Tag Archives: health conditions

25 Potential Causes of a Rash (Part 2)

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We were exploring some of the potential underlying medical causes of unexplained rashes in our last post. Here are 15 more conditions that can cause a rash:

  1. Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis can cause symptoms such as unexplained pain, fever and rash in children. If your child has persistent fevers and skin problems accompanied with swelling or abnormal pain, have him or her checked out soon.
  2. Hookworm infection can cause visible symptoms as well as internal ones. The rash that often accompanies a hookworm infection is a long, spindly line rash that may also have some spots appearing with it.
  3. Sexually transmitted disease – Many different types of STDs can cause different types of rashes and other skin issues such as warts, boils or welts. Some STDs like gonorrhea often cause rashes.
  4. Kawasaki disease causes the blood vessels to become enflamed which can lead to a bright red tongue, a rash on the body (sometimes around the genital area) as well as red lips and swelling of the lymph nodes.
  5. Addison’s disease can cause darkening of the skin and a rash-like appearance.
  6. Mononucleosis can cause a spotty, bright red rash all over the body or on select parts of it.
  7. Measles is a highly infectious virus that can cause a high fever, cough and rash all over the body as well as inside the mouth.
  8. Phenylketonuria is an inherited disorder caused by a build up of amino acids in the blood. It can cause a light red patchy rash, especially on the face. It can also cause such serious symptoms as seizures and delayed mental development if it isn’t treated in a timely manner.
  9. Eczema (dermatitis) causes patches of skin to become inflamed, itchy, dry, red and cracked. This can appear rash-like.
  10. Heat rash is a result of the sweat ducts become blocked and don’t allow the sweat to reach the skin’s surface, causing inflammation. It causes small red bumps to form on the skin which may progress to blisters if the heat rash is severe.
  11. Rubella, also known as the German measles, is a virus that causes a fine red rash to form over the body accompanied by fever and other problematic symptoms.
  12. Scabies is an infestation of tiny mites called sarcoptes scabiei that burrow into the outer layers of the skin, causing skin inflammation and an intensely itchy hive-like rash.
  13. Psoriasis is an autoimmune skin condition that starts as patches of red bumps which often morph into scaly red skin plaques. These plaques often happen on the elbows, knees, back or trunk but can happen anywhere on the body including the face or genitals.
  14. Rosacea is a common skin condition that causes inflammatory red facial flushing and acne-like bumps.
  15. Rocky Mountain spotted fever is a condition caused by a tickborne bacteria that can potentially be fatal to humans. It can cause such symptoms as severe headache, fever, vomiting and a red rash that can span the body.

There we have 25 potential causes of a skin rash! Thanks for visiting DocChat, our board-certified doctors are standing by 24/7/365 if to answer any medical concerns you may have!

 

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10 Habits to Kick for Your Health (Part 1)

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We all have little habits and coping mechanisms that probably aren’t ideal, but it turns out that some of them are actually hazardous to your health. Let’s take a look at a few you should really try to kick if you’re concerned about bettering your health:

  1. Smoking makes every list of bad habits out there, but it is so hard on your body that we simply couldn’t exclude it from ours. Smoking causes over 6 million deaths annually and directly contributes to numerous life-threatening conditions like heart disease, cancer and COPD. Also, each time you put a cigarette to your lips, you’re ingesting over 7000 potentially harmful chemicals!
  2. Nail biting or picking – Some may think of biting your nails as a relatively harmless habit, but it actually can have several adverse effects on your health. The habit may leave you with disfigured nails, damage to your teeth and gums, skin or intestinal infections, and even psychological issues (it is a behavior that has been linked with obsessive compulsive disorder). Because of all the germs your hands come in contact with daily, nail biting also increases your chances of picking up a cold or flu or other type of highly contagious infection (such as impetigo). Eww! Time to quit this one? We think so.
  3. Partying like its always your birthday – the occasional social drink shouldn’t pose any risks to your health (unless you’re on certain medications), but if you partake in binge drinking regularly, you are opening the flood gates for many dangers to your well-being. Some of which include: depression, cirrhosis of the liver, neurological damage, gastrointestinal disorders, cancer or death by alcohol poisoning. So, if you’re a heavy drinker, get your drinking under control today before it starts controlling your health.
  4. Too much screen time – Excess screen time, whether it’s Netflix or social media binge, can be bad for your mental and physical health and social life. Being sedentary for large parts of the day without a break is never good news for your overall health. And many studies also illustrate a strong correlation between excess social media use and depression and anxiety, especially in young people.
  5. Your sugar addiction – We all love a sweet treat – but are your treats becoming more routine than occasional? You may be hooked on the sweet stuff. Eating too much sugar can directly contribute to obesity, type 2 diabetes, metabolic dysfunction (including high blood pressure and cholesterol). Too much sugar will leave destruction in its wake over time, so try to cut down today.
  6. Abnormal sleeping habits – the National Sleep Foundation recommends 7-9 hours of sleep nightly for adults 18-65 and 7-8 hours for those over 65. Are you getting as much sleep as you should be getting each night? If not, you should recheck your sleeping habits. Perpetually depriving yourself of sleep because of work or social reasons can actually induce insomnia and misalign your body’s natural circadian rhythm. Long-term, this can help contribute to many health issues such as depression, high blood pressure or metabolic disorders. Always going to sleep at strange hours can also wreak havoc on your body and mind.

Stay tuned for Part 2 coming up soon! Thanks for visiting DocChat.

 

 

The Skinny on Sciatica

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Sciatica (or sciatica-like) pain affects millions of Americans. It is often misunderstood, so we wanted to take a look at the facts:

  • Sciatica is not an official “condition”, but rather a term that describes a collection of symptoms related to irritation or inflammation of the sciatic nerve.
  • The medical term for sciatica is lumbar radiculopathy.
  • Sciatica doesn’t present the same way in everyone. Many people have different symptoms and different degrees of pain (mildly irritating to severely debilitating). For example, when the L5 vertebrae is pinched, the sufferer will often feel numbness of the foot.
  • Common symptoms include: a sensation of burning or tingling in the leg or hip, weakness and a harsh, continuous pain on one side of the lower body.
  • Conditions that may lead to sciatica include: spinal problems such as stenosis, an abnormal gait, spondylolisthesis, tumors, herniated discs, pressure from pregnancy or excess weight, or nerve trauma or injury.
  • The sciatic nerves are the longest in the body spanning from the lower back all the way down to the bottom of the leg on each side.
  • Sciatica can be difficult to diagnose. Sometimes other back problems such as sacroiliac joint pain is misdiagnosed as sciatica because they have similar symptoms. Proper diagnosis is difficult, but essential for effective treatment.
  • Sciatica is best treated non-invasively and not usually with too many medications until physiotherapy or another type of therapy is tried first. Surgery is necessary in some cases when severe sciatica is definitively identified and cannot be helped by other approaches.
  • Regular exercise and a healthy diet may help decrease your chances of developing problems with your sciatic nerve as a healthy lifestyle promotes better overall health.
  • If you’re not in too much pain, exercise can actually help ease the discomfort of sciatica pain in the short term. A sedentary life can contribute to back problems.
  • While it is most often caused by a problem with the discs, sciatica can also be non-structural or idiopathic by nature. Sometimes psychoemotional factors come into play during the healing process.

That concludes our look at sciatica. Thanks for visiting DocChat! Remember, our board-certified doctors are standing by 24/7/365 with any medical concerns you may have!