Very rashy kid - normal?

[reabies]

Hi all, my 2yo is a very rashy kid. Any opportunity to get a rash he'll take it. Nursery have rung me several times about rashes coming up all over his body, and most of the time when I've gone to get it checked out the GP always says 'unspecific viral rash'.

Just after Easter he come out in a full body rash, spots of a similar size and look to chicken pox (except he had that last spring) and we ended up in A&E due to the spread. They tested for measles and slapped cheek (because I'm pregnant) but said nothing came up, unspecific viral again.

I don't know if it's normal to constantly have rashes, if it's something some kids are more susceptible to? Nursery have rung me today and yesterday about another load of spots coming up, but he hasnt got a temperature, is fine within himself, playing normally etc, so I've told them to just keep an eye on it and if he takes a turn for the worse ring me again.

Is this something you would be getting checked out more? Perhaps an undiagnosed minor allergy? But if it is an allergy but the spots don't affect him (not itchy, weepy etc) then is it even worth bothering about? I would say every couple of months he comes up in some kinds of spots, not always the same size and look and feel though.

Any advice is really welcome!

My daughter is of the rashy breed to. Hers are often triggered by allergies and viral illness but they tend to take 4-6 weeks, some times longer, to clear up.
Aqueous cream or epiderm daily. Mild steroid cream on its worse days and antihistamines before bed when it's itchy is how we tackle it.
She has other symptoms when it is an allergy rash. Her allergies are of the delayed variety so she often has a sore tummy and loose stools and complains that her bottom hurts.

It sounds like you’re dealing with frequent rashes on your child and are unsure of the cause. Since these rashes often appear in connection with viral infections, keeping a detailed record of their occurrence, appearance, and any other symptoms might help identify patterns. It could be beneficial to consult a pediatric dermatologist or allergist for a more thorough evaluation. Consider discussing potential allergens and environmental factors with the nursery. While your child doesn’t seem to be bothered by the rashes, if they become more frequent or severe, it’s important to follow up with a healthcare professional.

I was a frequently rashy child. I also vomited a lot, often with specific foods. it was all very low level, just sort of simmering. I was just that kind of sensitive kid who reacted to everything.

in adulthood, a switch flipped one day and it stopped simmering. They called it adult onset allergies. In retrospect, everything I have become
Seriously allergic to, I have had problems with since childhood.

I would switch to hypoallergenic and fragrance free personal care products and detergents if possible. It won’t do any harm and there is a good chance it will help. then watch for patterns with food and rashes.

had my parents been even the tiniest bit proactive, I might not have been so miserable as a child. But it was the 70s and 80s, plus my parents weren’t great even by the standards of that time.

Thanks for your responses!

@Superscientist he does have eczema which tends to be fine in the Spring/Summer and flares up as the weather changes, and when that flares up we use aqueous cream all over but I never thought to keep using it when he wasn't having a flare up (😓) but will go back to putting it on! Thank you!

@Ponderingwindow thank you for sharing your experience, we are already quite careful with what we put on his skin because of the eczema, but I'll go through everything again, washing powders etc to make sure that's not what's aggravating him.

I'm trying to think if I've noticed any link with sore tummy, loose stools or anything else, but I can't think of anything, no vomiting, or itching. He does get nappy rash fairly frequently and sometimes will say his poo is hurting but I mainly believe that to be because it's aggravating his nappy rash rather than hurting his tummy/gut. I will ask him, he's quite good at saying what hurts and where.

@MallikaOm thank you, if it keeps happening/gets worse I'll pick up with the GP again.

Before we went dairy free my daughter had horrendous nappy rash and she's prone to it when having a reaction.
Have any food triggers for the eczema been investigated?

My daughter is the same. She gets a rash when it's hot, sweaty etc.

She does have eczema and allergies and really sensitive skin.

When she's was 2 (she's 7 now) she frequently had exactly what you describe - bumps, rashes, little spots etc etc.

I do think lots and lots of moisturizer helps

Hi everyone, just to update in case anyone was interested, he had another flare up at nursery last week except this time his hands flared up too, were really red, itchy and swollen. Nursery gave piriton which helped calm it down, so off the back of that I spoke to the GP again and they have agreed to put in a referral to the allergy team. So we are now keeping a detailed food and detergents diary for him and monitoring the spots as they appear and hope to take that info to the allergy appointment (whenever it comes through, GP said it could be a while depending on waiting lists) and hopefully get to the bottom of this. Fingers crossed.