Probably the cause of more than half of the cases is the herpes simplex. This viral infection may be evident before the appearance of erythema polymorphous. In other cases, the possible causes include virtually all drugs (usually, penicillins, sulfonamide and barbiturates) and other infectious diseases (such as Coxsackie virus infection by viruses or ECHO, mycoplasma pneumonia, psittacosis and histoplasmosis). On rare occasions, some vaccines cause erythema polymorphous. Doctors do not know the mechanism by which the herpes simplex and certain drugs produce this disease, but it is suspected that the cause is an allergic reaction.

Symptoms
Usually, erythema polymorphous appears suddenly, with red spots and blisters occurring more frequently in the palms of the hands or the soles of the feet, and in the face. The blisters on the lips and located in the oral mucosa may bleed. Erythema polymorphous produces brands flat, circular and reddish equally distributed on both sides of the body, these areas can be converted into concentric rings with dark purple-gray centers (injuries or target iris). The red areas sometimes produce itching. A person may file with erythema polymorphous cold sores (or if any had previously), feel tired and have pain in the joints, in addition to fever. Outbreaks of erythema polymorphous can last from 2 to 4 weeks and may appeal in the fall and spring for several years.

The Stevens-Johnson syndrome (in which the blisters appear on the inside of the mouth, the throat, anus, the genital region and the eyes) is a very serious form of erythema polymorphous. In the rest of the skin may appear reddened areas. The lesions in the lining of the mouth to eat create difficulties and even close the mouth can be painful, so sometimes the person babe. The eyes may hurt intensely, both ignited and filled with pus, which remain sealed. The cornea may present scars. The hole through which urine leaves can also be affected and therefore it is difficult and painful urination.

Treatment
Erythema polymorphous usually heal on its own, but the Stevens-Johnson syndrome can be fatal. Physicians must seek all possible causes of infection or remove any drug suspect. When it is believed that the erythema polymorphous the cause is herpes simplex, usually administered oral acyclovir.

The blisters or ulcers of the skin is covered with running water compresses. It is possible to use oral corticosteroids in severe, persistent or recurring, but their use is highly debated.

At the slightest sign of infection, antibiotics are prescribed. When the erythema polymorphous prevents eating or drinking, food and fluids be administered intravenously.

It is due to the reaction to a drug, usually penicillin, sulfonamides, barbiturates, anticonvulsants, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. In another third of cases, toxic epidermal necrolysis appears in the course of another serious illness, complicating the diagnosis. In the remaining third, was not discovered the cause. This disease is rare in children.

Symptoms
Toxic epidermal necrolysis usually start with a red, painful, which is spreading rapidly. It is possible to form vesicles, or the superficial layer of skin simply show that occur without blisters. Often, only a slight contact or elongation emerging large strip of skin. This makes the affected area appears scalded (a disease of similar appearance, is produced from a infection in infants, young children and in adults with abnormalities in their immune system) . As the toxic epidermal necrolysis, the person tends to experience discomfort, fever and chills. 3 days may result in huge portions of skin and the disease usually extends into the mucous membranes of the eyes, mouth and genitals.

As in the case of severe burns, loss of skin may endanger the life of the patient. Since the major damaged areas in raw can be lost large amounts of fluids and salts. A person affected by this disease is very susceptible to infection in areas of damaged tissue and exposed, these infections are the most frequent cause of death in those who suffer from this disease.

Treatment
People suffering from toxic epidermal necrolysis are hospitalized and the drugs suspected of causing the disease are removed immediately. Where possible, these people should be treated in the burn unit and provide a scrupulous care to avoid infection. The hospital staff should wash their hands before touching the patient, keeping it isolated from other patients of the hospital and cover the skin with protective bandages. Fluids and salts that are lost through the skin damaged are replaced intravenously. The use of corticosteroids to treat the disease is controversial. Some physicians believe that administering high doses in the early days is beneficial, others believe that corticosteroids should be avoided. These drugs inhibit the immune system, increasing the chance of suffering a serious infection. If this occurs, physicians administer antibiotics immediately.

Drug eruptions
This kind of eruptions are side effects of a drug.

The drugs can cause various types of eruptions. Most of them are the result of an allergic reaction to a drug. After taking the first dose (or subsequent) of a particular drug, a person can be sensitized to the drug. A subsequent exposure to the drug can cause an allergic reaction. Usually in a matter of minutes, although in some cases can take hours or days, suffering from a skin rash. Other allergy symptoms (such as nasal drip, watery eyes or an attack of asthma) may also accompany the eruption.

The drugs also cause rashes directly, without a allergic reaction. For example, corticosteroids (cortisone-like drugs) can cause acne and a thinning of the skin, while anticoagulants (blood thinners) can cause bruising when blood leaks under the skin.

Certain medications make the skin becomes particularly sensitive to the effects of sunlight (photosensitivity). These include certain antipsychotic drugs, tetracyclines, sulfonamides and some synthetic sweeteners. When taking the drug did not see any rash, but a subsequent sun exposure causes the skin to sometimes itching appears, or acquires a bluish gray color.

