Most of us have experienced a skin rash at least once. During our childhood, it is very likely we got in touch with infectious diseases such as chickenpox, and they leave a characteristic skin rash. There are vaccines to prevent the majority of contagious diseases that cause skin rash in children, but they are sometimes unavoidable. However, we cannot say the same about adults. The skin rash in children is not often a sign of alarm, but the same diseases that cause mild symptoms in children for a few days may probably become life-threatening in adults. And it all starts with a skin rash.
But we don’t want to raise the alarms just yet. Many causes of skin rash in adults are not to worry, and what we need to do is understanding the causes and the alarm signs and symptoms. That’s why in this article we are going to cover the following topics:
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- what are the different types of skin rashes in adults?
- What causes a skin rash in adults?
- How can you identify a dangerous skin rash?
- What to do if you’re suspecting leukemia as a cause of skin rash?
A) Types of skin rash in adults
There are many types of skin rash, and each one of them has multiple causes. Depending on the characteristics, you may have one of the following:
1. Allergic skin rash
It is caused by an allergic reaction, and typically right after the exposure to an allergen. This type of skin rash usually consists of raised areas in your skin that may join together and create a bigger area that is often itchy and red.
2. Inflammatory skin rash
This type of skin rash results from direct exposure to inflammatory agents in the skin. It is very similar to the allergic type, but it is not mediated by the same inflammatory cytokines. Thus, it is often painful and typically red and warm.
3. Infectious skin rash
A very high number of diseases can cause a skin rash due to infectious agents. A typical example is chickenpox, which causes a very itchy and red rash that appears all over the body and causes various types of manifestations, including blisters, crusts, and scabs. Every type of infection has distinct features that allow doctors to identify the possible cause.
4. Hemorrhagic skin rash
This type of skin rash is by far one of the most dangerous because it means there’s something not working as it should in your body. In normal circumstances, your body creates substances that aid in the process of healing. When they are not in your blood for some reason, you start experiencing spontaneous bleeding under the skin and get a characteristic rash with red spots and other manifestations.
5. Other types of skin rash
There are many different types of skin rash, and some of them depend on sunlight exposure, your levels of stress, and many other circumstances that may not be easy to trace. Therefore, it is best to trust the expertise of a doctor instead of trying to diagnose yourself. Moreover, if you try to apply creams and other treatments to yourself, you might even change the characteristics of your skin rash and your doctor won’t be able to diagnose your problem right away.
Each one of these types has many possible causes, as we will cover next.
» Now, let’s discuss the most common causes of skin rash.
B) The most common causes of skin rash
Among the most common causes of skin rash, we have the following:
1. Herpes virus
This virus is very common, and since it is transmitted through physical contact and sexual contact, we are all susceptible to this contagious skin rash. The most important characteristic of herpes is the presence of vesicles in the affected area. These vesicles are filled with clear fluid and they break at some point, releasing a highly contagious liquid. As it does, it leaves an open sore that feels like burning and itching. Herpes virus is more common in people who have multiple sex partners, and especially in HIV positive patients. The extension of herpes virus rash depends on the type of herpes virus involved. It can be in small or very extensive areas covered by the same nerve.
2. Scabies
It is another common infection that causes an itchy and very bothering type of rash. Scabies rash is caused by a parasite that digs deep into the skin, creating crypts. Once they are rooted in your skin, they start hatching eggs, and that’s why the infection begins in a small area and continues spreading more and more until patients receive treatment. This constant digging into the skin and releasing inflammatory agents cause severe itching, and the only way to stop it is by taking the right medications and washing your skin and bed sheets thoroughly.
3. Food allergies
It is one of the most common causes of allergies, and sometimes one of the most dangerous. Food allergies cause raised bumps in the skin that often join together, creating a large raised, reddened and warm area in your skin. This skin reaction appears shortly after eating the foods you’re allergic to, and it can be faster and more aggressive in some cases. One of the most dangerous types of food allergies is peanuts and seafood allergies, which can cause anaphylaxis, a life-threatening allergy that causes swelling to your throat and other severe manifestations. Allergies to drugs and medications may also have the same mechanism and similar skin reactions.
4. Contact dermatitis
Besides food allergies, another common manifestation of the immune system is contact dermatitis. Instead of food allergies, it is an inflammatory rash caused by direct skin contact with agents that trigger either inflammation or allergies and inflammation. This type of dermatitis causes extensively reddened and itchy areas where the contact took place. Common places of contact dermatitis include the skin of the hands, upper and lower extremities. It can be in the abdominal or thoracic region in cases of allergies to the fabric of your clothes.
