Red Blotches on Skin

Red blotches on the skin can be experienced anywhere on the body. Sometimes they might be limited to the facial skin, sometimes to the legs and sometimes they might affect the whole body. Some people may experience red blotches that itch and some may experience those that don't itch. As you can see, that the symptoms of this skin disorder vary, so do the conditions that cause it. There can be a host of conditions which can lead to development of red skin bumps. Given below is a list of some of the most commonly observed ones.

Causes

Allergy
Large red blotches can be caused due to an allergic reaction. Allergies can be caused due to a number of reasons such as by eating certain kinds of food or by wearing certain clothing items or by taking certain medicines, leading to itchy red blotches on the skin. Some people are even known to develop red blotches after drinking alcohol.

Weather Condition
If the weather is extremely cold and dry, some people can develop red skin blotches, particularly on the face. Due to the dry weather, the facial skin loses moisture, leading to reddening of skin on the face. In fact, development of red blotches after a shower is a very common problem experienced in cold, as sometimes people tend to take bath with extremely hot water to beat the cold, leading to dryness and reddening of skin.

Unhygienic Conditions
People who do not maintain hygiene i.e. wear spoiled clothes, do not take bath everyday or after undertaking a strenuous physical activity, are prone to developing big red blotches on the skin. The reason being that bacteria and viruses are more likely to manifest in body parts that are not cleaned properly, leading to red skin rashes.

Sun Damage
Red spots on skin can develop if the skin is exposed to the ultraviolet rays of the sun for a very long time. Red blotches due to the sun are sometimes accompanied by skin tenderness, swelling and pain.

Purpura
Purplish red blotches can be caused due to purpura. This condition occurs when there is leakage under the skin in the small blood vessels. Some of the causes behind this condition are weakened blood vessels, congenital rubella syndrome, vasculitis, intake of drugs which affect platelet function, meningococcemia, etc.

Rosacea
Red blotches on the skin, especially on the nose, forehead and cheeks, which are accompanied by small pus-filled bumps could be due to this skin condition. The causes behind rosacea have not yet been identified but it can definitely get flared due to a number of reasons such as eating spicy food, exposing the skin to sun, stress, taking hot baths, drinking alcohol and by taking medicines that affect the blood vessels.

Treatment

The treatment depends upon the condition which has caused it in the first place. So, if they have occurred due to an allergy, giving up the source of allergy such as the food item or cloth or drug which may have caused it, is the solution to get rid of this skin disorder. Some other measures that can be taken to get rid of red skin blotches are taking shower with lukewarm water, maintaining hygiene, taking bath everyday especially after undertaking any activity that has caused sweating, giving up on oily and spicy food, applying sunscreen with minimum SPF 30 before going out in the sun, keeping the skin well moisturized by drinking enough water and applying suitable moisturizing creams.

Most of the time, red blotches can be cured with a few preventive measures, however, sometimes they can be caused due to certain serious health conditions too. So, the affected person should get them thoroughly examined by a dermatologist and start treatment as soon as possible.