Drug Rashes

A drug rash is a breakout on your skin caused by a medicine.

• Drug rashes are usually caused by an allergic reaction to a medicine you're taking

• You can get a drug rash from a medicine you swallow, put on your skin, or get as a shot

• You'll get a rash or hives and have itching, peeling, or pain

• If you don't know which medicine is causing the rash, your doctor may have you stop taking all your medicines for a while to figure it out

• Drug rashes usually go away when you stop taking the medicine

• Some drug rashes are serious enough to need treatment

A drug rash is caused by a medicine you're taking. There are many reasons this can happen. The most common include:

• You have an allergic reaction to the medicine—this can happen even after you've been taking a medicine for a while

• The medicine makes your skin more sensitive to sunlight

Drug rashes can be mild or severe. They can happen within a few minutes of taking a medicine or after you've been taking it for weeks.

Symptoms include:

• Mild redness on your skin with tiny bumps

• Lots of peeling of your skin

• Skin pain or itching

• Mouth sores

If you're having an allergic reaction to the medicine, you may have hives in addition to a runny nose, watery eyes, and wheezing.

Rash Caused by a Drug Reaction

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DR HAROUT TANIELIAN/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Doctors will examine your rash and ask you about all your current prescription and over-the-counter medicines. They'll have you stop the medicines most likely to have caused the rash to see whether the rash goes away. Sometimes, they'll test your skin or do a skin biopsy (taking out a little bit of the tissue to look at under a microscope).

Doctors treat drug rashes by:

• Stopping the medicine that caused it—they may prescribe a different medicine instead

• Having you use antihistamines and corticosteroid creams to lessen itching

• Giving you medicine through your vein or by injection, if you're having a serious allergic reaction to the medicine