Your body has many ways of protecting you from harm. A cough is one of these methods of protection. Coughing helps clear your throat, or lungs of irritants and allows you to breathe more easily. While a cough is your body’s way of clearing irritants, it may... Read more
Your body has many ways of protecting you from harm. A cough is one of these methods of protection. Coughing helps clear your throat, or lungs of irritants and allows you to breathe more easily.
While a cough is your body’s way of clearing irritants, it may also indicate that you have an underlying medical condition. Coughing can be acute, or last for a short time, or it can be chronic, which means it lasts for more than three weeks.
A rash is the skin’s reaction to an irritant or underlying medical condition. Rashes can vary in appearance. They can be red, scaly, or blister-like.
What causes cough and rash?
Cough and rash are typically signs of an underlying medical condition, such as a bacterial, viral, or fungal infection. Below are some examples of diseases that have both cough and rash as symptoms that can commonly occur together:
Scarlet fever is caused by an infection from group A Streptococcus bacteria, and it often occurs from strep throat. The bacterial infection creates a toxin within the body that produces a rash all over the body and sometimes a bright red tongue.
The initial symptoms typically include:
- a high fever
- a cough
- a runny nose
- red, watery eyes
Three to five days later, a rash will appear on the body that starts on the face and spreads down the body as if a paint bucket was poured over the head.
This is a fungal infection that mostly occurs in the southwestern United States. It’s also known as “valley fever.” People become infected when they breathe in the spores of the fungus. It can cause both a cough and a rash on the upper body or legs due to an infection from the spores.
While you can experience these symptoms at the same time, they may not necessarily be related. For example, you could have a cough due to a cold and use a new laundry detergent that irritates your skin, causing a rash.
Cough and rashes in children
When children come down with a cough and rash, it can mean something different than when it occurs in adults. If multiple children are in the household, try to quarantine the sick child as much as possible until they’re diagnosed. This can help prevent the spread of contagious diseases. Some causes of cough and rash in children include the following:
- Scarlet fever is common in children, and your doctor should treat it with antibiotics as soon as possible.
- Measles can occur in children, and a vaccine can prevent it.
- If they have roseola, young children who are typically 6 to 36 months old can develop symptoms of an upper respiratory virus, such as a cough, congestion, and high fever, which are then followed by a rash. This is a self-limiting disease.
A cough and rash in your child are likely to be contagious. It’s important to talk to your doctor about your child’s symptoms to prevent the spread of a contagious disease to others.
When you visit your doctor about a cough and rash, they’ll first have to diagnose the cause of the symptoms you’re having.
Your doctor will perform a physical examination. They’ll listen to your lungs and breathing, take your temperature, and examine the rashes on your body. If necessary, they can run blood work to test for certain infections and examine your blood counts. Your doctor will take a swab from the back of your throat and check it for bacterial infections, such as strep throat.
When to seek medical help
Make an appointment with your doctor if you experience the following:
- a violent cough that produces thick, foul-smelling, or green phlegm
- a fever in a baby younger than 3 months old
- a cough that lasts longer than 10 days
- a cough that causes a baby to turn blue or go limp
- a rash that seems to spread across the body
- a rash that becomes painful or doesn’t seem to improve
This information is a summary. Always seek medical attention if you’re concerned you may be experiencing a medical emergency.
How are cough and rash treated?
Doctors typically treat a cough and rash related to a bacterial infection with antibiotics. However, an antibiotic won’t help if the infection is viral. Depending on the type of viral illness, most doctors will opt to treat with supportive care. In other words, a direct cure for the virus may not be available but the doctor expects it will resolve on its own and they recommend treating the symptoms.
Because conditions such as measles and scarlet fever spread easily, you must wash your hands frequently and refrain from coughing on others as much as possible. If your child is diagnosed with either of these conditions, they may need to keep them out of school for a period.
If your doctor prescribes antibiotics for you, taking the entire course of treatment is important. While you may feel better before your medication runs out, the bacteria may still be present in your body. Keep taking the treatment until it’s completed.
How do I care for a cough and rash?
At-home care for cough and rash include resting and drinking plenty of water. Drink more water than you normally would, sipping on your drink every few minutes. Taking a shower or using a vaporizer that emits cold vapor can help break up the mucus in your lungs, which can help you to cough it out. You can add medicated vapors into some vaporizers to help soothe a cough.
Over-the-counter (OTC) medications, such as decongestants and cough syrup, can help relieve your symptoms. Read the directions carefully if you’re considering administering these medications to a child. Typically, people avoid giving decongestants to children under 6 years old because side effects occur more often in children than adults.
You can soothe itchy rashes using oatmeal baths and OTC Benadryl, either cream or oral medication. Sometimes, you can apply hydrocortisone cream to reduce inflammation and therefore reduce itching. Avoid scratching the rash, even if it itches. This will help prevent scarring.
How can I prevent cough and rash?
While sometimes infections leading to cough and rash may be unavoidable, you can take several preventive measures to prevent it. These include the following:
- Practice frequent handwashing to help avoid catching an infectious disease.
- Avoid others who are sick to reduce the likelihood of catching something contagious.
- Avoid smoking and avoid secondhand smoke because smoke can aggravate a cough.
- Avoid using highly perfumed lotions or body treatments. They could worsen your rash.
- Wash your skin in warm water to minimize irritation.
- Stay up to date on your vaccines, including those for whooping cough and the measles.