Skin disorders, such as acne and eczema, vary greatly in symptoms and severity. They can be temporary or permanent and may be painless or painful. Some can be life threatening.

Some skin disorders have situational causes, while others may be genetic. While most skin disorders are minor, others can indicate a more serious issue.

Contact a doctor if you believe you may have one of these common skin problems.

There are many different types of skin disorders. Here are pictures of 25 different conditions, followed by a list of details for each.

Acne

  • Acne is commonly located on the face, neck, shoulders, chest, and upper back.
  • Breakouts on the skin are composed of redness, blackheads, whiteheads, pimples, or deep, painful cysts and nodules.
  • This condition may leave scars or darken the skin if untreated.
  • People of Color can experience dark spots known as post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH).

Learn more about acne.

Cold sore

  • This condition causes a red, painful, fluid-filled blister that appears near the mouth and lips. People with lighter skin may notice more redness than those with darker skin.
  • The affected area will often tingle or burn before the sore is visible.
  • Outbreaks may also be accompanied by mild, flu-like symptoms such as low fever, body aches, and swollen lymph nodes.
  • Cold sores usually look similar on any skin color but can also cause PIH in people with darker skin.

Learn more about cold sores and cold sores on dark skin.

Blister

  • Blisters are characterized by a watery, clear, fluid-filled area on the skin.
  • They may be smaller than 1 centimeter (cm) (vesicle) or larger than 1 cm (bulla) and can occur alone or in groups.
  • Blisters can be found anywhere on the body.

Learn more about blisters.

Hives

  • This causes itchy, raised welts that occur after exposure to an allergen.
  • Welts may be warm and mildly painful to the touch.
  • Hives on darker skin can appear raised or inflamed and might be slightly darker or lighter than your natural skin color. On lighter skin, hives usually appear red.
  • They can be small, round, ring-shaped, or randomly shaped.

Learn more about hives.

Actinic keratosis

  • This condition causes a thick, scaly, or crusty skin patch.
  • It’s typically less than 2 cm or about the size of a pencil eraser.
  • It often appears on parts of the body that receive a lot of sun exposure, such as the hands, arms, face, scalp, and neck.
  • The skin patch is usually pink in color but can have a brown, tan, or gray base. This patch may appear the same color as the surrounding skin in people with darker skin.

Learn more about actinic keratosis.

Rosacea

  • This chronic skin disease goes through cycles of fading and relapse.
  • Relapses may be triggered by spicy foods, alcoholic beverages, sunlight, stress, and the intestinal bacteria Helicobacter pylori.
  • There are four subtypes of rosacea encompassing a wide variety of symptoms.
  • Common symptoms include facial flushing, raised red bumps, skin dryness, and skin sensitivity.
  • People with darker skin tones may notice brown discoloration or dry and swollen patches of dark skin.

Learn more about rosacea.

Carbuncle

  • This causes a red, painful, and irritated lump under your skin.
  • It may be accompanied by fever, body aches, and fatigue.
  • It can also cause skin crustiness or oozing.
  • It may appear more violet on darker skin.

Learn more about carbuncles.

Latex allergy

This condition is considered a medical emergency. Urgent care may be required. Contact 911 or local emergency services.

  • This causes a rash, which may occur within minutes to hours after exposure to a latex product. It may be less visible on darker skin or appear lighter or darker than surrounding tissue.
  • It also causes warm, itchy wheals at the site of contact, which may take on a dry, crusted appearance with repeated exposure to latex.
  • Airborne latex particles may cause cough, runny nose, sneezing, and itchy, watery eyes.
  • A severe allergy to latex can cause swelling and difficulty breathing.

Learn more about latex allergies.

Eczema

  • Eczema is characterized by pink, red, brown, purple, or gray, sometimes with scaly patches that flake off.
  • Affected areas may be itchy, greasy, or oily.
  • On light skin, eczema can cause a red rash. This rash may appear brown, purple, or gray on darker skin.
  • Hair loss may also occur in the area with the rash.

Learn more about eczema.

Psoriasis

  • This causes scaly, silvery, sharply defined skin plaques. Darker-skinned people might also experience dark brown or purplish patches on the skin.
  • Patches are commonly located on the scalp, elbows, knees, and lower back.
  • This condition may be itchy or asymptomatic.

Learn more about psoriasis.

Cellulitis

Cellulitis is a medical emergency. A person should contact 911 or local emergency services if they have any symptoms of cellulitis.

