Skin Rash Diagnosis
Physicians often face difficulty in diagnosing a skin rash of generalized condition as a lot of varied conditions lead to the development of similar skin conditions like bumpy and irritated skin. A single medical condition can often result in several different skin rashes with varied appearances. An accurate and rapid diagnosis is critically crucial to take decisions concerning the treatment of the person. Particularly in the case of higher mortality or significant morbidity patients, there is a need of prompt intervention. It is equally important to get an inclusive differential diagnosis when a certain diagnosis is not rapidly apparent to plan a diagnostic strategy and initial treatment. [6]
The first part of the diagnosis for a skin rash involves the evaluation of skin by marking off the tables listing all the rare, common, and uncommon causes of generalized skin rash to help achieve an inclusive differential diagnosis. The tables explain the primary clinical features and suggest tests to accurately diagnose skin rashes. If the diagnosis of skin rashes remains unclear, the primary care physician then decides whether to observe and treat the patient empirically or to perform further diagnostic testing. Sometimes, the doctors refer a patient with skin rashes to a skin specialist or dermatologist to get a more accurate diagnosis.
The decision of doing what kind of diagnostic testing depends on the possibility of the patient’s health condition and occurrence of a serious disorder. Generalized skin rashes are the most commonly occurring conditions among a majority of the people by primary care doctors and one of the most frequent reason of new patients to visit the dermatologists. Some diagnostic errors are common involving the skin rashes of generalized nature. However, an accurate diagnosis for skin rashes is also important as the course of the treatment varies depending on the cause and etiology of skin rashes.
As some rashes can be dangerous if we do not treat them immediately so a better diagnosis can help in properly treating the skin rashes. There are different ways to diagnose a skin rash and the type of test a person gets will depend on his medical history and symptoms. The healthcare provider will order one of the following tests for diagnosing skin rashes:
Skin patch test
A healthcare provider will place small patches on a person’s skin for diagnosing skin rashes. The skin patches look like adhesive bands and they contain small amounts of particular allergens. The patient wears the skin patches for almost 48 to 96 hours and then come back to the doctor’s office. The doctor will remove the patches from the skin and check for skin rashes or other reactions. However, there is no specific test for the diagnosis of irritant contact dermatitis. But the healthcare provider might make a diagnosis on the basis of a physical examination, the symptoms, and the information you provide about your exposure to some substances. If there is appearance of red and itchy bumps at any of the testing areas, it means that you are allergic to those certain substances.