Discover how skin signals can help detect dangerous diseases properly, leading to timely treatment and improved outcomes.

Skin disorders, such as acne and eczema, vary greatly in symptoms and severity. They can be temporary or permanent and may be painless or painful. Some can be life threatening. There are many different types of skin disorders.

Latex allergy

This condition is considered a medical emergency. Urgent care may be required. Contact 911 or local emergency services.

This causes a rash, which may occur within minutes to hours after exposure to a latex product. It may be less visible on darker skin or appear lighter or darker than surrounding tissue.
It also causes warm, itchy wheals at the site of contact, which may take on a dry, crusted appearance with repeated exposure to latex.

Airborne latex particles may cause cough, runny nose, sneezing, and itchy, watery eyes.
A severe allergy to latex can cause swelling and difficulty breathing.

Eczema

Eczema is characterized by pink, red, brown, purple, or gray, sometimes with scaly patches that flake off.
Affected areas may be itchy, greasy, or oily.

On light skin, eczema can cause a red rash. This rash may appear brown, purple, or gray on darker skin.
Hair loss may also occur in the area with the rash.

Blister

Blisters are characterized by a watery, clear, fluid-filled area on the skin.

They may be smaller than 1 centimeter (cm) (vesicle) or larger than 1 cm (bulla) and can occur alone or in groups.
Blisters can be found anywhere on the body.

Acne

Acne is commonly locatedTrusted Source on the face, neck, shoulders, chest, and upper back.

Breakouts on the skin are composed of redness, blackheads, whiteheads, pimples, or deep, painful cysts and nodules.
This condition may leave scars or darken the skin if untreated.
People of Color can experience dark spots known as post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH).

Cold sore

This condition causes a red, painful, fluid-filled blister that appears near the mouth and lips. People with lighter skin may notice more redness than those with darker skin.

The affected area will often tingle or burn before the sore is visible.
Outbreaks may also be accompanied by mild, flu-like symptoms such as low fever, body aches, and swollen lymph nodes.
Cold sores usually look similar on any skin color but can also cause PIH in people with darker skin.

Psoriasis

This causes scaly, silvery, sharply defined skin plaques. Darker-skinned people might also experience dark brown or purplish patches on the skin.
Patches are commonly located on the scalp, elbows, knees, and lower back.
This condition may be itchy or asymptomatic.

Actinic keratosis

This condition causes a thick, scaly, or crusty skin patch.
It’s typically less than 2 cmTrusted Source or about the size of a pencil eraser.
It often appears on parts of the body that receive a lot of sun exposure, such as the hands, arms, face, scalp, and neck.
The skin patch is usually pink in color but can have a brown, tan, or gray base. This patch may appear the same color as the surrounding skin in people with darker skin.

Hives

This causes itchy, raised welts that occur after exposure to an allergen.
Welts may be warm and mildly painful to the touch.
Hives on darker skin can appear raised or inflamed and might be slightly darker or lighter than your natural skin color. On lighter skin, hives usually appear red.
They can be small, round, ring-shaped, or randomly shaped.

Carbuncle

This causes a red, painful, and irritated lump under your skin.
It may be accompaniedTrusted Source by fever, body aches, and fatigue.
It can also cause skin crustiness or oozing.
It may appear more violet on darker skin.

Rosacea

This chronic skin disease goes through cycles of fading and relapse.

Relapses may be triggered by spicy foods, alcoholic beverages, sunlight, stress, and the intestinal bacteria Helicobacter pylori.
There are four subtypes of rosacea encompassing a wide variety of symptoms.
Common symptoms include facial flushing, raised red bumps, skin dryness, and skin sensitivity.
People with darker skin tones may notice brown discoloration or dry and swollen patches of dark skin.

Even beyond acne, the skin can be a window into the health of a person’s internal organs. For the sake of beauty, ignoring skin problems can make them worse. Numerous skin signals exist as red flags for underlying severe disorders.

We are NOT here to provide you medical advice, so please keep that in mind. Everything you read in our publications is meant for educational purposes only. Seek the advice of trained medical specialists, please.