Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsTypesCausesTreatments
Table of ContentsView All
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Table of Contents
Types
Causes
Treatments
This article will discuss types of face rashes, as well as what causes allergic reactions and how they’re treated.
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Allergies
Four common conditions that can cause allergic reactions on the face include contact eczema, contactdermatitis,hives, and swelling.
Eczema
Eczemais a form of dermatitis calledatopic dermatitis. The rash occurs most often where the skin flexes—inside the elbows, behind the knees, and in front of the neck.However, eczema can also appear on the face.
The rash causes severe itching, redness, oozing, and flaky scales. These symptoms can be painful and can cause changes in skin color and blisters.
Contact Dermatitis
Symptoms can include a red rash, and bumpy, scaly, itchy, or swollen skin at the point of contact.The rash is typically located only in the area of contact with the offending substance.
Hives
Hives, also known asurticaria, is an itchy rash that can occur at any age. Urticariacan be acute (lasting less than six weeks) or chronic (lasting more than six weeks).
This rash appears as swelling of the surface of the skin with red- or skin-colored welts (called wheals). These raised bumps can be of various shapes and sizes and last for minutes to hours, but not usually more than 48 hours. These welts can be very itchy.
Allergic reactions can last for hours to weeks. Long-lasting reactions are common in allergies that produce hives or chronic reactions like eczema.
Swelling
Angioedema can feel itchy or it may burn, sting, or cause a tingling sensation instead. In rare cases, severe swelling around the throat can block the ability to breathe. This is a medical emergency known asanaphylaxis, which requires immediate medical attention and can be life-threatening.
What Is Anaphylaxis?Severe allergic reactions can lead to swelling in your mouth or throat calledanaphylaxisoranaphylactic shock. This response makes breathing difficult, includes a drop in blood pressure, and is a medical emergency requiring immediate treatment.Other symptoms of anaphylaxis can include:A warm sensationFlushingRed skinItchingLightheadednessAnxietyPainCrampingVomitingDiarrhea
What Is Anaphylaxis?
Severe allergic reactions can lead to swelling in your mouth or throat calledanaphylaxisoranaphylactic shock. This response makes breathing difficult, includes a drop in blood pressure, and is a medical emergency requiring immediate treatment.Other symptoms of anaphylaxis can include:A warm sensationFlushingRed skinItchingLightheadednessAnxietyPainCrampingVomitingDiarrhea
Severe allergic reactions can lead to swelling in your mouth or throat calledanaphylaxisoranaphylactic shock. This response makes breathing difficult, includes a drop in blood pressure, and is a medical emergency requiring immediate treatment.Other symptoms of anaphylaxis can include:
Causes of Allergic Reactions on the Face
Skin and seasonal pollen allergies are among the most common, but this can depend on age. Milk is the most common allergen for babies. Many foods, pollens, and medications can cause allergic reactions. Below are some of the most common allergens.
Skin Allergies
Seasonal Allergies
Some years may be worse for seasonal allergies, and things like wind and rainfall can also impact severity.
Symptoms of seasonal allergies may include:
Animals and Insects
Allergies to animals or insectsusually involve sensitivity to proteins found in animal skin cells (dander), saliva, and hair. Even when the animal isn’t around, these proteins can linger and trigger a reaction. You may also develop a response to things like pollen and dust on a pet’s fur.
Symptoms of animal allergies include:
Symptoms related to insect allergies include:
Food
You may be sensitive to many foods, but only a true allergy should trigger a visible reaction, such as a rash or hives on your face.
These eight foods make up about 90% of allfood-related allergic reactions.
These are the most common food allergy symptoms:
Medication
You can develop side effects or reactions to any medication, but several in particular are prone to triggering allergic reactions.
