Signs It's Time to Seek Immediate Care for Your Rash

You brush up against some poison ivy or oak, and the next day, you’ll get red, itchy bumps on your skin. Or, your child wakes one morning, and there’s an inexplicable rash somewhere on their body.

Rashes are commonplace and it’s rare to find someone who hasn’t had at least one rash in their lives. Figuring out when to seek help for a rash can be tricky because many rashes disappear as quickly as they erupt, but there are some good rules of thumb.

When it comes to acute problems like rashes, the team of medical experts here at Michigan Avenue Primary Care has a deep well of experience and expertise. In the following, we share a little about what we’ve learned about when rashes can benefit from a higher standard of care.

The many roads to rashes

If we haven’t underscored this point enough, rashes are incredibly common. This is because rashes stem from a response in your body’s largest organ — your skin — which is designed to protect your body against foreign invaders and threats.

A rash is the outward sign of an immune response that your body launches to fight off the perceived threat, and these threats include:

• Insect bites
• Poison oak and poison ivy
• Allergies and contact dermatitis
• Eczema — a chronic skin condition that affects 1 in 10 people
• Psoriasis — an autoimmune disorder in which red skin patches develop
• Viral, bacterial, or fungal infections
• Certain medications

While it’s hard to choose one cause of rashes that stands out more than the others, allergies certainly account for more than their fair share. Nearly one in three adults in the United States and more than one in four kids have allergies, and some of the most common reactions to allergens include skin rashes.

Viral infections are fairly common and often lead to rashes, which tend to show up as sore throats (strep throat).

When to seek help for your rash

Now let’s see when a rash can benefit from immediate care at our urgent care center. Some characteristics of potentially problematic rashes include:

• Pain and open sores around the rash
• Difficulty sleeping because of itchy or uncomfortable rashes
• The rash is on your face
• The rash is spreading
• The trash persists for more than 2-3 days
• The rash breaks out after trying a new medication
• You have other symptoms that accompany the rash, such as joint pain

The best rule of thumb is to trust your instincts. If you or a loved one has a rash, it’s uncomfortable, and you’re concerned about it, it’s best to err on the side of caution and have us check it out. 

A rash is your body’s outward way of indicating a problem that it’s attempting to fight off and there are times when we need to lend your body a hand in its protective efforts.

To get to the bottom of your rash, and to get relief, please visit our urgent care center in Chicago, Illinois. You can contact us ahead of time to schedule a time or walk in during business hours — M-F, 8 am to 4 pm.