5. Psoriasis
Another relatively common problem of the immune system is psoriasis. But in this case, it is not an allergic reaction. Instead, the main trigger of psoriasis is acute and chronic stress, which can be either physical or emotional. In psoriasis, patients may experience severe changes in the color of the skin. The skin turns scaly and starts leaving flakes as discreet areas of the skin begin to peel off. One of the most common areas of psoriasis lesions include the scalp and areas around the scalp, but it may also appear in many other places throughout the body. This is not a severe or life-threatening disease, but if patients do nothing about it, the compromised area will spread.
6. Folliculitis
Dermatitis is the inflammation of the skin, and folliculitis is the inflammation of the hair follicles. It often results from an infectious disease when opportunistic bacteria that normally live in the skin start infecting the insides of the hair follicle. After colonizing the area, an inflammatory reaction takes place as the body tries to defend itself. Thus, you will see reddened spots in the skin, and may even find acne-like lesions filled with pus. If you look closely, you will realize these spots have hairs right in the middle.
7. Liver disease
The liver performs many different functions in the body. One of them is creating new proteins, mainly the blood proteins albumin and many different clotting factors. Thus, patients with liver disease may start displaying hemorrhagic manifestations. Their bodies are not synthesizing enough clotting factors, and they have a very slow healing process. Even in the absence of wounds and sores, patients start displaying a hemorrhagic skin rash consisting of red spots and bruises that often appear spontaneously. Several infectious diseases may affect the liver and temporarily cause similar skin reactions.
8. Leukemia
One of the most concerning causes of skin rash in children and adults is leukemia. This is a type of blood cancer that causes an overproduction of white blood cells, which are liberated into the blood in an immature state. As the disease progresses, the excess white blood cells may also invade the bone marrow and halt the differentiation of platelets. In this stage of the disease, leukemia patients have different hemorrhagic features, including spontaneous bleeding and hemorrhagic skin rash similar to that described above. The incidence of spots and bruises in the skin and the reduction of platelet count in patients with leukemia are signs of bad prognosis.
C) Warning signs and symptoms of a dangerous skin rash
As you can see, there are mild and very severe causes of skin rash in adults. Thus, it is important to be aware of a few warning signs and symptoms of a dangerous skin rash in order to identify them early and talk to your doctor to receive treatment as soon as possible.
The most important warning signs are as follows:
- A skin rash that is very extensive: In infectious diseases, the skin rash can cover the majority of the skin. In children, chickenpox and other infectious diseases are not dangerous but should be attended by doctors in the case of adults.
- A skin rash that spreads rapidly: When the skin rash spreads in a few minutes or one or two hours, it may be caused by a severe allergic reaction, and needs to be addressed properly.
- A skin rash with signs of infection: If you started scratching and the skin rash is oozing with signs of infection, you might need to ask your doctor and get antibacterial creams to control the infection.
- Spontaneous bruises and bleeding: One of the most concerning types of skin rash in adults are those associated with spontaneous bruises, especially if you experience bleeding in your gums, blood in the stool, and other hemorrhagic manifestations.
- Skin rash associated with breathing problems: If you experience redness in your skin, itchy skin, and breathing problems, it may be caused by a food allergy. Do not hesitate and talk to your doctor to receive appropriate treatment.
- Skin rash associated with fever: If you have skin rash and fever, it is probably an infectious cause. Infectious causes of a rash in adults are sometimes dangerous. Another possibility is leukemia, so make sure you talk to your doctor as soon as possible.
Is there something you can do about leukemia skin rash?
If you’re suspecting leukemia as a cause of skin rash, be sure to talk about that possibility with your doctor. In many cases, hemorrhagic manifestations are transitory and may be due to infectious causes, and not leukemia. Your doctor might need to evaluate your body and your skin. He may also need to ask if you were recently traveling to another country. All of this data will be matched with your laboratory exams. They are fundamental to diagnose leukemia. If your blood tests are suspicious of leukemia, you might need additional studies to find out the type of leukemia and the progression of the disease.
In any case, there are many forms of leukemia, and some of them are not life-threatening. You have acute and chronic leukemia, and in some cases, patients diagnosed with this disease continue living a normal life and pass away for other reasons, not leukemia. Thus, follow the instructions by your doctor if you want to make sure the type of leukemia you have and whether or not you need to worry.
Remember that the sooner you diagnose leukemia, the better chance you have to recover and live a normal life thereafter. Thus, do not hesitate to talk about it and do not wait until your symptoms are severe.
References
Hiddemann, W. (2016). Handbook of acute leukemia. Springer International Publishing.
American Osteopathic Association. (2015, October 5). Adult rashes with fever call for emergency treatment, can signal life-threatening illness: Survival rates improve with aggressive, early treatment for these difficult to diagnose conditions. ScienceDaily.
Cripe, L. D., & Hinton, S. (2000). Acute myeloid leukemia in adults. Current treatment options in oncology, 1(1), 9-17.
Litzow, M. R. (2000). Acute lymphoblastic leukemia in adults. Current treatment options in oncology, 1(1), 19-29.