Red Spots Explained: Causes, Symptoms, And Treatments

Red spots on the skin are quite common and they often occur almost anywhere on your body like your neck, chest, the topmost part of your back, and face due to various health issues, including allergies (per Healthline). Conditions as mild as heat rashes — caused by extended exposure to heat — may bring about spots on your skin and the problem may go away after a short period without you seeking medical intervention, states the National Health Service. However, more serious infections (meningitis, rubella, and chickenpox, for instance) may also cause red pimples along with other severe symptoms that may threaten your health if you don't receive treatment (via Medical News Today).

Blau syndrome — a rare health condition that features red skin spots along with uvea (the centermost layer of your eye) inflammation and arthritis symptoms — may also be the reason you're observing red dots on your skin (per the Genetic and Rare Diseases Information Center). And without the proper understanding of the illness, how to differentiate it from other conditions that cause red skin spots, other symptoms to look out for to narrow down to the most likely health problem (if you don't have Blau syndrome), reliable treatment options, and when to seek immediate medical attention for serious cases, it's easy to lose money, time and effort on the wrong things.

That's why we're providing you with the information you need on red spots to help you know how best to handle them.

Different health conditions bring about red spots that vary in shape, size, texture, and redness. For example, in allergic reactions, there are times when clear fluid may get into the spots, and other times, they may look crusty. When the reactions become severe, it's not a surprise to have blisters or swelling, reports Allure. In keratosis pilaris — where keratin (a protein that forms part of your skin, nails, and hair) remains in your hair follicles' perforations, the red posts that form are usually coarse-textured and bumpy. 

And when it comes to eczema, which is also referred to as atopic dermatitis, the look and feel of the red spots are completely different from those in keratosis pilaris and allergic reactions. Speaking in an interview with Allure, Dr. Andrea Suarez, a board-certified dermatologist based in Texas said, "Atopic dermatitis appears as red patches or spots of inflamed skin, though in deeper skin tones, the affected areas may have more of a purple to gray hue."

Health Grades also adds that a bacterial infection called strep throat may lead to scarlet fever that features patchy red rashes which initially begins as flat but later on grow to become bumpy, with the texture that resembles sandpaper. In the case of vasculitis — where you get inflamed blood vessel walls, you may get spots that look like those of scarlet fever. Sometimes, the spots may present themselves as red purplish lumps due to the pooled blood below your skin.

Viral infections such as measles, roseola, mumps, chickenpox, and rubella may also get your body covered with red pimples (per Health Grades). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that, in measles, a rash is among the initial symptoms. Red spots start forming around your hairline and then they trickle down to your neck, arm, and even legs. Tiny elevated bumps may come up on the red spots and the spots may eventually connect to form widespread redness all over your body. With roseola, it begins with a fever — although not always — and as the fever begins dying away, you notice several flat red spots on your chest, stomach, and back — and afterward, your face, arms, neck, and legs (via the Mayo Clinic).

The Cleveland Clinic explains that mumps bring about swelling on each side of your face, where the parotid glands (glands that help with saliva production) are located. Chickenpox covers your whole body with itchy red spots that contain fluids, and that, at times, look like blisters. There are essentially three stages with chickenpox: An increase in red-pinkish elevated bumps on your skin, the formation of blisters that, later on, rupture and leak out the fluid in the blisters, and then the formation of scabs and crusts on top of the blisters (per another article on the Mayo Clinic).

Blau syndrome — a disorder that's highlighted by inflammation in different body parts including eyes, joints, skin, liver, brain, heart, blood vessels, spleen, lungs, and lymph nodes, which causes rashes on the skin — often brings about fevers, nerve issues and high pressure in your lungs' blood vessels as well as the heart's. And while the manifestation of the symptoms differs with every individual, they keep evolving as the condition advances. In the initial stages, a rash may be visible on your legs, torso, and arms and it may be firm, or dry and flaky. From there, joint problems and eye disease follow. Other common symptoms include reduced joint movements, joint pain, inflammation in the cornea, and darkening and uneven color of your skin (per Medical News Today).

In the case of rosacea, you may observe facial redness that may stay for long and resemble sunburn. Moreover, some tiny but very firm red bumps containing pus may appear. You may also get a burning sensation. Plus, you may start seeing tiny blood vessels on your skin (via the Cleveland Clinic). The Mayo Clinic mentions that, in measles, the red spots may come together with a runny nose, eye inflammation, dry cough, fever, sore throat, and small spots that appear whitish — whose middle part appear bluish on the inner side of your cheek. According to Drugs.com, common symptoms that get dragged along with rashes are swelling in the lymph nodes and fever. In anaphylaxis — a dangerous type of allergic reaction, the visible symptoms may be unconsciousness, vomiting, confusion, hives, breathing problems, low blood pressure, and cramps.

Red spots are easily treatable through medication and skin care products. For instance, you can tone down the negative effects of eczema through moisturizers made of mineral oils, glycerin, and ceramides. The moisturizers shouldn't have any fragrances. Over-the-counter (OTC) creams such as Neosporin Eczema, Dermarest Eczema, and Cortizone-10 that have hydrocortisone — a common ingredient known to handle rashes, eczema, allergies, and dermatitis — may also come in handy for the eczema symptoms you may be having. 

In extreme cases, the go-to medication may be cortisone shots and pills, or prescription-strength cortisone creams. In lichen planus (a skin problem characterized by flat, gleaming bumps with a purple and red color combination), antihistamines like diphenhydramine, can help stop the itching. Moreover, prednisone and steroid shots that regulate your immune system may be part of your treatment if the condition intensifies (per WebMD).

While medication generally helps to deal with red spots, there are certain types of medical drugs that may also induce rashes, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. The type of rashes that result from your body reacting to the medication you're taking is popularly referred to as drug rashes, and they may affect you mildly or severely in one of three ways: By heightening your responsiveness to sunlight, inducing allergic reactions, or bringing nasty side effects after taking the medication. 

Common types of rashes that spring from medication include hives (which come from taking penicillins, aspirin, and various medicine dyes), acne (which come from taking corticosteroids, iodides, and bromides), Stevens-Johnson syndrome (which come from penicillins, sulfa, and barbiturates), and exfoliative dermatitis (which come from penicillins, sulfa, phenytoin, and isoniazid).

Per Health Grades, the long-term implications of various conditions that cause red skin spots are mostly easy to manage. However, in some cases, life-threatening effects may also come about. Eczema doesn't have a cure but the negative effects it brings can be easily tamed. For most people, the condition appears and disappears over their lifespan. When you get bitten or stung by insects and get skin spots, you need not worry as these don't have long-term effects. They only bring about a bit of swelling and discomfort that goes away with time. In scarlet fever, many people don't suffer extended effects. Nonetheless, if they do come, they can be as fatal as getting rheumatic fever (an inflammatory condition that springs from untreated scarlet fever or strep throat) and kidney injury. The good thing is, antibiotics can make the negative effects less likely to occur.

For viral infections including chickenpox and measles, some of the known complications are meningitis, pneumonia, and birth defects. Vaccination is the best prevention against viral infections despite the ability to recuperate after you get it. The most likely complications you may face with cutaneous vasculitis are often dependent on the reasons why you got the condition in the first place. In some cases, extreme complications like having your organs destroyed, losing your eyesight, and blood clots may occur (via the Mayo Clinic). Also, your doctor may require you to have medication throughout your lifetime to manage it (via Health Grades).