Causes of painful rash

There are many different forms of rashes that can occur anywhere on the body and they can take a whole array of different character looks and symptoms. More often than not a rash will be red, with white or/and pink bumps, which don’t look pleasant and can be rather itchy for the host. However, most rashes do not and should not cause you any pain. If you do experience pain with the rash then it is advisable to seek medical care.

Painful Rash - Shingles

Most of the time, if you are experiencing pain on or around the site of the rash it is normal due to excessive scratching which has then traumatized that particular area. If it is found that scratching is the cause of the pain, the only remedy is to stop scratching and obviously get to the bottom of the reason for the rash in the first place. Shingles can be a cause for having a painful rash, it is also known as Herpes zoster and its origin is a virus named Varicella zoster. This virus is also responsible for the chickenpox. Most of the time shingles will only affect an individual who has had the chickenpox in the past because even when you are treated for the chickenpox, the virus never vacates the body, rather just laying low in the nerve tissues. The virus can come back to life if the host has a disease, an illness, is stressed out or has a weak immune system thus causing shingles. This can be detected through noticing such symptoms as itching, burning and/or a tingling sensation which is followed by a pain at the site of the skin rash. This rash will proceed to burst open and heal, once the skin has opened it can then become contagious to others. This process lasts from the start till the end around three weeks.

Painful Rash - Postherpetic neuralgia

When someone feels the pain, it is known as postherpetic neuralgia or PHN for short. The pain strength is different for each case, for someone who has acute herpetic neuralgia the pain is noticeable straight away as soon as the rash is visible and can be there for one month. If someone has sub-acute herpetic neuralgia the pain can be present for three months.

Treatment for Rash Pain

Most of the time, the doctor will prescribe an anti-viral drug if shingles are detected. Sometimes you may be prescribed an analgesic drug or even steroids to help manage the condition.