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Pink spots on the skin

Pink spots on the skin

Pink spots on the skin is a symptom of many dermatological conditions. Read the whole description about this ilness and start taking care of your skin today.

Pink spots on the skin is a symptom of many dermatological conditions. Some of these include psoriasis, eczema, acne vulgaris, contact dermatitis, neurodermatitis, fungal infection, measles, and scabies.

Pink spots are not always a sign of a serious illness. Even an insect bite can cause a red rash. Nevertheless, if it bothers you for a longer period of time, it may be helpful to differentiate between the causes of these pink marks on skin.

What causes pink spots on skin?

Pink blotches can appear on skin if we burn it. It can be a sign of a sun burn or an insect bite. Nevertheless, there are also many medical conditions that can cause this change of skin appearance. Psoriasis and eczema usually cause pink flaky spots on skin, which are accompanied by itching. These diseases are a bit similar – they both have autoimmune origin, besides, they also have similar symptoms. Nevertheless, there are some differences as well.

Psoriasis and eczema cause pink spots on different body parts. Psoriasis can attack hairy skin on the head, elbows, knees, outer ears, the area behind the ear, fingernails and toenails, lower back, palms of your hands and skin folds. Eczema on the other hand can affect your neck, wrists, ankles, inner elbow or area behind the knee. These two conditions also tend to have different starting period. Psoriasis usually starts between age 15 and 35. Eczema usually occurs in babies or children. Nevertheless, when either of these diseases occur, they often stay for a lifetime – these illnesses are chronic and we cannot completely cure them.

Pink dots on skin can also be a sign of acne or acne scars. Usually we can simply indicate it as pimples, especially when pink spots occur on face or back. Acne is a very common skin condition, but it can also be a severe illness, which is very hard to treat. Nobody knows why acne affects one person but not the other, the exact cause of the disease is still unknown. On the other hand, since it is such a common disease, there are a lot of products and procedures that help to treat this condition. There is no cure that could suit everybody, but there really are a lot of options, both over – the - counter and prescribed.

Pink patches on skin can also be caused by a contact dermatitis. It is usually triggered by some toxic substance or a foreign substance that provokes allergic reaction. Allergic contact dermatitis is often caused by the following:

  • Nickel;
  • Latex;
  • Soap;
  • Agents in cleaning products;
  • Hair dye;
  • Other dye.

Irritant contact dermatitis can be caused by:

  • Bleach;
  • Detergents;
  • Pepper spray;
  • Acids.

Pink spots on arms can also appear as a result of irritant dermatitis if they are washed very often. This type of irritant dermatitis affects people whose profession requires especially clean hands (like surgeons, nurses, cookers, and hairdressers).

Pink or red spots on skin are sometimes caused by fungal infections. There are many different fungal infections. They usually tend to appear on a wet surface, for example, in skin folds where the sweat stays longer, behind the breasts, behind the knees and the elbows.

A common reason for a rapid skin rash in children could be chickenpox. It is an infectious disease, caused by a virus. Before the rash occurs, it is common to experience fever, headache and loss of appetite. Individuals under the age of twelve are more suspected to have chickenpox than older ones.

Measles is another illness that can cause small pink spots on skin. Measles is a viral respiratory tract infection. It is a contagious disease, which is spread to the environment when the infected person coughs or sneezes. Measles is the leading cause of death in children. The chance of getting sick can be strongly suppressed by the use of vaccination against the disease. Red rash usually appears in three-five days after exposure to the virus.

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Other symptoms of measles include:

  • Coughing
  • Fever
  • Sore throat
  • Runny nose
  • Red eyes
  • Sensitivity to the light
  • White spots in the mouth

Be sure to seek medical help if you suspect having measles.

Another highly contagious condition, causing red skin rash, is scabies. Measles is caused by a virus and scabies is caused by a mite, which is named Sarcoptes scabiei. Mites is usually passed from one person to another through direct skin contact or sharing same clothes, towels or sheets with an infected person. The infection can spread very quickly in schools, sport teams and prisons.

Light spots on skin may also appear when having sepsis, but it’s not a neccesary sign or the only symptom of this condition. There are other, more common symptoms that indicate sepsis diagnosis. Those include tachycardia, tachypnoea, low blood pressure, high temperature and confirmed blood infection. Sepsis is a very serious life – threatening condition, which results as a complication of the infection and needs immediate medical attention.

As you can see, there are a lot of medical conditions, that can cause pink or red spots on skin. Not all of the pink spots require medical attention. See a doctor if:

  • Pink spots on skin do not dissapear over a longer period of time;
  • The rash is accompanied with high temperature;
  • The rash is accompanied with tremor and tachycardia;
  • Pink spots continue to spread.