Red patches on baby's body

Babies have limited body resistance and their skin is relatively delicate. If parents do not pay attention to their children's care, skin problems are likely to occur. In daily life, many babies have red patches on their bodies. There are many possible reasons for this phenomenon, among which urticaria is the most common. You can first understand this disease and make a comprehensive judgment based on the child’s physical condition.

Pediatric urticaria, commonly known as wheals, is a common allergic skin disease characterized by dilation of small blood vessels in the skin and mucous membranes and increased permeability. It is mainly manifested by erythema and localized edema reactions of varying sizes on the skin, often accompanied by itching. The basic lesion is the temporary dilation of capillaries in the skin and mucous membranes and a sudden increase in permeability. Most of the diseases are caused by allergic reactions, and the acute cases usually have a good prognosis. There are many causes of urticaria. Bacteria, viruses, parasites can all become allergens. Pollen, dust, chemicals, and even some foods can become allergens. Chronic urticaria refers to wheals that occur at least twice a week and last ≥ 6 weeks. A small number of patients with chronic urticaria may also experience intermittent attacks.

The typical symptoms of this disease are erythema and wheal. In typical cases, after contact with allergens, erythema appears first, followed by wheals. Wheals may appear in the center of the erythema and spread to the surrounding areas. Clinically, sometimes there are only erythema without wheals (more common in infants and young children), and sometimes there are only wheals without erythema (more common in older children and adults).

Acute urticaria in children develops very suddenly, and the skin may become abnormally itchy within an instant. With the itching and scratching, red or pale wheals of varying sizes and shapes quickly appear; the skin scratch syndrome is positive (scratching the child's normal skin with a needle may cause red bumps consistent with the scratches); the number of rashes is generally large, some are ring-shaped, and may also merge into large pieces, and they disappear quickly within a few minutes to a few hours without leaving any traces. Hives can occur anywhere on the body. This disease is very easy to relapse, appearing and disappearing from time to time. Most children have no other discomfort except severe itching of the skin. However, if the digestive tract is affected, symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhea may occur; if the bronchi and larynx are affected, there will be a blocked throat, chest tightness, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, and even suffocation; some children may also have edema of the hands, feet, eyelids, and even the entire face; in severe cases, there will be symptoms of shock such as pale complexion, difficulty breathing, and low blood pressure. The course of chronic urticaria can last for several months or even years. Generally, those that last for more than 2 to 3 months are called chronic.

In addition, this disease can have many types, such as acute, chronic, cold, local heat, sunlight, water-related, compressive, cholestatic, urticarial vasculitis, serum sickness type, angioedema, etc.

Urticaria is both an independent disease and a skin manifestation of certain diseases. There are many diseases that can cause urticaria, such as infectious diseases: parasitic infections (intestinal roundworms, pinworms, etc.); bacterial infections (dental caries, alveolar abscesses, tonsillitis, otitis media, sinusitis, etc.); viral infections such as hepatitis B; fungal infections such as tinea pedis, etc.; systemic diseases (such as diabetes, hyperthyroidism, and even potential tumors in the body).

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