Understanding Words for a Child's Skin Condition
A helpful look at some of the terms a healthcare provider may use to describe your child's skin condition.
Words used to describe skin conditions
Your child's healthcare provider may use some of the words below to describe your child's skin condition.
Term | What it means |
Abscess | A closed, painful pocket of pus that may look like a pimple or blister |
Atrophic | Thin, wrinkled |
Blister | Fluid-filled bump under or within the top layer of skin |
Crust or scab | Formation of dried blood, pus, or other skin fluid over a break in the skin |
Cyst | Thin-walled lesion that contains fluid or other material, is under the skin, and may be deep in tissue |
Excoriation | A scratch |
Hives, wheals, welts, urticaria | Pink or white swelling of the skin |
Lesion | Any abnormal mark or change on the skin |
Lichenification | Skin that has thickened usually due to scratching |
Macule | Small, flat, discolored spot |
Nodule/papule | Small, solid, raised bump |
Patch | Large, flat, discolored area |
Pustule (pimple) | Inflamed lesion that appears to contain pus |
Plaque | Large, raised area of skin |
Scales | Dead skin cells that form flakes |
Scar | Fibrous tissue that has formed after a skin injury |