  • Cellulitis is caused by bacteria or fungi entering through a crack or cut in the skin.
  • It causes painful swollen skin with or without oozing that spreads quickly.
  • The skin might appear red on lighter skin. However, this may be less noticeable on darker skin tones.
  • The skin may feel hot and tender to the touch.
  • Fever, chills, and red streaking from the rash might be symptoms of a serious infection requiring medical attention.

Learn more about cellulitis.

Measles

  • Symptoms of measles include fever, sore throat, red or watery eyes, loss of appetite, cough, and runny nose.
  • It also causes a red rash, which spreads from the face down the body 3-5 days after the first symptoms appear. This rash might be more difficult to see on darker skin.
  • Tiny red spots with blue-white centers may appear inside the mouth.
  • Measles may cause more obvious PIH in People of Color

Learn more about measles.

Basal cell carcinoma

  • It can cause dome-like, pink or red, shiny, and pearly areas that may have a sunk-in center, like a crater. For people with dark skin, it might appear darker and less pearly.
  • This condition is often characterized by raised, firm, and pale areas that may resemble a scar.
  • Blood vessels on the growth may be visible.
  • It might cause easy bleeding or an oozing wound that doesn’t seem to heal, or it heals and then reappears.

Learn more about basal cell carcinoma.

Squamous cell carcinoma

  • This condition often occurs in areas exposed to ultraviolet (UV) radiation, such as the face, ears, and back of the hands.
  • It may be characterized by a scaly, reddish patch of skin, which progresses to a raised bump that continues to grow. The bump may be lighter on darker skin.
  • It can also cause a growth that bleeds easily, doesn’t heal, or heals and then reappears.

Learn more about squamous cell carcinoma.

Melanoma

  • This is the most serious form of skin cancer, which is more common in people with light skin.
  • It can appear anywhere on the body as a mole that has irregularly shaped edges, asymmetrical shapes, and multiple colors. In People of Color, melanoma often appears in areas that are less exposed to the sun.
  • It might also appear as a mole that has changed color or gotten bigger over time, which is usually larger than a pencil eraser.

Learn more about melanoma.

Lupus

  • Lupus can cause the classic butterfly rash associated with the condition, which is a warm, brown, or red rash that spreads across the cheeks and bridge of the nose like butterfly wings and worsens in the sun.
  • Other types of lupus cause different symptoms. For example, discoid lupus can cause a scaly, disc-shaped rash that doesn’t itch or hurt. Cutaneous lupus erythematosus causes scaly red patches or ring shapes that are most commonly located on the shoulders, forearms, neck, and upper torso and worsen with exposure to sunlight. However, these types are less common.
  • Other lupus symptoms include fatigue, headaches, fever, and swollen or painful joints.
  • People of Color have a greater chance of developing PIH and abnormal scarring.

Learn more about lupus.

Contact dermatitis

  • This condition appears hours to days after contact with an allergen.
  • It causes a rash with visible borders and appears where your skin has touched the irritating substance.
  • The skin may be itchy, scaly, or raw. Lighter skin can appear red, while darker skin may appear purple, gray, or dark brown.
  • It might also cause blisters that weep, ooze, or become crusty.

Learn more about contact dermatitis.

Vitiligo

  • Vitiligo is characterized by loss of pigment in the skin due to autoimmune destruction of the cells that give skin its color.
  • Focal vitiligo causes loss of skin color in only a few small areas, which may merge together.
  • Segmental pattern vitiligo causes depigmentation on one side of the body.
  • Vitiligo can also cause premature graying of the scalp or facial hair.
  • People of different skin tones will usually develop skin patches much lighter than their natural skin tone. In people with darker skin, it tends to be more noticeable, which may cause increased stigma related to the condition.

Learn more about vitiligo.

Wart

  • Warts are caused by many different types of a virus called the human papillomavirus (HPV).
  • They may be found on the skin or mucous membranes and can occur singly or in groups.
  • Warts are contagious and may be passed to others.

Learn more about warts.

Chickenpox

  • This can cause clusters of itchy, red or brown, fluid-filled blisters in various stages of healing all over the body.
  • The rash is accompanied by fever, body aches, sore throat, and loss of appetite.
  • Chickenpox remains contagious until all blisters have crusted over.
  • Chickenpox can be harder to see on darker skin.

Learn more about chickenpox.

