Possible Causes of Sudden Skin Rashes
by YIN
Do you suddenly find that you develop skin rashes for no apparent reason? Probably you find that a certain area of your skin becoming itchy and when you give in to the urge to scratch it, a red patch formed- the rash seemed to have spread. Sometimes, it feels a little painful.
A number of people suffer from unexplainable skin rashes and can’t figure out why. I have this condition on and off and have learned to identify the triggers and quickly deal with it. But I could never resist the urge to give it a good scratch when it’s itchy- so it is not uncommon that my colleagues would stare at a spot on my neck, face or arms and ask me, ‘you scratched yourself again?’
It becomes a bit embarrassing if the rash and the red patch forms at your face. It looked awkward and others may wonder if you have a permanent skin condition or a fungal infection. If your doctor also could not figure out what’s wrong with you and only could prescribe some anti histamines, perhaps you may want to explore further:
Possible causes:
1. Food allergies
Try to recall what you have done within the last two to three hours before the rash develops. Was it something that you have eaten? What was it? Do you notice that the rash seemed to form after you take certain food?
Especially if accompanied by sudden sneezing/sinus, and itchy throat,mild headache, it may indicate that certain food is causing a mild allergic reaction.
Common food that could trigger these reactions (some of these food triggered these reactions for me): processed food- like pickles, preserved food. Certain chemicals used in this food can trigger food sensitivities in your body white coffee and gourmet coffee milk or its derivative products like cheese- a lot of people are lactose intolerant fruits and vegetables that have too much of chemicals on them.
2. Environment irritants.
Take note of these reactions that may trigger these reaction. For me, it’s walking along the so called fresh vegetables in supermarkets- if I go to a wet market, I don’t find my face getting painfully itchy but I experience this sometimes when I visit vegetable areas of air-con hypermarkets and supermarkets. Probably because vegetables here have more chemicals certain cleaning products.
Have you recently switched detergents that you use to wash your clothes or mop the floor?
it is common at the gym, especially when people share equipment- sweating palms touches all the equipments and we all know how much of bacteria that contains clothes- if you sweat a lot and have to work outdoors or travel often, wearing materials that is not suitable like polyesther- will be a good breeding ground for bacteria items like your bed sheet or pillow case- when was the last time you’ve changed them? We shed dead skin when we sleep and dust mites or bacteria feeds on this- your skin could be irritated when come into contact with them.
3. Digestive and immune system not working at optimal levels.
We are exposed to environment pollutants all the time- it is unavoidable for city dwellers. However, our immune system always have a way of warding these pollutants off. It is when the immune system is weakened that these irratants or chemicals have a chance to work their ‘magic’ on us. You may notice that when you are relaxed and happy, you tend to suffer less from health ailments, and even if allergic conditions occur, they’re much milder.
When you feel that you are feeling unwell or weak, you need to take care of your digestive system. You will be surprised, if you digestive system is sluggish, you tend to get more colds, fall sick more easily and allergic reactions become more serious.
Also, negative emotions like stress, anger, sadness will bring down your immune system- this factor is often overlooked.
Other factors like sedentary lifestyle (lack of movement result in sluggish circulation that makes it harder for our bodies to remove toxins) and taking too much fattening or processed food that makes our system sluggish.
