What Causes Red Dry Rashes On Painful Underarms?

Posted on Sun, 13 Apr 2014

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Sun, 13 Apr 2014 Answered on

Sat, 3 May 2014 Last reviewed on

Question : after cleaning the attic I developed a pain underarm which became a rash of rdry ed dots bloches . so far ther is only about 20 or so. they form straight lines that criss cross like x. is it spider bite or is it shingles or is it my reiters.

Answered by Dr. Dr. Kakkar (-5 hours later)

Brief Answer: Upload a picture Detailed Answer: Hello and welcome to healthcaremagic. I am Dr. Kakkar. I have gone through your Query. It seems to be a case of shingles. However, I would request you to kindly upload a picture of the lesions in the reports section, so that I may be able to help you better. The appearance of shingles is sufficiently characteristic to be diagnosed on clinical photograph. Shingles or herpes zoster is caused by reactivation of Herpes Zoster Virus. Herpes zoster presents as eruption of painful grouped vesicular/fluid filled lesions, usually arranged in a stripe like patter, with a sharp cut off at the midline. There is associated pain and burning sensation. Treatment is oral antivirals like acyclovir 800mg 5 times a day for 7 days, which is usually sufficient. Treatment can be extended for 2-3 more days if needed. I also advice in my patients of herpes zoster to apply a topical antibacterial ointment e.g 2% mupirocin twice daily, so as to prevent secondary bacterial infection. regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar