12 Skin Conditions You Should Know About

Red, itchy skin is a symptom of more than one health condition.

Is your skin red, itchy, inflamed, or painful?

These symptoms can indicate a host of skin conditions, including rosacea, dyshidrotic eczema, contact dermatitis, ringworm, impetigo, pityriasis rosea or rubra, actinic keratosis, tinea versicolor, cellulitis, and seborrhea.

Many skin conditions have no known cause, while others are due to such disparate causes as sun exposure or genetics. A few skin conditions, like ringworm and impetigo, are the result of your skin coming into contact with a microorganism, like a fungus or certain bacteria.

Jeffrey Weinberg, MD, a board-certified dermatologist and associate clinical professor of dermatology at Mount Sinai in New York City, says all of these skin conditions are treatable and generally not life-threatening. He adds that while a majority of skin conditions — at least those not related to an infection — are never completely cured, most can be managed.

Get the facts about 12 skin conditions you need to know about.

Ringworm

Ringworm, also known as “tinea” or “dermatophytosis,” has nothing to do with a worm. The “ring” part of its name comes from its ring-shaped rash that’s red and itchy, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Rather than a worm, though, it’s caused by a contagious fungal infection that lives on skin, surfaces, or items like towels, clothes, and bedding.

Symptoms, which include itchy, red, and cracked skin that’s sometimes accompanied by hair loss, typically appear between 4 and 14 days after coming into contact with the fungus, according to the CDC.

To diagnose ringworm, doctors may take a skin sample to view under a microscope, though they may also be able to diagnose just by looking at it, according to the Mayo Clinic. Once diagnosed, ringworm is treated with topical antifungal creams or ointments that are available over the counter or through a prescription. More severe cases may be treated with antifungal pills, notes the Mayo Clinic.

Rosacea

 

Can’t stop blushing? It could be rosacea, a chronic, long-lasting skin condition that affects roughly 14 million Americans, most often adults between the ages of 30 and 60, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The skin condition usually hits men harder, though women are 3 to 4 times more likely to develop rosacea than men. And it usually affects pale-skinned people, says Joyce Davis, MD, a board-certified dermatologist based in New York City.

Rosacea occurs when facial blood vessels become stimulated and dilate, Dr. Weinberg says, causing the skin to redden, blush, and flush easily. Other symptoms of rosacea include acne-like breakouts; red, thick, bumpy skin appearing on the face; and eye irritation and vision problems, according to the NIH.

While there seems to be a genetic component to rosacea, there are also some environmental factors that can trigger flare-ups, including the sun, hot weather, spicy foods, cigarette smoking, and alcohol, according to MedlinePlus.

There is no definitive test to diagnose rosacea, according to the Mayo Clinic. Your doctor will likely take all of your symptoms into account and rule out other skin conditions.

To treat it, you’ll likely need a combination of good skin-care practices and prescription drugs, such as topical drugs designed to reduce the redness, oral antibiotics to treat bumps and pimples, or an oral acne drug, according to the Mayo Clinic. Laser treatments are another option and may sometimes lessen the redness of rosacea. It’s not a dangerous skin condition, Weinberg says, “but cosmetically it can be problematic.”

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Eczema

 

Eczema, also known as dermatitis, is a general term for multiple conditions that cause inflamed, irritated, and itchy skin. A common type of eczema known as atopic dermatitis is a chronic skin condition that affects 10 to 20 percent of children in developed countries around the world, according to research, appearing before age 5 for the majority (90 percent) of those who have it. It may improve with age, however, says Lisa Anthony, MD, a dermatologist at Summit Health in Rye, New York.

Atopic eczema causes dry and itchy skin with raised, red, scaly patches and sometimes fluid-filled blisters, according to the Cleveland Clinic. The issues typically appear on the hands or “bending” parts of the body, such as the inside of the elbows and back of the knees.

According to a study, asthma, hay fever, and atopic eczema often occur together, partly because of certain immune-related genes. “These all tend to be allergic manifestations and tend to all run in families with allergic tendencies,” Dr. Davis says.

Because there are no definitive tests, skin examinations and medical history are often used to diagnose eczema, notes the Cleveland Clinic. Doctors approach treatment on a case-by-case basis. There’s no cure, so the goal is to reduce any discomfort and prevent flare-ups. That usually entails identifying and avoiding triggers, moisturizing frequently with fragrance-free products, and steroid creams or other creams. “Thicker ointments and creams will be more moisturizing than lotions,” Dr. Anthony says.

 

Contact Dermatitis

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Contact dermatitis is a form of eczema that presents as irritated skin after the skin comes in contact with something that triggers that reaction, according to the National Eczema Association (NEA). “Contact dermatitis is an allergic phenomenon,” Davis says. “It is something you came into contact with and irritates your skin, or an allergic dermatitis like poison ivy, which is not hereditary.”

She’s referring to the two types of contact dermatitis:

• Irritant contact dermatitis, which the NEA notes comprises 80 percent of contact dermatitis cases and occurs in response to the skin touching irritating materials, such as certain soaps or detergents, nickel jewelry or metal snaps, or makeup.
• Allergic contact dermatitis, which pops up on the skin several days after being exposed to an allergen, like poison ivy or latex

According to the NEA, contact dermatitis tends to be very itchy and may be accompanied by burning or blistering. Severe cases can seriously impact one’s life and make it difficult to sleep or concentrate at work or school.

The rash from contact dermatitis can be improved and controlled with removal or avoidance of the irritation’s source, and also topical or systemic medication, depending on the severity. Common treatments include anti-itch creams, steroid ointments, or oral and anti-itch medication like Benadryl, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Impetigo

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Impetigo is a bacterial infection that usually causes large blisters or crusted sores, per the Mayo Clinic. Typically traced to one of two bacteria — group A streptococcus or Staphylococcus aureus — impetigo is common among children and most often appears around the mouth and nose or on the arms and legs, according to the CDC. It is very itchy and very contagious.

Impetigo is opportunistic, Weinberg explains. It’s more apt to move in if the skin is already irritated or inflamed by insect bites or eczema, for example. This skin condition is treated with prescription antibiotic cream or lotion or, in severe cases, with a course of oral antibiotics, according to the Mayo Clinic.

 

Seborrheic Dermatitis

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Seborrheic dermatitis on the scalp is similar to dandruff — although the two conditions are different — and when it appears on a baby’s scalp, it’s called cradle cap, according to the Mayo Clinic. Also called scalp eczema, this condition usually involves crusty, scaly patches of skin on the scalp, and it generally occurs among people with thick, oily skin, Davis says.

But seborrheic dermatitis can also affect the face, chest, and other areas where there are a lot of oil glands. Seborrhea, says Weinberg, makes the skin look flaky and greasy, and is a cousin of psoriasis. “It’s an allergic response to fungus that lives on skin,” he explains.

Some simple lifestyle changes could treat the condition, such as washing the scalp with dandruff shampoo that contains selenium, salicylic acid, zinc pyrithione, or coal tar, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Or, for more long-term issues, your doctor may prescribe an antifungal shampoo.