Redness of the skin – causes, treatment and prevention

Skin redness

Skin redness , red skin or reddish skin patches are a common symptom. Red skin spots are usually harmless, but they can also occur as part of illnesses. Where does red skin come from and how do you distinguish redness from a rash?

What is skin redness?

In individual areas or over a large area, reddening of the skin can appear all over the body. They are often not visible at first glance, as they can be well hidden under clothing from the eyes of others.

Redness of the skin in other areas, such as the hands, head, face or neck, is therefore particularly noticeable. Those affected are often ashamed and intentionally hide their reddened skin under long clothing, which is not possible in the other places mentioned.

Skin rashes do not belong in the rash category, although they can easily be confused with one another. A distinction is made between patchy and extensively spreading reddening of the skin, which appears for a short time or permanently and can have different causes.

causes

There are a variety of causes of skin redness. Mental tension, inner restlessness , nervousness or stress are just some of the reasons why patchy reddening can occur on the face, head and neck. If you are excited, more magnesium is metabolized in the body, which shows up as reddening of the face and ears. These usually pass quickly. 

Weather and environmental influences also contribute to the development of skin reddening, which should be properly diagnosed, clearly distinguished from an allergic rash , if it persists for several days. Physical activity and particularly high demands in specialized professions can cause reddening of the skin through contact with liquids or substances.

Furthermore, heat (dry heating air), pressure (bed sores) and friction on skin areas are possible causes of temporary or long-lasting reddening of the skin. People who have to wash their hands frequently every day for professional reasons know this problem more frequently than other groups of people.

Reddening of the skin is a frequent side effect of some diseases, which can be observed, for example, with acne , Lyme disease , neurodermatitis , couperosis , childhood diseases and allergies .

Too much sun and too frequent sauna baths also have an irritating effect on the skin. Tick ​​bites and insect stings , food intolerance (e.g. lactose intolerance , gluten allergy ) and hypersensitivity to body care products are further triggers for reddening of the skin.

When to the doctor?

Slight reddening of the skin is mostly harmless and goes away on its own within a short time. On the other hand, if the red spots spread quickly and cause swelling , dizziness and shortness of breath, a doctor should be consulted immediately: it could be a dangerous allergic reaction.

If reddened skin is accompanied by fever, an infectious disease must be considered – rapid medical evaluation is advisable, especially in unvaccinated children and adults or after stays in the tropics. A circular reddening of the skin that occurs some time after a tick bite suggests Lyme disease, which should be treated with antibiotics as soon as possible.

Cooling ointments or burn gels from the pharmacy help against sunburn or other skin reddening caused by burns in the mild stage. However, extensive burned areas that are very painful or cause fever and chills require a doctor’s visit. Basically, all skin redness that persists for a long time, recurs or is accompanied by severe itching should be medically clarified. A doctor should also be consulted in the event of skin changes in the genital area in order to be able to treat communicable diseases such as a skin fungus quickly.

diagnosis and course

Acute reddening of the skin from an insect bite, tick bite or is it an immediate contact reaction? In this case, an ambulance or a dermatologist should be consulted. Tests can be used to determine whether the redness that suddenly appears is an allergy, an acute overreaction or another more serious illness. This requires further investigations, which provide a more precise medical result ( blood count , manual stimulus, skin reaction tests carried out with selected allergens ).

If reddening of the skin occurs again and again and under different conditions, or if it has already become chronic, you should try to clarify the cause and combine different diagnostic methods.

For a diagnosis that is as accurate as possible, a dermatologist needs information about current and long-term habits and the current living conditions of the person concerned in addition to the test results from blood and skin samples.

Diet, sleeping patterns, conditions at work and which environmental influences are part of everyday life are important facts for a dermatologist to arrive at a diagnosis. Here, even careless little things can be of greater importance.

In most cases, skin reddening that has appeared suddenly disappears by itself within a few hours. Often no treatment is required or the red spots and areas subside after a single application of a wound ointment. However, if one observes over time that even after days or even weeks the reddening of the skin does not recede or disappears completely, the person concerned and the doctor treating him should be patient.

If a chronic or an acute illness has been diagnosed, an individually intensified treatment is necessary, which must be continuously adapted for the long-term patient depending on the severity of the course. The treatment of skin reddening as an accompanying measure of an existing underlying disease can take a few weeks to several months.

complications

Reddening of the skin can be caused by a variety of reasons, which can have various complications. For example, even a simple inflammation can cause skin reddening. During inflammation, a lot of stress hormones like adrenaline or cortisol are released by the adrenal gland. If the inflammation is long-term, the adrenal gland can subsequently fail. In addition, the inflammation can spread systemically, leading to sepsis. This can be fatal if medical treatment is not given first.

Sunburns also typically cause redness. Frequent sunburns cause the skin to age faster. In addition, the risk of developing skin cancer increases significantly . Skin cancer itself can only be cured if it is detected early. In later stages, very few people heal. In addition, reddening of the skin is also characteristic of an allergic reaction .

In addition to the redness, the airways are also often affected, they swell and thus narrow. The patient experiences shortness of breath and difficulty swallowing. In the worst case, an allergy can end in anaphylactic shock. This leads to a massive drop in blood pressure and thus to a lack of blood flow to important organs. It is not uncommon for kidney failure (renal insufficiency) and even death to occur if the shock is not treated as quickly as possible.

treatment and therapy

Depending on the underlying cause, there are a variety of different treatment options for redness. Insect bites and tick bites are treated with antibiotics in addition to cooling gels.Wound and healing ointments are also among the natural products that can contain herbs, vitamins ], minerals and plant components.

In the case of skin redness caused by allergies, long-term hypersensitization is recommended for therapy, which extends over a period of several weeks, but has a more lasting effect.

Sensitive skin, which tends to redden again and again during the cold season, can be cared for with emulsions, ointments, oils, emulsion and oil baths. UV protection creams should be used before sunbathing and moisturizing lotions should be used afterwards. Dietary supplements such as minerals, vitamins and trace elements prevent reddening of the skin.

outlook and prognosis

In most cases, reddening of the skin is only an accompanying symptom and therefore does not have to be treated specifically. The underlying disease is therefore primarily treated, so that the further course of this complaint also depends heavily on the disease and its severity. If intolerances or allergies are responsible for the redness of the skin, the redness usually disappears a few hours after the allergen has been absorbed. In order to avoid this redness again, the affected person should avoid the respective ingredient.

However, other diseases can also cause skin reddening. Skin cancer in particular can cause these symptoms, so a doctor should be consulted. In most cases, the reddening of the skin disappears once the underlying disease has been overcome. However, this may result in a reduced life expectancy for the patient. Allergic reactions to cosmetics can also lead to reddening of the skin. In most cases, these disappear again when the affected product has been discontinued. However, whether treatment by a doctor is necessary depends heavily on the cause of the redness.

Dorothy Farrar

Hello and welcome to my Health Guide & Encyclopedia! My name is Dorothy Farrar, and I'm the founder and main author of this platform.
My passion for health and wellness started at a young age when I became interested in the connection between the food we eat and the way we feel. This fascination led me to study nutrition and dietetics in college, where I learned about the importance of a balanced diet and the impact of various nutrients on the body.

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