Seborrheic eczema

  • This condition is characterized by yellow or white scaly patches that flake off.
  • Affected areas may be red, itchy, greasy, or oily.
  • People with darker skin may also notice hypopigmentation, or loss of skin color, in affected areas.
  • Hair loss may occur in the area with the rash.

Learn more about seborrheic eczema.

Keratosis pilaris

  • This common skin condition is most often seen on the arms and legs but might also occur on the face, buttocks, and trunk.
  • It often clears up on its own by age 30.
  • It often causes bumps of skin that appear bumpy, appear slightly red, and feel rough.
  • Symptoms may get worse in dry weather.
  • The hair follicles may look darker than the surrounding skin on darker skin. They’ll usually look red or purple on lighter skin.

Learn more about keratosis pilaris.

Ringworm

  • This condition causes circular, scaly rashes with a raised border.
  • Skin in the middle of the ring might appear clear and healthy, and the ring’s edges may spread outward.
  • The skin often feels itchy.
  • The ring is usually red or pink on light skin and brown or gray on darker skin.

Learn more about ringworm.

Melasma

  • This common skin condition causes dark patches to appear on the face and — rarely — the neck, chest, or arms.
  • Melasma is more common in pregnant people (chloasma) and individuals with a darker skin color or heavy sun exposure.
  • It might not cause other symptoms beyond skin discoloration.
  • It may go away on its own within a year or may become permanent.

Learn more about melasma.

Impetigo

  • This condition is common in babies and children.
  • It usually causes an irritating rash, which is often located in the area around the mouth, chin, and nose.
  • It might also cause fluid-filled blisters that pop easily and form a honey-colored crust.
  • It may be harder to see on darker skin.

Learn more about impetigo.

Some chronic skin conditions present from birth, while others appear suddenly later.

The cause of these disorders isn’t always known. Many permanent skin disorders have effective treatments that enable extended periods of remission. However, they’re incurable, and symptoms can reappear at any time.

Examples of chronic skin conditions include:

  • rosacea, which is characterized by small, pus-filled bumps on the face
  • psoriasis, which causes scaly, itchy, and dry plaques
  • vitiligo, which results in large, irregular patches of lighter skin
  • eczema, which causes itchy, red, dry, and irritated skin.

Skin disorders are common in children. Children can experience many of the same skin conditions as adults. Infants and toddlers are also at risk of diaper-related skin problems.

Since children have more frequent exposure to other children and germs, they may also develop skin disorders that rarely occur in adults.

Many childhood skin problems disappear with age, but children can also inherit permanent skin disorders. In most cases, doctors can treat childhood skin disorders with topical creams, medicated lotions, or condition-specific drugs.

Common childhood skin disorders include:

Skin conditions have a wide range of symptoms. Symptoms on your skin that appear due to common problems aren’t always the result of a skin disorder. Such symptoms can include blisters from new shoes or chafing from tight pants.

However, skin problems with no obvious cause may indicate the presence of a skin disorder that requires treatment.

Skin irregularities that are typically symptoms of a skin disorder include:

Common known causes of skin disorders include:

  • bacteria trapped in skin pores and hair follicles
  • fungus, parasites, or microorganisms living on the skin
  • viruses
  • a weakened immune system
  • contact with allergens, irritants, or another person’s infected skin
  • genetic factors
  • illnesses affecting the thyroid, immune system, kidneys, and other body systems

Numerous health conditions and lifestyle factors can also lead to the development of certain skin disorders. Some skin conditions have no known cause.

Inflammatory bowel disease

Inflammatory bowel disease is a term for a group of intestinal disorders that cause prolonged inflammation of the digestive tract. These bowel-related disorders often cause skin problems.

Some rugs used to treat these diseases may increase the chance of developing psoriasis.

Diabetes

Many people with diabetes experience a skin problem due to their condition at some point.

Some of these skin disorders only affect people with diabetes. Others occur more frequently in people with diabetes because the disease increases the risk of infection and blood circulation problems.

Diabetes-related skin conditions include:

Lupus

Lupus is a chronic inflammatory disease that can damage the skin, joints, or organs inside the body. Common skin problems that occur from lupus include:

  • a red, butterfly-shaped rash on the cheeks and nose
  • round lesions on the face and head
  • thick, red, scaly lesions
  • red, ring-shaped lesions on body parts exposed to sunlight
  • flat rash on the face and body that looks like a sunburn
  • vasculitis, which is red, purple, or black spots on the fingers and toes
  • sores inside the mouth and nose
  • tiny red spots on the legs

Pregnancy

Pregnancy causes significant changes in hormone levels that may lead to skin problems. Preexisting skin problems may change or get worse during pregnancy. Most skin conditions that arise during pregnancy go away after the baby is born. Others require medical attention during pregnancy.

