Rashes are a common reason that parents bring their children to their pediatrician.
Unfortunately, it isn't always easy to know what is causing these rashes or how to treat them.
Basic Treatments for Rashes
Not surprisingly, parents often follow the simple advice that medical students learn as a "pearl" in medical school, which is that:
- if a rash is dry, make it wet
- if a rash is wet, dry it out
- and if nothing else is working, put a steroid on it
Although these treatments sometimes work, it is more likely because many rashes are temporary and go away on their own, instead of your treatment actually working. For example, the ringworm rashes often appear dry, but a moisturizer (making it wet) won't make it go away. And neither will a steroid.
Better Treatments for Rashes
Treatments for rashes work much better when you actually know what is causing the rash. These treatments might include a moisturizer for dry skin, steroid for eczema, antifungal cream for ringworm, or anti-itch medications for chicken pox, etc.
Other common, and some not so common rashes that kids get include:
- Acanthosis nigricans
- Acne
- Acrodermatitis
- Baby Acne
- Cafe-au-lait spots
- Chiggers
- Cradle Cap
- Diaper Rashes
- Fifth Disease
- Folliculitis
- Heat Rash
- Hives
- Impetigo
- Keratosis Pilaris
- Molluscum contagiosum
- Nummular eczema
- Pityriasis alba
- Pityriasis rosea
- Pityriasis rubra
- Poison Ivy
- Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever
- Roseola
- Scabies
- Scarlet Fever
- Tinea versicolor
- Warts
