What is exanthema?

What Does exanthema Mean

The Greek word exánthēma , which can be translated as “efflorescence” , arrived in late Latin as exanthēma , which in our language derived in exanthema . The term is used in the medical field to name a type of skin rash .

The rash usually appears in conjunction with warming of the skin . This reddish rash, when pressed with a finger, disappears momentarily. Diseases such as chicken pox and measles are characterized by rash.
Rash, therefore, are clinical signs of certain diseases . Its quantity and its distribution in the body vary according to each case. The rash is usually caused by an infection or an allergic reaction.

The maculopapular rash papulosos are the most common. They are made up of papules ( lesions with an elevation) and macules (lesions that are flat) that can have various shapes. The purpuric rashes (with bruising, petechiae and bruising) and vesicular exanthema (blistered and vesicles) are other types of skin rashes.
Chickenpox, for example, is caused by the virus varicella zoster . This disease has a latency period of between two and three weeks before manifesting with a flu-like picture. Its development continues with the rash, the papules of which turn into vesicles and later into scabs. These injuries can lead to permanent scars depending on their evolution and the wounds that the patient generates if they scratch.
As for measles , this viral disease has an incubation of between four and twelve days. Then the rash appears with a generalized rash all over the body.
Sudden rash
It is known as sudden exanthema , sixth disease or infantile roseola to a disease that arises because of a virus in children between 4 months and 2 years of age, although it can present at other ages. The means of transmission are saliva and blood. On the skin there are lesions shaped like pink or red dots that turn white when pressed. Initially, they appear on the trunk and neck, but later they spread to the extremities and face.
Despite some similarities in symptoms, the sudden rash should not be confused with scarlet fever, measles, and rubella, three other exanthematic diseases. In cases of drug hypersensitivity, a similar reaction may occur .

With regard to the most common cause, this is usually human herpes virus 6 , but it can also appear as a result of 7 . Within 6, two types are recognized: A and B , the latter being the one that accompanies 99% of cases of sudden rash. This disease has an incubation period that goes from 5 to 15 days and, in general, the reservoir of the virus that causes it is an adult who has been in contact with it.
It is common for patients with a sudden rash to experience a high fever that appears without apparent cause and lasts between two and three days. It is only when they regain normal body temperature that the small pink pimples are noticed, which little by little cover a greater surface of the skin. The rash itself usually does not exceed two days.
Although it does not usually occur, it is possible that certain complications arise from this infection. The most common is a picture of febrile seizures that occurs in the phase before the appearance of the rash. It should be mentioned that seizures are not usually serious and that in some patients they occur as a direct result of central nervous system involvement. In people whose immune system is compromised, on the other hand, it is normal for cases of hepatitis and encephalitis to appear.