Chickenpox or Insect Bites? How to Tell the Difference
Itchy red spots after a night in your hotel can be bites, a rash or chickenpox. Here are the clues doctors look for.
Itchy spots on holiday are very common, and in the first hours it can be hard to know whether they come from mosquitoes, bed bugs, an allergic reaction or an infection such as chickenpox. A few simple clues help.
Clues Pointing to Insect Bites
Bites usually appear on skin that was uncovered, often in a line or a cluster, and each bite is a single raised bump with a central point. They tend to appear overnight, there is usually no fever and you do not feel generally unwell. Mosquito bites are often on ankles and arms, and bed bug bites often appear in rows on the neck, shoulders and arms.
Clues Pointing to Chickenpox
Chickenpox usually comes with a fever, tiredness and headache before or with the rash. The spots appear in waves on the chest, back and face first, turn into small blisters that look like drops of water on a red base, then burst and crust. You can see spots at several stages at once, and other people in your group may fall ill 10 to 21 days later.
Other Possibilities
Hand, foot and mouth disease causes mouth ulcers and blisters on palms and soles. Heat rash is a fine pinkish rash in sweaty areas. A food or drug allergy usually causes raised, itchy wheals that come and go. Shingles in adults causes a painful band of blisters on one side of the body.
What to Do
Take clear photos in daylight, note when the spots appeared and whether there is a fever, and send them on a video visit. If the spots are blisters with a fever, keep away from babies, pregnant women and people with weak immunity until a doctor has seen you.
Seek urgent help for fever with a spreading dark rash, breathing difficulty or swelling of the lips or face.
References
- NHS. Chickenpox
- NHS. Insect bites and stings
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