Online Skin Allergy and Irritation Treatment
Get skin allergy treatment online when an itchy rash will not settle. If a new soap, cosmetic, piece of jewelry, or plant has left your skin red and itchy, or over-the-counter hydrocortisone has not helped, a licensed doctor can review photos of the rash, ask what your skin has been in contact with, and send prescription treatment to the pharmacy you choose when medically appropriate.
How to get skin allergy treatment online
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Hey Dr Nicole, I have had an itchy red rash on my wrist since I started wearing a new watch.
Get online prescription
Our online doctors can help you with your medical issues and give you prescriptions.
Prescription
- Triamcinolone 0.1% cream, apply a thin layer two to three times a day
- Hydroxyzine 25 mg, one tablet three to four times a day as needed for itching
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What are the treatment options for skin allergies?
Allergic rash treatment starts with finding the trigger and keeping it away from your skin. These treatments can then calm the rash and ease the itch while the skin heals:
- Avoiding the trigger: Wash the skin with plenty of water and stop using the product, jewelry, or material that caused the reaction.
- Moisturizers: A fragrance-free moisturizer protects the skin and helps it repair itself.
- Steroid creams: These are commonly used to calm an allergic or irritant rash. Low-strength hydrocortisone is sold over the counter, and stronger creams need a prescription.
- Antihistamines: Antihistamine tablets can help relieve hives and other itchy rashes. Some can make you drowsy, so check how one affects you before driving.
- Steroid tablets: For a severe reaction or a rash on the face or genitals, a doctor may prescribe steroids taken by mouth for a short time.
- Non-steroid creams: For eczema that has not improved with other prescription creams, a doctor may write an online prescription for pimecrolimus.
- Antifungal treatment: A rash that looks like an allergy can be a fungal infection, such as ringworm. It needs an antifungal, such as a prescription for terbinafine, because steroid creams can worsen ringworm.
What creams and medications can we prescribe online?
Prescription treatment depends on how severe the reaction is and where it is on your body. These are some of the creams and tablets our doctors can send an online prescription for:
Steroid cream for itchy allergic rashes
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Steroid cream for inflamed itchy skin
Learn More Antihistamine tablet for allergic itching
Learn More Steroid tablets for severe reactions
Learn More Steroid tablets for widespread rashes
Learn More What causes skin allergies and irritation?
Most skin allergies and irritation are a type of contact dermatitis, a rash that appears after something touches the skin. Common causes include:
- Irritants: Soaps, detergents, cleaning products, solvents, and frequent handwashing can directly damage the skin. This is the most common type, and it is not an allergy.
- Allergens: Your immune system reacts to something your skin has become sensitive to, such as nickel in jewelry and watch straps, latex, hair dye, or fragrances and preservatives in cosmetics.
- Plants: Poison ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac leave an oil on the skin that causes an allergic rash, and the oil can stay on clothing, tools, and pets.
- Medicines: Antibiotic creams such as neomycin can cause a rash where they are applied, and medicines taken by mouth can cause skin rashes or hives.
- Hives triggers: Foods, insect bites, heat, cold, sweating, and stress can all cause hives, but often the cause is not known.
An allergic rash usually appears a day or two after contact, so the cause is not always the last thing you touched. You can also use a product for years before your skin becomes allergic to it.
What are the symptoms of a skin allergy?
Itching is the most common symptom, and it can be severe with an allergic rash. Other symptoms include:
- A red, streaky, or patchy rash where something touched the skin
- Red bumps or blisters that may ooze, drain, or crust over
- Dry, cracked, or scaly skin, often on the hands
- Burning or stinging, which is more common with irritants
- Skin that feels warm and tender
- Raised, itchy welts called hives that change shape and fade within hours
When should you see a doctor about a skin reaction?
Most skin reactions clear up in a few weeks once the trigger is avoided. Some signs need emergency or same-day care:
- Trouble breathing: Wheezing, shortness of breath, or tightness in your throat. Call 911 right away.
- Swelling of the face, lips, or tongue: Swelling around the mouth or throat can block the airway. Call 911.
- Dizziness or fainting: Especially with hives all over the body, these can be signs of anaphylaxis, a life-threatening allergic reaction.
- Blistering or peeling skin: A rash that blisters or peels after starting a new medicine, especially with a fever or sores in the mouth, needs same-day medical care.
- Signs of infection: Redness that keeps spreading, warmth, pus, increasing tenderness, or a fever.
Talk to a doctor online if the itching is severe, the rash is on your face, eyes, or genitals, it covers a large area, or it has not improved after 7 days of over-the-counter hydrocortisone. If a rash keeps coming back and the cause is unclear, patch testing at an in-person clinic can help find the trigger.
FAQs About Skin Allergies
What are skin allergies?
A skin allergy is a reaction by your immune system to something that does not bother most people. On the skin, it usually shows up as an itchy rash after touching something like nickel, fragrance, latex, or poison ivy, or as hives after a food, medicine, or insect sting. Skin irritation is different. It is direct damage from a harsh substance, such as a detergent, and does not involve the immune system.
What do doctors prescribe for severe skin allergies?
For a severe or widespread reaction, a doctor may prescribe a stronger steroid cream, such as betamethasone, or steroid tablets, such as prednisone, for a short time. An antihistamine such as hydroxyzine can help with itching. A reaction that causes trouble breathing or swelling of the face, lips, or tongue is a medical emergency, so call 911.
How do I know if I need prescription allergy medicine?
A mild rash often settles with over-the-counter hydrocortisone, an antihistamine, and avoiding the trigger. You may need prescription treatment if the rash is spreading, blistering, on your face or genitals, or keeping you awake with itching, or if it has not cleared after a week of over-the-counter cream. Hives that keep coming back for more than 6 weeks should also be checked by a doctor.
What's the safest allergy medicine?
There is no single safest allergy medicine, because the right one depends on your age, your health, and the other medicines you take. For itchy skin and hives, antihistamines such as cetirizine, fexofenadine, levocetirizine, and loratadine cause less sleepiness than older ones such as diphenhydramine. Ask a doctor or pharmacist before taking one if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, or have glaucoma, heart disease, or trouble passing urine.
What STD can cause a skin rash?
Syphilis, HIV, and genital herpes can commonly cause a skin rash or sores.
How long does an allergic reaction last?
It depends on the type of reaction. Each hive usually fades within hours and rarely lasts more than 48 hours, although new ones can keep appearing. A rash from contact with something like poison ivy or nickel usually clears in 2 to 3 weeks once you avoid the trigger. Trouble breathing or swelling of the face, lips, or tongue requires emergency care; call 911.
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