Common skin conditions caused by pregnancy include:

Stress

Stress can cause hormonal imbalances, which may trigger or aggravate skin disorders. Stress-related skin problems include:

Sun

The sun can cause many different skin disorders. Some are common and harmless, while others are rare or life threatening. Knowing if the sun causes or worsens your skin disorder is important for treating it properly.

Sunlight exposure may cause or aggravate the following conditions:

Many skin disorders are treatable. Common treatment methods for skin conditions include:

  • antihistamines
  • medicated creams and ointments
  • antibiotics
  • steroid injections
  • laser therapy
  • targeted prescription medications
  • biologics

Skin flare-ups

Not all skin disorders respond to treatment, and some conditions go away without treatment.

People with permanent skin conditions often go through periods of severe symptom flares. Sometimes people are able to force incurable conditions into remission. However, most skin conditions reappear due to certain triggers, such as stress or illness.

You can often treat skin disorders that are temporary and cosmetic with:

  • medicated makeup
  • over-the-counter (OTC) skin care products
  • good hygiene practices
  • small lifestyle adjustments, such as making certain dietary changes

Certain skin disorders aren’t preventable, including genetic conditions and some skin problems due to other illnesses. However, it’s possible to prevent some skin disorders.

Follow these tips to prevent infectious skin disorders:

  • Wash your hands with soap and warm water frequently.
  • Avoid sharing eating utensils and drinking glasses with other people.
  • Avoid direct contact with the skin of other people who have an infection.
  • Clean things in public spaces, such as gym equipment, before using them.
  • Don’t share personal items like blankets, hairbrushes, or swimsuits.
  • Sleep for at least 7 hours each night.
  • Drink plenty of water.
  • Avoid excessive physical or emotional stress.
  • Eat a nutritious diet.
  • Get vaccinated for infectious skin conditions, such as chickenpox.

Noncontagious skin disorders

Noninfectious skin disorders, such as acne and atopic dermatitis, are sometimes preventable. Prevention techniques vary depending on the condition. Here are some tips for preventing some noninfectious skin disorders:

  • Wash your face with a gentle cleanser and water every day.
  • Use moisturizer.
  • Avoid environmental and dietary allergens.
  • Avoid contact with harsh chemicals or other irritants.
  • Sleep for at least 7 hours each night, as many skin conditions can worsen due to lack of sleep.
  • Drink plenty of water.
  • Eat a balanced diet.
  • Protect your skin from excessive cold, heat, and wind.

Learning about proper skin care and treatment for skin disorders can be very important for skin health. Some conditions require a doctor’s attention, while you can address others safely at home.

You should learn about your symptoms or condition and talk with a doctor to determine the best treatment methods.

What skin conditions affect mental health?

Having a skin condition can be distressing. You may experience itching or pain, and if the rash is visible, it can be distressing.

All this can have a negative impact on mental health. That said, researchers also believe there may be a biological link between stress and other psychological problems and skin symptoms such as acne, psoriasis, eczema, itching, hives, and more.

In addition, there are diseases, such as Lupus, that affect both the brain and the skin, causing both mood and skin-related symptoms.

What are the top 10 skin diseases?

According to a 2017 study, the most common skin conditions in the United States are:

  1. Other skin conditions
  2. dermatitis
  3. acne
  4. viral skin diseases
  5. psoriasis
  6. fungal skin diseases
  7. hives (urticaria)
  8. nonspecific itchy skin (pruritus)
  9. scabies
  10. alopecia areata

The research article specifies that “other skin conditions” include:

What skin conditions cannot be cured?

A few examples of chronic skin conditions include rosacea, psoriasis, and vitiligo. While these conditions can’t be cured, there are treatments that can help manage symptoms.

Different types of conditions affect the skin. Some are chronic, while others are temporary. Some conditions may be painful or uncomfortable, but they’re not dangerous. Other conditions, such as skin cancer, can be life threatening.

The treatment for each depends on the specific cause. If you experience any new or unusual skin symptoms, it’s a good idea to have them evaluated by a doctor.

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