The drugs can cause almost any type of eruption, but the most important highlights the hives, toxic epidermal necrolysis, erythema polymorphous, the Stevens-Johnson syndrome and erythema nodosum.

Symptoms
The severity of the eruptions induced by drugs varies from a mild redness with bumps limited to a small area with a detachment of the whole of the skin. The eruptions can appear suddenly after taking a drug (for example, when it appears hives after taking penicillin) or can be delayed hours or days. In rare cases, the rash appears even years later, for example, arsenic can cause flaking of the skin, color changes and even cause cancer years after its ingestion.

Diagnosis
There are many causes of the eruptions and now there is no laboratory test that can confirm that a drug is responsible for a rash. Discover what the drug is responsible often complicated, because the rash may arise from a minimum amount of the drug and make it much after a person has taken, and they persist until weeks or months after it was interrupted the taking. Each and every drug that has taken the person may be suspects, including nonprescription; the eye drops for the nose and suppositories are possible causes. Sometimes the only way to determine the drug responsible for the rash is to interrupt the taking of all medications, except for those that are vital. As far as possible be replaced by other drugs chemically unrelated. If there are no substitutes for these, you should start taking drugs again one by one to determine what caused the reaction. However, this method may be risky if the person has presented a serious allergic reaction to the drug.

Treatment
Most of the reactions disappear after the suspension of the drug responsibly. When the rash is dry or cause itching, a corticosteroid ointment may help relieve symptoms. Despite that, generally, cases of urticaria quickly disappear without treatment, it may be necessary to resort to oral antihistamines or corticosteroids, the most serious eruptions are treated with an injection of adrenaline or a corticosteroid.

Symptoms
The stasis dermatitis is usually located in the ankles. At first the skin red and a slight flaking. With the passage of several weeks or months, making a brownish color. The accumulation of blood under the skin often goes unnoticed for a long time, during which increases the swelling and the possibility of an eventual infection and severe skin lesion (ulceration).

Treatment
The long-term treatment aims to reduce the possibility that the blood was backwater into the veins of the ankles. Keep your legs elevated above the heart helps prevent the accumulation of blood in the veins and fluid in the skin. A dressing with bra correctly can prevent serious skin lesions and the accumulation of fluid in the lower legs. Usually no need for any other treatment.

For recent dermatitis, towels painkiller made with pieces of gauze soaked in tap water can cause the skin to improve and help prevent further infections keeping the skin clean. If the disease gets worse (more heat, flushing, introduced small sores or pus) it is possible to use more absorbent bandages. Corticosteroid creams are also beneficial and are often combined with a paste of zinc oxide, which is then applied in a thin layer.

When a person has large ulcers widespread, it takes more bulky bandages. The paste zinc oxide is traditionally used, but the new bandages that have absorbent materials are much more effective. Antibiotics are used only when the skin is already infected. It is sometimes possible to perform skin grafts from other parts of the body to cover too large ulcers.

Some people may need a booty of Unna, which is like a mold filled with a gelatinous paste containing zinc. This boot helps protect the skin from irritation and possible pulp accelerates healing. If the boot is uncomfortable or unwieldy, it is possible to use the same type of pasta with a dressing under an elastic bandage.

In cases of stasis dermatitis, skin becomes irritated easily, should not be used antibiotic creams, first aid creams (anesthetic), alcohol, hamamelis water, lanolin, or other chemicals, as they may worsen further injuries.

Its cause is unknown. Nummular dermatitis often affects people in middle age, is accompanied by dry skin and is very common in the winter. However, the rash may appear and disappear without apparent reason.

The spots begin as rounded bumps and blisters accompanied by intense itching and then Exudates and form scabs. The lesions can appear anywhere on the body. Sometimes the stains are more obvious in the back of the arms or legs and buttocks, but also appear in the trunk.

We used many different treatments, but none is effective for all concerned. The treatment consists of oral antibiotics, creams and injections of corticosteroids, other drugs and ultraviolet light therapy.

Exfoliative dermatitis widespread

The widespread exfoliative dermatitis is a severe inflammation that affects the whole surface of the skin redness and moving towards a tip with a large flakes.

Certain medications (especially penicillins, sulfonamide, isoniazid, phenytoin and barbiturates) can cause this disease. In some cases, this is a complication of other skin diseases such as atopic dermatitis, psoriasis and contact dermatitis. Certain lymphomas (cancers of the lymph nodes) can also cause dermatitis exfoliative widespread. In many cases you can not find any cause.

Symptoms
Exfoliative dermatitis can begin quickly or slowly. The entire surface of the skin becomes red, scaly, thickened and sometimes crusty. Some people suffer from itching and enlargement of the lymph nodes. While many people have a fever, may feel cold because they lose much heat through the skin. They can lose large amounts of fluids and proteins and damaged skin is a poor barrier against infection.

Treatment
The immediate diagnosis and treatment are very important to prevent infection and fluid loss and protein threatens the life of the patient.

