Skin spots in children – what can it be?

Measles, rubella, scarlet fever, chickenpox – many childhood diseases initially cause a rash and feverish flu symptoms. However, in addition to the diseases that come to mind immediately, many more have typical skin symptoms. Read here what can be behind a skin rash in children and what you can do about it.

What diseases with skin rash are there?

In addition to the well-known infectious diseases caused by bacteria or viruses, in which the skin rash usually occurs all over the body, there are also infectious diseases that only lead to a localized rash. The most common generalized infectious diseases are measles, rubella, scarlet fever, chickenpox, three-day fever and ringworm, which show a typical distribution pattern of the rash.

Accompanying skin rashes with gastrointestinal infections, typhus, infectious mononucleosis, toxoplasmosis, typhus, or HIV are less common. Localized infectious diseases in children include scab lichen (impetigo contagiosa), cold sores (caused by herpes simplex) and herpangina.

Rash from allergies

In addition to these locally occurring infections, there are also increasing allergies in childhood, which become noticeable with reddening of the skin either all over the body or only in some regions of the skin.

There are also various skin diseases, such as neurodermatitis and cradle cap, psoriasis, cutaneous porphyria or pemphigus diseases, which can usually be distinguished from infectious and allergic diseases by the history of the disease.

A skin rash can also accompany cancer, although this is very rare in childhood.