Red itchy bumps

What should you know about red and itchy bumps all over the skin?

Having numerous, red, protuberant, small and sometimes extremely itchy bumps spread out all over the skin is a very frequent skin problem. Unfortunately, there isn't just one cause. Red, itchy, and small bumps on the skin can be associated with a lot of the possible causes and medical conditions, and can serve as very general and common indicator of "some underlying health problem".

However, we can be emphasize that the appearance of these red and itchy blemishes is most commonly skin rashes caused by some sort of allergic response.

The most common causes of red, itchy, bumps on the skin

In the case of an allergic reaction or an environmental irritation, the symptom of little red formations that cover the skin is as frequent and prominent as sneezing, and it is the result of the auto-immune reaction the body kicks into in response to some environmental provocation. Pollen or common domestic dust are two examples.

Nevertheless, an allergic response that causes little red and itchy skin bumps is also often triggered by the sting or the bite of some insect or other critter. Besides the itchy bumps, some more severe, and in extreme cases even life-threatening symptoms, can appear in case of venomous insect or bug bites or stings. But, even when the reaction to an encounter with a bug is fairly mild, along with the sting or bute, insects can inject toxins that trigger a localized irritation and the response of the organism that usually results in the described bumps.

However, consider that red, raised, and itchy skin bumps can also be indicators of an infectious disease. A diagnosis of measles is accompanied by this kind of skin lesion as well, to name one example. This condition is caused by the measles virus, and it is a rather acute and progressive disease, especially when the bumps themselves are observed. The really itchy protuberant spots quickly extend from the facial skin to the rest of the body.

The skin bumps that result from each infectious disease look slightly different, and a case of chickenpox will also lead to characteristic itchy bumps. In the first stages, they resemble the blemishes from insect stings, but, in the advanced stages, scabs cover them. Shingles, caused by the same virus as chickenpox, can likewise lead to red and itchy (but also painful) spots on the skin. 

Other conditions, like chronic skin diseases like dermatitis herpetiformis, can cause red spots as well (in that case, the bumps contain pus).

How are itchy and red skin bumps treated?

When it comes to the treatment of red and itchy bumps on ths kin, the most efficient treatment would be one that relieves the underlying cause. That could mean anything from removing an allergen from your life, receiving treatment for an insect bite, being prescribed corticosteroids, or giving your body time to clear a viral infection out.

Because red and itchy spots on the skin have so many different potential causes, it is essential to seek medical attention whenever skin bumps are accompanied by worrisome symptoms like pain or fever, or you have such spots for a long time and there is no sign that they will resolve on their own.

Of course, it is important to maintain good hygiene as you have these little skin lesions, so that further bacteria don't get a chance to make an already unpleasant situation much worse by causing a secondary infection.