Skin conditions from A to Z

Also known as: Acne vulgaris · Breakouts

Inflamed oil glands causing pimples, blackheads and sometimes scarring.

Also known as: Conglobate acne

Rare, very severe acne in which inflamed lesions merge to form abscesses.

Also known as: Picked acne

Acne in which scratching and picking cause visible skin damage.

Also known as: Solar keratosis · Sun damage

Rough, red patches caused by years of sun exposure, a precursor of skin cancer.

Also known as: Acne tarda · Late-onset acne

Acne that starts after the age of 25, often hormonal and on the jawline.

Also known as: solar lentigo · sun spots · liver spots

Evenly light brown, benign spots on the face and hands caused by years of sun.

Also known as: Patchy hair loss · Hair loss

Sudden, round bald patches caused by an immune reaction against the hair roots.

Also known as: pruritus ani · itchy anus · itchy bottom

Itching around the anus caused by irritation, eczema, fungus, haemorrhoids or worms.

Also known as: Male pattern baldness · Female pattern hair loss · Pattern hair loss

Inherited hair loss with a characteristic pattern in men and women.

Also known as: Canker sores · Mouth ulcers

Painful, shallow ulcers in the mouth that heal on their own.

Also known as: Tinea pedis

Itchy, flaking skin between the toes.

Also known as: Atopic dermatitis

Chronic, itchy eczema that often starts in childhood.

Also known as: Balanoposthitis

Redness, irritation or itching of the head of the penis, with a range of possible causes.

Also known as: BCC

The most common form of skin cancer, usually slow-growing.

Also known as: Angiospastic macules

Small pale spots that disappear under pressure, a benign vascular phenomenon.

Also known as: Furuncle

A painful, pus-filled infection of a hair follicle.

Also known as: Morbus Bowen · Carcinoma in situ

An early, superficial form of skin cancer, only in the top layer of the skin.

Also known as: Burn · Scald

Cool the burn first, then assess it.

Also known as: senile hemangioma · Campbell de Morgan spots · red mole

Benign bright red dots made of dilated blood vessels that increase with age.

Also known as: Varicella

A contagious viral infection with itchy blisters across the body.

Also known as: pernio · perniosis · winter toes

Red to purple, itchy or painful patches on toes or fingers caused by cold.

Also known as: Cold sores · Herpes simplex

Recurring blisters on the lips or genitals caused by the herpes virus.

Also known as: Acne comedonica · Blackheads

Mainly open and closed comedones with little inflammation.

Also known as: Contact dermatitis

Redness and itching after contact with an irritating or allergy-triggering substance.

Also known as: Facial telangiectasia

Persistently visible small blood vessels on the face.

Also known as: Nodular acne · Deep painful spots

Severe acne with deep, painful bumps and a higher risk of scarring.

Also known as: histiocytoma · benign fibrous histiocytoma

Hard, benign bump in the skin, usually on the lower leg.

Also known as: Xerosis

Tight, flaky skin caused by a weakened moisture barrier.

Also known as: pompholyx · vesicular hand eczema · dyshidrosis

Small, itchy blisters on the palms, fingers or soles that come back in waves.

Also known as: Dermatitis

An umbrella term for itchy, inflamed and flaking skin.

Also known as: Cellulitis · St Anthony's fire

A skin infection that needs prompt treatment.

Also known as: Panniculitis

Painful red nodules, usually on the shins.

Also known as: Inflamed hair follicles

Inflammation of the hair follicles with small, red pimples.

Also known as: Onychomycosis · Nail fungus

A fungal infection that makes the nail thick, discoloured and crumbly.

Painful blisters or sores in the genital area caused by the herpes virus.

Also known as: HPV warts

Small warts on or around the genitals, caused by human papillomavirus (HPV).

Also known as: Basal cell naevus syndrome · Gorlin

A rare hereditary condition with many basal cell carcinomas at a young age.

Also known as: Ring-shaped rash

Bumps in a ring, without scaling.

Also known as: Hand dermatitis

Red, itchy and flaking hands from inflammation of the skin.

Also known as: Acne inversa

Recurring, painful lumps and abscesses in the skin folds.

Also known as: Urticaria · Nettle rash

Sudden, itchy welts that appear quickly and fade again.

Also known as: Excessive sweating

Sweating more than the body needs to regulate its temperature.

