A Visual Guide to Viral Rashes

Everyone knows about this viral rash. Or they used to. A new vaccine means few kids get chickenpox anymore. You might have a fever or sore throat before the telltale itchy spots break out all over your body. It’s very contagious, so it’s best to stay home until all the sores crust over. Never give aspirin to a child with chickenpox. It can cause Reye’s syndrome, which is rare but serious.

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Once you’ve had chickenpox, the virus lives on inside your body. Later it may come back as shingles, a painful, blistering rash. It’s more likely as you get older. The virus is embedded in the blisters. Contact with the virus can’t give you shingles directly, but it could give you chickenpox if you’ve never had it. A shingles vaccine might help prevent an outbreak.

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Look for about 15 pinkish-red bumps with a dimple in the middle and white gunk inside. Scratch them and you may spread the virus to other places on your body. You also could get it from someone’s skin. Wrestlers and gymnasts pick it up from used gym towels and sweaty mats. It may go away on its own, or your doctor might suggest topical cantharidiner or “freezing” the bumps with liquid nitrogen to get rid of them.

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Also called erythema infectiosum, it’s more common in kids. You get a splotchy red rash on the face that looks like a slapped cheek. You also might have a fever and body aches. A web-like rash could sprout on your arms, legs, and body parts that gets worse in the sun. You can catch it from droplets in the breath of an infected person. It usually goes away on its own in 5-10 days, but the rash could come back for a few weeks afterward.

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You might not like the look of these itchy, painful sores on your mouth and lips. They come from a virus (HSV-1) that most people get as children from the spit of an infected person. The sores usually get better on their own, but your doctor may suggest antiviral pills or creams to help speed the healing. The virus stays in your body and could cause outbreaks when you are sick, anxious, or overtired.

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You can get it from sexual intercourse or from oral sex. Your genitals might tingle, itch, or burn before painful, blistering sores develop. These last 7-10 days before they crust over. The virus stays in your body even when you have no symptoms. Your doctor can prescribe drugs to limit or control outbreaks. Use a condom to lessen the chance you’ll get or pass on the virus.