What You Should Do When You Find a Rash on Your Child

Whether it’s bumps, blotches, or loops, having a child present with a rash can be scary! But, don’t panic; rashes are common in children. What should you do when you find a rash on your child?

Monitor the Rash

Paying attention to the rash seems obvious, but your tech tools will help. If a rash is a wide spread one, such as on their torso or legs, taking pictures of what area of their body is covered can help you to see whether the area is spreading. For large, raised bumps or ringed areas, circle with a ballpoint pen mark before photographing. This helps know if bumps are getting larger or moving, both important for physicians. Keep these photos stored in your cloud, in case the bumps reappear months in the future, or diagnosis is complicated.

Take Them to the Doctor

Most rashes, hives, and etc clear up on their own with no intervention, but it can still be important to know what they are. Take your child to their primary physician, and explain the rash, when it appeared, and how long it’s been on the child’s body. This can include your photos for reference if necessary. Some rashes appear and disappear randomly, and some can be from viral, bacterial, or allergy related sources. Sometimes rashes are caused by atopic dermatitis, which is none of the above, and not dangerous, but frustrating. More severe skin conditions like atopic dermatitis can last into adulthood.

Know More Severe Signs

Some rashes come with more severe signs and symptoms, and those should be monitored by a doctor and documented by you. Viral rashes often have small, pink bumps, and can come with diarrhea, nausea or vomiting. Bacterial rashes, such as Lyme disease, also come with high fevers and other flu-like symptoms. Allergy rashes, such as hives, can present with large blotches, depending on if the allergic reaction is topical or internal. Having Benadryl in your medicine cabinet for allergic reactions is always important.

You know your own child best, and you know what is normal for their body. Many childhood rashes are just normal occurrences. Only few are signs of bigger issues, and many of those have vaccines. If they do get bumps, though, it’s far better to check with medical professionals to make sure it’s a normal childhood rash than to be concerned later.

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