What is the cause for red rashes on back,neck and belly?
Patient: I have started to get a splotchy red rash on my neck, back, belly and ankles that appears between 7 and 8 each night, haven't eaten anything new, no new laundry soap and am fine all day.  Last night I took benadryl, but it leaves me sleepy and out of it the next day.   YYYY@YYYY Doctor: Hello,Thank you for posting on HCM.The condition you have referred to is called Urticaria or hives. Its an allergic manifestation of skin, where an allergen leads to release of certain substances from your blood, leading to itchy skin rash and swelling over soft tissues. Its proper management requires thorough history, clinical and laboratory work-up.You may have to go for specific tests like patch test, food prick test, IgE antibody levels etc. As for treatment part, best would be the avoidance of allergen as far as possible. Try to eliminate possible triggering foods from diet. I would also advise you various anti-histaminics for long duration( atleast 3 months) with or without oral corticosteroids. For non- responding cases there are many other drugs like dapsone, cyclosporine, montelukast, omalizumab etc which can be used in certain selected cases. Hope this will help you in resolving your query.Thank you Dr Hardik Pitroda