What are red spots on the skin?

The skin contains a myriad of bumps, dips, valleys, and even colors, most of which have their own story to tell. But once in a while, you notice some red spots that seem to persist and spread throughout the body. Is this a cause for alarm or just one of those normal skin occurrences? What are red spots on the skin? What do they mean?

Red spots may be caused by:

Red spots on the skin may occur for a number of reasons: an allergic reaction, an insect bite, an illness or abnormal condition, a physical injury, etc. The first thing to do is to assess those red spots: Is it big or small? Flat or raised? Painful when touched? Is it concentrated on one area of the body or spread all over? Is it itchy? When did you first notice it? What did you last eat or drink prior to noticing them? Are there any other symptoms that you feel like fever, trouble breathing, etc? These questions will help determine the cause of those red spots on the skin.

Most red spots are basically harmless. They are often due to changes in weather, a slight allergic reaction to something eaten or touched, and a slight physical injury or trauma to the area, such as pinching. They will often persist for a few more days then just disappear. They may be itchy but not usually painful, usually round and small.

However, when these small red spots on the skin cause a lot of pain or accompanied by high fever and the inability to breathe properly, then this may be a sign of a more serious condition. Severe allergic reactions may cause red spots to occur together with difficulty breathing. This needs immediate medical attention. When it is painful, with scaling, and blisters form in its vicinity, there may be a fungal or bacterial infection. This would need some topical antifungal or antibacterial ointments as treatment.

Another serious condition that includes small red spots on the skin as a main symptom is dengue fever. Dengue fever is a viral infection that brings down the number of platelets in the body. Platelets are a blood component responsible for clotting. Low levels of this may cause bleeding and fragile veins. The red spots seen on the skin are a result of this. Treatment for this condition is giving of platelet components to boost the body’s supply.

Chicken pox is also another condition that may start as having small red spots on the skin. This condition is quite contagious although not as life threatening as dengue. Treatment for chicken pox is to wait it out, and ease the discomfort that the rashes give by warm compresses and calamine lotion.

It is a good practice to be aware of what you see on your skin, such as the appearance of red spots. Although usually harmless, it is always best to know what are the red spots on the skin and how it came about to be able to give the proper treatment.