Why do red spots appear on the skin?
The skin is the organ that first of all signals about malfunctions in the body. The general state of health and the condition of the skin are always closely related - this is a scientifically proven fact. Very often, the appearance of red spots on the skin becomes a symptom of this or that disease.
Rashes on the body do not always indicate dangerous conditions that threaten life. They can appear after suffering stress or after prolonged emotional stress and will go away on their own when the person calms down. However, in some cases, red spots indicate diseases that require immediate medical attention.
Content:
- Stress and malfunctioning of the nervous system
- Allergy
- Infectious diseases
- Autoimmune diseases
Stress and malfunctioning of the nervous system
Strong emotional upheavals, psychological and physical stress can lead to the appearance of a rash. As a result, a person develops vegetative-vascular dystonia, the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems malfunction, and vascular tone suffers. This is certainly reflected in the condition of the skin by the appearance of red spots. They can remain on the dermis for a fairly long period of time.
Allergy
Red spots on the body are often the result of allergic reactions. They can be a symptom of hives or allergies to cold, that is, they appear immediately after contact with an allergen. Sometimes spots appear in response to a delayed allergic reaction.
To establish the allergic nature of the rash, other symptoms of the disease, for example, itching, should be evaluated. It should be understood that immediate allergic reactions can be very dangerous to human health and even life, and therefore require qualified medical care.
Allergic diseases with a chronic course provoke the appearance of a skin rash in the form of spots. These are pathologies such as atopic dermatitis and eczema. At the same time, even minor errors in nutrition or the penetration of allergens into the body through the skin can provoke an exacerbation of the disease. The appearance of new rashes is always accompanied by severe itching.
Infectious diseases
For the doctor, the nature of the spots, their location and appearance are of great importance. Often, a specialist needs only one glance at a skin rash to suspect a particular disease. The nature of the spots will differ with mycotic, viral and bacterial infections.
Viral diseases
In diseases such as measles, rubella and chickenpox, it is the appearance of spots on the skin that is the first symptom of infection. In each case, isolation of the patient is necessary in order to prevent the development of a massive outbreak of a viral disease. Therefore, a timely examination by a doctor and a correct diagnosis is so important. Characteristic features of rashes with various viral infections:
In adulthood, chickenpox manifests itself with different symptoms. |
Diseases caused by bacteria
Streptococcus more often than other bacteria, provokes the appearance of spots on the skin. This dangerous microorganism causes diseases such as scarlet fever, erysipelas and streptoderma. The location of the spots and their nature is strictly specific for each bacterial infection. In addition, they all have additional features. For example, with scarlet fever, rashes are always accompanied by angina. |
Fungal skin diseases
With fungal infections, red spots very often appear on the skin. Sometimes they accompany a disease such as candidiasis, which is widespread. If, with thrush, rashes appear on the skin, then this indicates a generalized form of infection and indicates a failure of the patient's immune system. It is accompanied by the appearance of red scaly patches on the skin of ringworm. The fungus affects the scalp, but it cannot be excluded that it can be found in other parts of the body. |
Related article: Pink and red spots (with photos)
Autoimmune diseases
Diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus, scleroderma, psoriasis lead to the appearance of red spots on the skin.
Spots tend to peel off with lupus erythematosus. With scleroderma, spots form in the area of scarring on the skin. In each of these cases, new rashes will appear with an exacerbation of the chronic autoimmune process.
A disease with an unexplained etiology is psoriasis. Nevertheless, experts tend to classify it as an autoimmune disease, since it always develops against the background of disorders in the immune system. In this case, the rash appears mainly on the skin, but when the patient's condition worsens, the scalp, nail plate and joints are affected.
Thus, red spots can indicate a wide variety of diseases. To determine which pathology they indicate, a doctor's consultation is necessary.
The author of the article: Kuzmina Vera Valerievna | Endocrinologist, nutritionist
Education: Diploma of the Russian State Medical University named after NI Pirogov with a degree in General Medicine (2004). Residency at Moscow State University of Medicine and Dentistry, diploma in Endocrinology (2006).