Also known as: Dark spots · Pigmentation spots

Dark patches caused by an excess of pigment in the skin.

Also known as: ichthyosis vulgaris · fish scale skin · fish skin disease

Inherited, extremely dry and scaly skin that looks like fish scales.

Also known as: School sores

A highly contagious skin infection with honey-coloured crusts.

Also known as: mosquito bite · insect sting · bug bites

Itchy bump after a mosquito, wasp or bed bug bite; sometimes infected or allergic.

Also known as: Pruritus

Persistent itch, sometimes without a visible cause on the skin.

A fast-growing lump with a keratin plug, a low-grade form of skin cancer.

Also known as: Chicken skin

Rough, tiny bumps on the upper arms, thighs and cheeks.

Also known as: Venous leg ulcer · Chronic leg ulcer

A wound on the lower leg that will not heal.

Also known as: Dubreuilh's disease · Lentigo maligna melanoma

A slowly changing pigment patch from sun damage, an early stage.

Itchy, purple, flat-topped bumps on the skin or mucous membranes.

Also known as: Fatty lump · Fatty tumour

A soft fatty lump under the skin.

Also known as: Malignant melanoma

A serious form of skin cancer that starts in the pigment cells.

Also known as: Early melanoma

A very superficial form of melanoma, only in the top skin layer.

Also known as: Pregnancy mask · Chloasma

Brown patches of pigmentation on the face, often triggered by sun and hormones.

Also known as: Melanocytic tumour · Uncertain mole

A pigment tumour whose behaviour cannot be predicted with certainty.

Also known as: milium · milk spots

Small, white, hard bumps in the skin, mainly around the eyes.

Also known as: Mole · Naevus

Harmless brown spots of pigment, some worth keeping an eye on.

Also known as: Water warts · Mollusca

Small, shiny bumps caused by a virus, mostly in children.

Also known as: Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma · Skin lymphoma

The most common form of skin lymphoma, which usually progresses slowly.

Also known as: PeIN · Precancerous penile lesion

A precancerous stage of penile cancer, often caused by HPV.

Also known as: Dermatitis perioralis

Bumps around the mouth with a surprising culprit.

A harmless rash of oval, scaly patches on the torso.

Also known as: Tinea versicolor

Lighter or darker scaly patches on the trunk caused by a yeast.

Also known as: Pressure ulcers · Bedsores

Skin damage caused by pressure and often preventable.

A chronic condition with thick, scaly, red patches.

Also known as: Crabs

Small lice in pubic hair that cause itching.

Also known as: Tinea corporis

A round, scaly, itchy patch caused by a fungus.

Persistent redness, bumps and visible blood vessels in the face.

Intense itching caused by a mite that burrows into the skin.

Also known as: Tinea capitis · Ringworm of the scalp

Bald, scaly patches on the scalp caused by a fungus, mainly in children.

Also known as: Epidermoid cyst · Atheroma

A small lump under the skin.

Also known as: Seborrhoeic dermatitis · Dandruff

Flaky, greasy patches on the scalp and face.

Also known as: Senile warts · Age spots

Harmless, wart-like brown growths that appear with age.

Also known as: Herpes zoster

Painful, one-sided blisters caused by the varicella-zoster virus.

Also known as: acrochordon · fibroma pendulans · soft fibroma

Soft, benign skin flaps on a stalk, mainly on the neck, armpits and groin.

Also known as: SCC

A form of skin cancer that starts in the upper layer of the skin.

Also known as: STD · Sexually transmitted infection

Umbrella term for infections spread through sexual contact, sometimes with skin symptoms.

Also known as: Sun spots · Heat rash

Sun spots, heat rash and everything summer brings out in the skin.

Also known as: Polymorphous light eruption · PMLE

An itchy rash after the first strong sun exposure of the season.

Also known as: Lues

An STI that starts with a painless sore and can later cause a rash.

Also known as: Telogen hair loss · Diffuse hair loss

Temporary, diffuse hair loss after a disruption of the hair cycle.

Also known as: erythema migrans · Lyme disease rash · tick bite red ring

A red ring or patch that grows after a tick bite: the first sign of Lyme disease.

Loss of pigment causing sharply defined white patches.

Also known as: Verrucae

Benign bumps caused by the human papillomavirus.

Also known as: Chapped hands

Dry skin, chapped hands, chilblains and everything the cold sets off.