The mostcommon medicationsassociated with actual allergic reactions include:
Drug allergy reactions can occur in any part of your body. Symptoms may include:
Beauty Products
Some of the common products and ingredients in beauty products that can cause a skin allergy include:
Symptoms associated with beauty products include:
Environmental
Substances in the environment that can cause a rash include the following:
Can You Be Allergic and Not Know It?Not all allergic reactions have anobvious cause. A day in thesuncould make your skin red, but that redness might also be from a medication you took. Sometimes symptoms of allergic reactions can be confused with symptoms of other conditions or exposures, especially if your symptoms are mild.One way to tell whether it’s an allergic reaction is to pay attention to the timing and consistency of the reaction. Reactions that appear within about an hour after exposure to a specific food or substance are likely allergic in nature.
Can You Be Allergic and Not Know It?
Not all allergic reactions have anobvious cause. A day in thesuncould make your skin red, but that redness might also be from a medication you took. Sometimes symptoms of allergic reactions can be confused with symptoms of other conditions or exposures, especially if your symptoms are mild.One way to tell whether it’s an allergic reaction is to pay attention to the timing and consistency of the reaction. Reactions that appear within about an hour after exposure to a specific food or substance are likely allergic in nature.
Not all allergic reactions have anobvious cause. A day in thesuncould make your skin red, but that redness might also be from a medication you took. Sometimes symptoms of allergic reactions can be confused with symptoms of other conditions or exposures, especially if your symptoms are mild.
One way to tell whether it’s an allergic reaction is to pay attention to the timing and consistency of the reaction. Reactions that appear within about an hour after exposure to a specific food or substance are likely allergic in nature.
The best strategy for treating allergies is to avoid allergens. This requiresallergy testingto pinpoint the exact allergens that could be triggering your reaction. Once you know your triggers, you can avoid them, but you should also have a plan to manage unforeseen exposures.
Medications totreat allergiesinclude:
These medications can help treat your allergic reaction, but symptoms from severe reactions may still last for weeks. You and your healthcare provider should decide the best course of treatment based on your specific allergies and their severity.
Can You Be Allergic to Epinephrine?
Summary
Allergic reactions on the face can include skin rashes, redness, itchy patches, tiny bumps, hives, swelling, and more. The body’s production of antibodies causes these symptoms after exposure to allergens, such as animals, food, pollen, fragrances, and metals. Severe allergic reactions can bring about anaphylaxis (swelling of the mouth and throat), making it difficult to breathe.
The best way to treat allergies is to avoid specific triggers, which you can determine through allergy testing. However, you should always have a plan to manage allergies in case of exposure.
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Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
American College of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology.Eczema.National Eczema Society.Facial eczema.American College of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology.Skin allergy.Medline Plus.Hives.Medline Plus.Angioedema.Kanani A, Betschel SD, Warrington R.Urticaria and angioedema.Allergy Asthma Clin Immunol.2018;14(S2):59. doi:10.1186/s13223-018-0288-zAsthma and Allergy Foundation of America.Allergies.American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology.Allergic reactions.American College of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology.Seasonal allergies.Merck Manual Consumer Version.Seasonal allergies.American College of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology.Pet allergies.American College of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology.Pet allergies.American College of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology.Insect sting allergies.American College of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology.Food allergy.Johns Hopkins Medicine.Food allergies.American College of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology.Rashes.American College of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology.Drug allergies.Johns Hopkins Medicine.Contact dermatitis.Medline Plus.Contact dermatitis.U.S. Food & Drug Administration.Allergens in cosmetics.American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology.Indoor allergens.National Eczema Association.5 environmental allergies (and how to manage them).MedlinePlus.Allergic reactions.Yale Medicine.Allergic contact dermatitis.
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Medline Plus.Angioedema.
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American College of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology.Food allergy.
Johns Hopkins Medicine.Food allergies.
American College of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology.Rashes.
American College of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology.Drug allergies.
Johns Hopkins Medicine.Contact dermatitis.
Medline Plus.Contact dermatitis.
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Yale Medicine.Allergic contact dermatitis.
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