Rash Guide: Common Rashes, What Helps, and Which Need a Same-Day Visit

Most rashes come from irritation, an allergy, a virus or a fungus, and they're itchy or uncomfortable rather than dangerous. Many get better with a gentle soap, moisturizer and an over-the-counter cream. A rash needs a same-day look when it's spreading fast, painful, blistering, warm and red, or comes with a fever, and it needs the ER if it comes with trouble breathing or swelling of the face or lips.

Common rashes

• Contact dermatitis: red, itchy skin where something touched it, such as a new soap, jewelry, or a plant like poison ivy.
• Hives: raised, itchy welts that move around and can come and go within hours, often from an allergy or a virus.
• Eczema: dry, itchy, rough patches, often in skin folds, that flare in Denver's dry winter air.
• Ringworm: a fungal infection, not a worm, that makes a red, scaly ring with a clearer center. It spreads by touch and from pets.
• Heat rash: small red bumps where sweat gets trapped, common in babies and in summer.
• Shingles: a painful band of blisters on one side of the body. Our shingles post explains why the first few days matter.
• Scabies: an intensely itchy rash, worse at night, often between the fingers, on the wrists or at the waistline. See our lice and scabies page.
• Cellulitis: red, warm, swollen and tender skin that spreads, caused by a bacterial infection. See our post on cellulitis, abscesses and boils.
• Viral rashes: blotchy rashes that come with or after a cold or fever, common in children, such as hand, foot and mouth disease.

What helps at home

• Stop using any new product that might be the cause
• Wash with a gentle, fragrance-free cleanser and pat dry
• Use a plain moisturizer, especially in winter
• Try a cool compress and an oral antihistamine for itching
• Use over-the-counter hydrocortisone for small, itchy patches, or an antifungal cream for a ring-shaped rash
• Try not to scratch, which can lead to infection

What urgent care can do

A clinician can usually tell what kind of rash it is by looking at it and asking a few questions. Treatment depends on the cause: a prescription steroid cream, antifungal or antiviral medicine, antibiotics for an infection, or medicine for scabies.

When to get seen

Come in if a rash is spreading, painful, blistering or oozing, if it's warm and red, if it comes with a fever, if over-the-counter treatment hasn't helped after a week, or if you're not sure what it is. At an AfterOurs clinic, a standard self-pay visit is $175, and a self-pay in-clinic visit never costs more than $330. We contract with all major commercial and government plans, including Colorado Medicaid and Medicare. See our rashes page and the cost and insurance page.

Call 911 or go to the ER if a rash comes with trouble breathing or swallowing, swelling of the face, lips or tongue, or dizziness; if there are purple or red spots that don't fade when you press on them, especially with a fever; or if skin is blistering or peeling over a large area, or the rash involves the eyes or mouth with a fever.

Where to find us

Four clinics across metro Denver, all ages welcome, se habla español:

• Hampden (Southeast Denver): 8 AM–11 PM daily
• Littleton: 8 AM–11 PM daily
• Thornton: 8 AM–11 PM daily
• Highlands: Mon–Fri 5–11 PM, Sat–Sun 8 AM–11 PM

Walk in, or book online.