You might be understandably paranoid about seeing new bumps appear on your skin these days, as monkeypox outbreaks around the world alarm public health experts. But plenty of other ailments can cause rashes, blisters, and sores—aren’t bodies fun?
There have been over 4,000 reported cases of monkeypox globally this year, including at least 300 in the U.S. While this viral illness may not be as fast-spreading as covid-19, it’s threatening to shift from a zoonotic disease, rarely spread from rodents, to something that regularly jumps between humans from here on out, perhaps predominantly as a sexually transmitted infection. Monkeypox’s most distinctive symptoms are the contagious bumpy rashes that form a week or two after exposure, which can last for up to a month.
For reference, here’s what actual monkeypox looks like:
Here are eight afflictions that you could easily mistake for monkeypox.
