC EPIDERMAL NECROLYSIS, TOXIC SHOCK SYNDROME, and STAPHYLOCOCCAL SCALDED SKIN SYNDROME.
III. PRECAUTIONS:
The more we know about the rash, the better able we will be to treat it. Looking at it closely and observing what it looks like, noting of where it appears on the body, whether it spreads or not, and any other symptoms even if they seem unrelated. Also we must take into account where we were and what we were doing in the day or days before the rash appeared, as well as environmental factors, such as the temperature or exposure to possible allergens. All of these clues can be important for the correct diagnosis of a rash. If we are unsure about the cause of a skin rash, consulting a health-care provider for advice would be better before the rash gets worse.
IV. CONVENTIONAL TREATMENT:
The doctor should first take a complete history. Depending on what he or she determines to be the cause of the rash, the doctor may prescribe simple comfort measures, antibiotic cream, an antifungal agent, and / or anti-histamine lotion. If no definitive cause can be found, the doctor may prescribe cortisone or hydrocortisone ointment, or an oral steroid such as prednisone or dexam-ethasone. These can be amazingly effective for many kinds of skin rashes. However, we must bear in mind that whether they are applied typically or taken by mouth, these drugs should be taken only for short periods of time and must be tapered off gradually rather than stopped abruptly. They suppress the functioning of the adrenal glands, depress immune function, and, if used locally, can cause thinning and aging of the skin.
V. GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS:
Appropriate treatment, if any, depends on the cause of the rash for example, a rash resulting from a viral infection usually does not need any specific treatment except for comfort measures, while a rash caused by a bacterial infection may need to be treated with antibiotic cream and herbs with immune-stimulating properties.
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