Rashes Health Video

Rashes can show up on the skin for a variety of reasons, any many treatments are available. Learn about common rashes from a doctor in this video on skin care.

Take Action

Use cortisone for one week
Change your diet
Soak in an oatmeal bath
Seek medical advice

About this Author

Dr. Loretta Ciraldo, the author of the book Six Weeks to Sensational Skin, is a board certified dermatologist who has made numerous appearances on television shows such as Good Morning America. She holds a degree from Hunter College in New York, an M.D. from Downstate University at SUNY, and did her residency at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Dr. Ciraldo has been a board-certified dermatologist since 1982, and is currently a voluntary professor at the University of Miami, where she runs a clinic in cosmetic dermatology.

DR. LORETTA CIRALDO: Hi, I'm Dr. Loretta Ciraldo, a Miami Beach dermatologist and practiced for nearly 30 years and author of "6 Weeks to Sensational Skin." Now, so many of us are plagued by something we call a rash. And sometimes, many patients giggle when I tell them that in the Textbook of Dermatology, there are 3,000 rashes listed. So if you have something that you think is a rash - I'm going to give you some very general guidelines - first thing is, most of us will bother by one of a couple of factors about rashes. It's either their appearance or the symptoms that they give us. So if you have a rash that's bothering you in appearance, I'm going to suggest to you that you go out and buy what sometimes is called Cortizone-10, which is actually 1% hydrocortisone cream. In bygone days, this was a prescription-only item; but for the last couple of decades, it has become over-the-counter. If you have a simple or new-onset rash and you just want to get rid of it, the best thing to do is to try to apply cortisone cream over-the-counter twice a day for a period of a week. If you see that there is a tremendous improvement and that the rash certainly isn't worsening, then it may be remedied by continuing this for another one or two weeks. If instead the rash seems to worsen, you really should discuss with your doctor how to clear that rash. The second thing is, as far as symptoms go, if you have an itchy rash, I want you to remember especially to eliminate certain foods that are going to perpetuate and worsen itches. These are tomatoes, nuts, berries, chocolate, egg whites, alcohol, and even believe it or not, aspirin. And if you have an itchy rash, please soak in an oatmeal bath of tepid to cool water and hopefully it's going to be just what the doctor ordered in helping your rash.