What to expect at your health care provider's office
Your doctor will perform a physical examination. He or she will ask questions about your medical conditions, medications, health problems that run in your family, and recent illnesses or exposures. Questions may include:
- When did the rash begin?
- What parts of your body are affected?
- Does anything make the rash better? Worse?
- Have you used any new soaps, detergents, lotions, or cosmetics recently?
- Have you been in any wooded areas recently?
- Have you had any change in your medications?
- Have you noticed a tick or insect bite?
- Have you eaten anything unusual of late?
- Do you have any other symptoms like itching or scaling?
- What are your underlying medical problems? Do you have, for example, asthma or allergies?
Tests may include:
Depending on the cause of your rash, treatments may include medicated creams or lotions, medications taken by mouth, or skin surgery.
Many primary care doctors are comfortable dealing with common rashes, but for more complicated skin disorders, a referral to a dermatologist may be necessary.
Prevention
- Identify and then stay away from products that irritate your skin. If allergies are suspected, your doctor may want to consider skin testing.
- Receive appropriate vaccines for childhood illnesses, like the varicella vaccine for chicken pox and MMR immunization (a combination vaccine that protects against measles, mumps, and rubella).
- Get strep throat treated right away to prevent scarlet fever.
- Wash your hands frequently to prevent spreading viruses like roseola, hand-foot-mouth disease, and fifth disease.
- Learn relaxation methods like yoga, meditation, or tai chi. Stress aggravates many rashes, including eczema, psoriasis, and seborrheic dermatitis.
References
Auerback PS, ed. Wilderness Medicine. St. Louis, Mo: Mosby; 2001.
Marx J. Rosen’s Emergency Medicine: Concepts and Clinical Practice. 5th ed. St. Louis, Mo: Mosby; 2002.
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