Circular red rash

A circular red rash on someone’s skin can be caused by numerous different medical conditions. Depending to the cause, we can broadly differentiate two distinctive types of skin rashes — those rashes which appear because of an allergic reaction on the skin, and skin rashes associated with infections caused by certain microorganisms.

What do you need to know about circular skin rashes?

Skin Rash Caused by Allergic Reactions

People allergic to certain plants or animals frequently report circular red rashes on the skin, accompanied by a significant amount of discomfort, itching, and pain. The cause of this allergic reaction on the skin may be contact with animals that secrete poisons or are abrasive to human skin. In some patients, contact with poison ivy, giant hogweed, or some other plant they are allergic to, may also cause prominent circular rash and plenty of pain.

Some inherited disorders, allergies and different medical conditions such as eczema may also cause a circular skin rash and these can be resolved with anti-eczema lotions that frequently contain corticosteroids.

Be causes about washing a circular rash suspected to be caused by an allergic reaction, because the allergen may spread further and affect larger portions of the skin. If you notice similar symptoms, always ask your doctor what to do. OTC (over the counter) remedies and relief creams might be a temporary fix for this problem, so ask your pharmacist or your doctor what cream you should use.

Infection-Provoked Circular Skin Rash

People suffering from a circular red skin rash caused by an infection often report this problem as more painful and serious than do those with a mildly allergic skin rash. Skin rash as a result of an infection may be caused by diabetes, ringworm or even by Lyme disease, among other things.

Diabetes is a disorder known to cause problems with blood vessels and many other tissues and organs in the body. Diabetic dermopathy is characterized by changes in the skin near damaged blood vessels due to diabetes. This rash often affects the legs of diabetic patients and it can turn a brown or darker color. This condition is completely pain free and does not require any treatment.

Ringworm infection is also one of possible explanations for a circular red rash on your skin. Ringworm isn't actually a worm, but rather a fungal infection of the skin, and it can be sorted out with some mild anti-fungal creams which you can buy from your pharmacy over the counter.

Lyme disease is a disease transferred to humans through the bites of ticks infected with Borrelia burgdorferi. These bites transfer the bacterium into the human skin and may cause a circular red rash often referred to as a bullseye rash, because this skin rash vaguely resembles a target sign.

Symptoms of Lyme disease may be neglected or misinterpreted as flu, since they are very alike. Patients may experience tiredness, fever, joint pain, muscle stiffness and some other flu-like symptoms. However, a characteristic circular red rash located on the chest, arms, legs or anywhere else on the skin usually indicates Lyme disease. If you know you have been bitten by a tick and you see this ras, seek medical attention and ask for testing.