Any drug or chemical that could be causing the dermatitis should be removed immediately. If lymphoma is the cause of dermatitis, your treatment will improve the condition of the skin. People with severe exfoliative dermatitis often require hospitalization and receive antibiotics (for infection), sera intravenous (to replace the fluid lost through the skin) and nutritional supplements. It would also have to administer medications and warm blankets to control body temperature. The cold baths followed by applications for oil and vaseline gauze can help protect the skin. Corticosteroids (like prednisone) administered orally or intravenously are used only when other measures are not effective or the disease worsens.

The substances that produce demartitis contact can cause inflammation of the skin by one or two mechanisms: irritation (Irritant dermatitis) or allergic reaction (allergic dermatitis). Even mild soaps, detergents and certain metals can irritate the skin after frequent contact. In a statement repeated occasions, including water, can dry and irritate the skin. The strong irritants such as acids, alkalis (such as stain removers) and some organic solvents (such as acetone for nail remover) can cause changes in the skin in a matter of minutes.

In an allergic reaction, the first exposure to a particular substance (or sometimes the first exhibitions) did not cause any symptoms, but the next exposure can cause itching and dermatitis in a span of 4 to 24 hours. People may use (or be exposed to) certain substances for years without problems and suddenly develop an allergic reaction. Even ointments, creams and lotions used to treat dermatitis can cause this reaction. About 10 percent of women are allergic to nickel, the most common cause of dermatitis caused by jewelry. It is also possible to develop dermatitis from any material that an individual touch while working (working dermatitis).

Symptoms
The effects of contact dermatitis range from a mild redness and passenger, a severe inflammation with formation of blisters. Often the rash consists of tiny blisters that produce intense itching (blisters). At first the injuries are confined to the area of contact, but can be extended thereafter. The affected area may be very low (for example, the lobes of the ears if the outstanding produce dermatitis) or you can cover a large area of the body (for example, if the dermatitis appears because of a lotion for the body).

If one removes the substance that caused the rash, redness usually disappear within a few days. The blisters can exudate and form scabs, but they dry quickly. The residual flaking, itching and temporary thickening of the skin can last days or weeks.

Diagnosis
Not always easy to determine the cause of contact dermatitis because the possibilities are endless. Moreover, most people are not aware of all substances that touch your skin. Often, the location of the initial eruption is an important factor.

If a doctor suspected of contact dermatitis but did not discover the cause with a careful process of elimination, you can perform a test of the patch. For this test, are placed over 2 days small patches on the skin with substances that often cause dermatitis, to see if there is an eruption beneath one of them.

Although it is very useful, this patch is complicated. The doctor must decide which substances to test, how much of each substance applied and when should be tested. In addition, the test results can be difficult to interpret. The tests can be falsely positive or negative. Most people can discover the origin of their dermatitis without this test of the patch, systematically eliminating possible causes. Anyway, this is a test that can provide important data to identify the cause.

Treatment
The treatment is to eliminate or avoid what is causing contact dermatitis. To prevent infection and prevent irritation, the affected person should regularly clean the area with water and mild soap. Should not break the blisters. Also dry bandages may help prevent infection.

The corticosteroid creams or ointments often relieve the symptoms of mild contact dermatitis, unless the person makes many blisters, as in the case of reaction to poison ivy. The tablets with corticosteroids (like prednisone) sometimes are usually given in cases of contact dermatitis. Although in some situations antihistamines relieve itching, are not particularly beneficial in most cases of contact dermatitis.

Usually, the lesions are distributed symmetrically (more often in the mouth on the trunk, in the inner surfaces of the wrists, on the legs, in the glans penis and vagina). The face is rarely affected. In the legs, injuries can be especially long and scaly. In other cases causes alopecia (hair) in plaques on the scalp.

Ulcers that produces lichen planus in the mouth are particularly annoying; usually are white and blue can be formed following a line. Often oral ulcers that appear before the skin lesions and while not usually cause pain, if they are deep, they can be painful. Are frequent eruption cycles followed by healing. Although this happens very rarely, ulcers of long duration can degenerate into cancer of the mouth.

Diagnosis
The diagnosis can be difficult because many diseases are similar to lichen planus. The dermatologist usually recognize by their appearance and recurrence characteristics, but it may be necessary to perform a skin biopsy (which is to take a sample and examine it under a microscope) to confirm the diagnosis.

Treatment
Should avoid the use of drugs or chemicals that can cause lichen planus. For people who suffer from intense itching they may prescribe an antihistamine such as diphenhydramine, hydroxyzine, or the chlorpheniramine, but can cause drowsiness. You can use corticosteroids injected directly into the lesion, applied to the skin or orally administered, sometimes along with other medications such as tretinoin. In cases where the ulcers of the mouth are very painful, it is advisable to use before meals, a mouthwash containing lidocaine to form a blanket against the pain.

Lichen Planus can disappear and then reappear after many years. May require prolonged treatment during outbreaks of the disease; between two successive outbreaks and the next does not need any treatment.