An exanthem is a widespread
rash
A rash is a change of the skin that affects its color, appearance, or texture.
A rash may be localized in one part of the body, or affect all the skin. Rashes may cause the skin to change color, itch, become warm, bumpy, chapped, dry, cracke ...
eruption occurring on the outside of the body, usually presents in
children
A child () is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking ...
, the rash is typically associated with constitutional symptoms including fever and fatigue.
It is usually caused by a virus,
but an exanthem can be caused by
bacteria
Bacteria (; : bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one Cell (biology), biological cell. They constitute a large domain (biology), domain of Prokaryote, prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micr ...
,
toxin
A toxin is a naturally occurring poison produced by metabolic activities of living cells or organisms. They occur especially as proteins, often conjugated. The term was first used by organic chemist Ludwig Brieger (1849–1919), derived ...
s,
drug
A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via insufflation (medicine), inhalation, drug i ...
s, other
microorganism
A microorganism, or microbe, is an organism of microscopic scale, microscopic size, which may exist in its unicellular organism, single-celled form or as a Colony (biology)#Microbial colonies, colony of cells. The possible existence of unseen ...
s, or as a result of
autoimmune disease
An autoimmune disease is a condition that results from an anomalous response of the adaptive immune system, wherein it mistakenly targets and attacks healthy, functioning parts of the body as if they were foreign organisms. It is estimated tha ...
.
Exanthems associated with viruses are usually not specific but some are pathognomonic for certain viruses, the rash is not caused by the virus itself but the bodies reaction to the virus.
The term exanthem is from the
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
. It can be contrasted with
enanthems which occur inside the body, such as on mucous membranes. Exanthems occasionally present in association with enanthems .
Infectious exanthem
in 1900, the physician Clement Dukes assigned a number for the known exanthems affecting the pediatric age group which are first disease (measles), second disease (scarlet fever), third disease (rubella), and fourth disease (filatove-dukes). In 1905, the Russian-French physician Léon Cheinisse added fifth disease which is now known as erythema infectiosum or slapped cheek syndrome.
In 1909, sixth disease (roselola infantum or exanthem subitum) was introduced by John Zahorsky.
Of these six "classical" infectious childhood exanthems,
four are viral. Numbers were provided in 1905.
The four viral exanthems have much in common, and are often studied together as a class. They are:
Scarlet fever
Scarlet fever, also known as scarlatina, is an infectious disease caused by ''Streptococcus pyogenes'', a Group A streptococcus (GAS). It most commonly affects children between five and 15 years of age. The signs and symptoms include a sore ...
, or "second disease", is associated with the bacterium ''
Streptococcus pyogenes
''Streptococcus pyogenes'' is a species of Gram-positive, aerotolerant bacteria in the genus '' Streptococcus''. These bacteria are extracellular, and made up of non-motile and non-sporing cocci (round cells) that tend to link in chains. They ...
''.
Fourth disease, also known as "Dukes' disease" is a condition whose existence is not widely accepted today. It was described in 1900 and is postulated to be related to the bacterium ''
Staphylococcus aureus
''Staphylococcus aureus'' is a Gram-positive spherically shaped bacterium, a member of the Bacillota, and is a usual member of the microbiota of the body, frequently found in the upper respiratory tract and on the skin. It is often posi ...
''.
In 1979 and 2001 a possible "seventh disease" was postulated following reports of a condition in Japan also referred to as acute febrile infantile
mucocutaneous lymph node syndrome (MCLS).
Many other common viruses apart from the ones mentioned above can also produce an exanthem as part of their presentation, though they are not considered part of the classic numbered list:
*
Varicella zoster virus
Varicella zoster virus (VZV), also known as human herpesvirus 3 (HHV-3, HHV3), is one of nine known herpes viruses that can infect humans. It causes chickenpox (varicella) commonly affecting children and young adults, and shingles (herpes zos ...
(
chickenpox
Chickenpox, also known as varicella ( ), is a highly contagious disease caused by varicella zoster virus (VZV), a member of the herpesvirus family. The disease results in a characteristic skin rash that forms small, itchy blisters, which ...
or
shingles
Shingles, also known as herpes zoster or zona, is a viral disease characterized by a painful skin rash with blisters in a localized area. Typically the rash occurs in a single, wide mark either on the left or right side of the body or face. T ...
)
*
Mumps
MUMPS ("Massachusetts General Hospital Utility Multi-Programming System"), or M, is an imperative, high-level programming language with an integrated transaction processing key–value database. It was originally developed at Massachusetts Gen ...
*
rhinovirus
The rhinovirus (from the "nose", , romanized: "of the nose", and the ) is a Positive-sense single stranded RNA virus, positive-sense, single-stranded RNA virus belonging to the genus ''Enterovirus'' in the family ''Picornaviridae''. Rhinoviru ...
(the common cold)
*
unilateral laterothoracic exanthem of childhood
* Some types of
viral haemorrhagic fever are also known to produce a systemic rash of this kind during the progression of the disease.
*
Tick-borne diseases like
Rocky Mountain spotted fever
Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) is a bacterial disease spread by ticks. It typically begins with a fever and headache, which is followed a few days later with the development of a rash. The rash is generally Petechial rash, made up of small s ...
produce a rash that may become extensive enough so as to be classified as exanthemous in as many as 90% of children with the disease.
[https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/pdf/r/rr5504.pdf ]
See also
*
List of cutaneous conditions
Many skin conditions affect the human integumentary system—the organ system covering the entire surface of the Human body, body and composed of Human skin, skin, hair, Nail (anatomy), nails, and related muscle and glands. The major function o ...
References
External links
Overview at
About.com
Dotdash Meredith (formerly The Mining Company, About.com and Dotdash) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, hom ...
Definition at MedTermsDifferential diagnosisDermatology QuizIncludes photo, diagnosis, and treatment of unilateral laterothoracic exanthem (ULE).
{{Exanthema
Dermatologic terminology