Measles or Something Else? How to Tell Common Childhood Rashes Apart

How to Recognize Common Childhood Rashes Without Panicking

Your child develops a rash, and the first thing that goes through your mind is, "Does my kid have measles? What about chickenpox? Is this a bad rash? What can I give them to make this go away faster?"

Well, kids get a lot of different types of rashes, but many can quickly be identified by your child's pediatrician with just an exam.

Measles

Measles is one rash on everyone's mind right now. The rash shows up after a period of specific upper respiratory infection symptoms, the red watery eyes, Koplik spots, which are the white spots on the inside of their cheeks, high fevers, and the kids look miserable. And usually, it's in someone who is not vaccinated. The rash shows up on the face or neck and spreads down to the rest of the body.

The kids are contagious while they have the upper respiratory symptoms through four days after the rash shows up. And there's no good treatment, but measles can cause issues with the immune system, blindness, and even death.

Chickenpox

Chickenpox is another one that we don't see much because of the vaccine, but it's the classic dew drop on a rose petal rash, with how the blisters look on the red base of the rash. Those blisters are super itchy, and it starts mainly on the trunk and then spread to the arms, legs, and face. Kids often look miserable with a fever and fatigue before the rash shows up, but it clears up on its own. It can take over a week, though, and the kids are super contagious when they have the rash.

Parvovirus

Parvovirus is one that has a classic appearance of someone having had their cheeks slapped until they're bright red and a lacy appearing rash on the insides of their elbows that can then spread to the rest of the body. It can be itchy, but often there are no other symptoms. It's contagious, and it's harmful to unborn babies if the mom is in her second trimester. So if a child with parvovirus is around any pregnant woman, that woman needs to let her OB know. There's also a concern for anyone with a compromised immune system, like a transplant patient.

The rash clears up in about 10 days, but can come and go for up to three weeks. It's usually seen in the spring, but we're finding that seasonality isn't a thing with many viruses anymore. They just show up whenever. This is a virus, so there's no treatment available.

Scarlet Fever

Scarlet fever is one that many people get a lot of anxiety over because it can cause heart or kidney issues, but the good thing is that scarlet fever is basically strep throat with a rash. Kids have a bright red rash on the body, and the rash feels like sandpaper, and they also have strep throat symptoms. It's easily treated with antibiotics because it's strep.

Roseola

Roseola is a classic one that we see in toddlers all the time. The classic presentation is the fever that rashes. Kids have a high fever with few other symptoms, and then the fever breaks, and they develop a widespread rash on their bodies. It's hard to diagnose before the rash shows up, and the rash doesn't really bother the kids, but it looks scary. It goes away on its own in about five days. No treatments make it go away faster because, again, it's a virus.

Adenovirus

Adenovirus is common year-round, and it's a viral rash too. Oftentimes, kids will come in with cold symptoms or gastroenteritis symptoms, and they have a rash. That's adenovirus. Treatment is supportive for the other symptoms. The rash just happens to be one way that it shows up on the body.

Coxsackievirus

Finally, one last rash that we've been seeing a lot in the past few years is Coxsackievirus, otherwise known as hand-foot-mouth disease. It should be called hand-foot-butt-mouth disease, because those are the areas of the body that the rash shows up on. It's the red spots on the palms, soles, butt, and mouth area that can be painful. It can take 10 days or so for that virus to fully run its course, and the main treatment is supportive care with pain and fever reducers and hydration.

What You Can Do at Home and When to Call Your Pediatrician

So if your child has an unusual rash, it's best to call your child's pediatrician. You might be asked to have a virtual visit where your child can be seen by their pediatrician, and you and the pediatrician can discuss what is causing their rash without your child having to come into the office. It's all done over the computers.

We like doing it this way because we really want to help you get answers and help for your child, but if they are contagious, we don't want to expose others who are more vulnerable to those diseases.