Reader's Digest

126 | July• 2018

WHAT’S THAT RASH?

Hives

WHAT IT’S LIKEHives are itchy

raised welts that often have a red ring

around them. They disappear after

aboutadayonlytoshowuplaterina

diferent location. hey come in two

forms: acute which lasts six weeks or

less and chronic.

WHAT CAUSES ITHivesareoftenthe

result of the body releasing histamine

as part of an allergic reaction to drugs

food or some other irritant. hey can

alsoappearafteraviralillnessasa

side effect of your immune system

revvinguptobattlethedisease.

“There are a number of potential

triggers” says dermatologist Katie

Beleznay.Inmostcasessheaddsthe

speciic origin is never determined.

HOW TO TREAT ITOver-the-coun-

terantihistaminesaretheirstline

of defence. If that doesn’t work ask

adoctorifyoushoulduseastronger

antihistamine or oral prednisone an

anti-inlammatory medication.

POSSIBLE RED FLAGRarely peo-

plesufferfromongoingoutbreaks

ofhivesalmostdailyforsixweeksor

more a condition called chronic idi-

opathicurticaria(CIU).Itstreatment

isthesameasforregularhivesbut

insomecasesitcanalsobea sign of

thyroid disease or cancer.

Eczema

WHAT IT’S LIKEEczema presents

as patches of red scaly skin that

are extremely itchy especially at

Psoriasis

WHAT IT’S LIKEPsoriasis consists of
red scaly plaques that can be itchy and
painful. It is often found on the scalp
as well as the outside of the elbows
andkneesandusuallystartsbe-
tweenagetenand30.“It’sastubborn
disease so people have it their whole
lives”saysdermatologistPaulCohen.
WHAT CAUSES ITThis rash is the
resultoftheimmunesystemattack-
ing the skin’s cells and creating new
onestooquicklywhichthenbuildup
intotheplaques.here’snoonesin-
glecausebuttheconditionrunsin
families. Stress obesity smoking and
having many infections (particularly
strepthroat)increaseyourrisk.
HOWTOTREATITThe first step
is topical steroids used for a week
ortwoatatime.Forongoingtreat-
mentpeopleuseasyntheticform
ofvitaminDmedicatedshampoos
andretinoids.Exposuretosunlight
also helps as does moisturising well.
More serious cases can use oral med-
ications that suppress the immune
system and phototherapy done in a
doctor’ssurgerywithaspeciallight.
POSSIBLE RED FLAGSerious cases
can involve the joints a condition
calledpsoriaticarthritis.Alsopsori-
asis increases your chances of having
some other diseases including type
2 diabetes cardiovascular disease
andautoimmuneconditionssuchas
Crohn’sdisase–allofwhicharelike
psoriasis linked to inlammation.