Rashes/Dermatitis
Also called: Eczema
Also called: Eczema
This is a common skin disease in children. It is so common that people have given it a few names:
Children often get atopic dermatitis (AD) during their first year of life. If a child gets AD during this time, dry and scaly patches appear on the skin. These patches often appear on the scalp, forehead, and face. These patches are very common on the cheeks.
No matter where it appears, AD is often very itchy. Infants may rub their skin against bedding or carpeting to relieve the itch.
In children of all ages, the itch can be so intense that a child cannot sleep. Scratching can lead to a skin infection.
Because atopic dermatitis can be long lasting, it is important to learn how to take care of the skin. Treatment and good skin care can alleviate much of the discomfort.
Treatment cannot cure AD, but it can control AD. Treatment is important because it can:
A treatment plan often includes medicine, skin care, and lifestyle changes. Skin care and lifestyle changes can help prevent flare-ups. Many patients receive tips for coping. Doing all of this may seem bothersome but sticking to the plan can make a big difference.
The Gladstone Clinic will create a treatment plan tailored to the patient’s needs. Medicine and other therapies will be prescribed as needed to:
Studies have found that when AD develops in an infant or young child, the child tends to get better with time. For some children, the condition completely disappears by age 2.
About half (50%) of the children who get AD will have it as an adult. The good news is that the AD often becomes milder with age.
There is no way to know whether the AD will go away or be a lifelong disease. This makes treatment very important. Treatment can stop the AD from getting worse. Treatment also helps to relieve the discomfort.
Most children’s eczema does not have a clear cause, such as an allergy, but most eczema will improve with good skin care. These tips from the Gladstone Clinic can reduce the severity and frequency of your child’s flare-ups.
Good skin care is a key part of gaining control of your child’s eczema. If skin care has not been a regular part of your child’s treatment, you should make an appointment for your child to see the Gladstone Clinic
Almost everyone gets this type of eczema at least once. We get contact dermatitis when something that our skin touches causes a rash. Some rashes happen immediately. Most take time to appear.
Some people have an allergic skin reaction. You have had this type of contact dermatitis if you had a rash caused by:
This type is more common. It develops when something irritates the skin. With enough contact, most things will irritate our skin. A person diagnosed with any of the following has irritant contact dermatitis:
When a toxic substance touches our skin, the skin is quickly irritated. You’ve had irritant contact dermatitis if your skin reacted to a toxic substance like:
You can also develop irritant contact dermatitis when you have lots of contact with less irritating substances like:
People often develop irritant contact dermatitis at work. Beauticians, nurses, bartenders, and others who spend lots of time with wet hands get this. It often starts with dry, cracked hands. In time, the skin on their hands may begin to sting and burn. The skin becomes very tender. Sometimes, the skin itches and bleeds.
When a rash does not clear within a few weeks, you should see the Gladstone Clinic .When contact dermatitis develops, treatment is important. It can prevent the contact dermatitis from worsening and help your skin heal.
Avoid what is causing your rash. If avoiding the cause will be difficult, ask the Gladstone Clinic for help.
For example, if you are allergic to latex but must wear exam gloves, your we can recommend another type of glove that you can wear. If you must work outdoors where poison ivy grows, your we can recommend a protective barrier cream and clothing that can help.
Treat the rash. Once you can avoid the cause, your rash should clear. To relieve your symptoms, we may recommend the following:
Some people develop a rash even when they avoid touching the allergen. A rash can appear when the substance to which you have an allergy gets inside your body. The medical term for this condition is systemic contact dermatitis.
The allergen can get inside your body in different ways. You could:
While rare, some people develop a rash because the fillings in their mouth contain mercury. They could only get rid of the rash when a dentist replaced their fillings with fillings that did not contain mercury.
Trying to find everything that contains the allergen can be a challenge. We may be able to help you create a list of things you need to avoid. The list often varies from region to region.
By avoiding what caused the rash, most people can avoid flare-ups.
If you work with substances that caused the rash, you can still avoid a rash. We can recommend ways to work and products to use. More than 80% of people diagnosed with occupational dermatitis successfully manage the condition and recover without any problems.
Sometimes you can get rid of a rash yourself. These Gladstone Clinic tips can help you find the cause.
Once you know what’s causing your rash, avoiding it often clears the rash.
Ask yourself the questions on this page (below) that are relevant.
If you answered yes to a question, stop using/wearing what you think caused the rash.
If the rash begins to clear, you may have found the culprit. If the rash worsens or remains for 2 weeks, make an appointment to see the Gladstone Clinic. You’ll need help to get rid of the rash.
Rash beneath jewelry, shoes, or clothing
If a rash develops where jewelry, shoes, gloves or other clothing, a zipper, a buckle, or a fastener touches your skin:
Stop wearing the item for a few days.
If the rash begins to clear when you stop wearing the item, you may have an allergy to a metal, dye, or fabric finisher.
Some people develop an allergy to jewelry that they’ve worn for years. The cause is often nickel, a metal found in many pieces of jewelry. A wedding ring can cause this problem. In fact, this rash is so common that it has a name, wedding-ring dermatitis.
If this happens, ask us for tips to prevent getting a rash from your wedding ring.
Rash on face
It can be a challenge to find the cause of this rash, but you can start by answering the following questions:
Rash on side of face, neck, hairline, or chest
Rash after hiking or being in a wooded area
If you were in a wooded area, you may have touched poison ivy, poison oak, or poison sumac without knowing it. Poison ivy is one of the most common causes of allergic contact dermatitis.
The following tips can help:
Rash from musical instrument
You’ll want to make an appointment If you have a rash that: