It is very rare and estimated to affect 1 in 100,000 per year. Because of its rarity the documentation, cases and information are sparse and not a huge amount is known for certain, meaning that EAC could actually be a set of many un-classified skin lesions. It is known to occur at all ages and all genders equally. Some articles state that women are more likely to be affected than men.

EN is associated with a wide variety of conditions, including:

- Idiopathic

In about 30–50% of cases, the cause of EN is unknown.

- Infection

- Streptococcal infection which, in children, is by far the most common precipitant,

- Primary infection of Tuberculosis

- "Mycoplasma pneumoniae"

- "Histoplasma capsulatum"

- "Yersinia"

- Epstein-Barr virus

- "Coccidioides immitis" (Valley fever)

- Cat scratch disease

- Autoimmune disorders, including

- Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)

- Behçet's disease

- Sarcoidosis

- Pregnancy

- Medications, including

- Sulfonamides

- Penicillins

- Oral contraceptives

- Bromides

- Hepatitis B vaccination

- Cancer, including

- Non-Hodgkins lymphoma (NHL)

- Carcinoid tumours

- Pancreatic cancer

EN may also be due to excessive antibody production in lepromatous leprosy leading to deposition of immune complexes.

There is an association with the HLA-B27 histocompatibility antigen, which is present in 65% of patients with erythema nodosum.

A useful mnemonic for causes is SORE SHINS (Streptococci, OCP, Rickettsia, Eponymous (Behçet), Sulfonamides, Hansen's Disease (Leprosy), IBD, NHL, Sarcoidosis.

Often no specific cause for the eruptions is found. However, it is sometimes linked to underlying diseases and conditions such as:

- Food (including blue cheese or tomatoes).

- Contact Dermatitis (i.e. cleaning agents, fabric softeners, etc.)

- Fungal, Bacterial and Viral infections such as sinusitis, tuberculosis, candidiasis or tinea.

- Drugs including finasteride, etizolam (and benzodiazepines), chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine, oestrogen, penicillin and amitriptyline.

- Cancer (especially the type known as erythema gyratum perstans, in which there are concentric and whirling rings).

- Primary biliary cirrhosis.

- Graves disease.

- Appendicitis.

- Lupus

- Pregnancy (EAC usually disappears/stops soon after delivery of baby).

- Hormone (Contraceptive Pill, Stress, Hormone Drugs)

- Lyme Disease

Erythema nodosum is the most common form of panniculitis. It is most common in the ages of 20–30, and affects women 3–6 times more than men.

About 15 percent of patients with inflammatory bowel disease develop erythema nodosum.

Erythema induratum is a panniculitis on the calves. It occurs mainly in women, but it is very rare now. Historically, when it has occurred, it has often been concomitant with cutaneous tuberculosis, and it was formerly thought to be always a reaction to the tuberculum bacillus. It is now considered a panniculitis that is not associated with just a single defined pathogen. The medical eponym Bazin disease was historically synonymous, but it applies only to the tuberculous form and is dated.

Predisposing factors include abnormal amount of subcutaneous fat, thick ankles and abnormally poor arterial supply. Abnormal arterial supply causes low-grade ischemia of ankle region. The ankle skin becomes sensitive to temperature changes. When weather is cold, ankle is cold, blue and often tender. In hot weather, ankle becomes hot, edematous, swollen and painful. Chilblains may be present. On palpation, small superficial and painful nodules are felt. They break down to form small and multiple ulcers. Fresh crops of nodules appear in periphery of ulcer and ultimately break down. In nodular stage, pain is present; while it subsides in ulcerative stage.

Erythema ab igne was once commonly seen in the elderly who stood or sat closely to open fires or electric heaters; however, erythema ab igne has been reported in both young and elderly individuals. Women have a higher incidence of erythema ab igne than men. Although wide use of central heating has reduced the overall incidence of erythema ab igne, it is still sometimes found in people exposed to heat from other sources such as heating pads, space heaters, hot water bottles, and electronic devices.

It can be caused by infection, massage, electrical treatment, acne medication, allergies, exercise, solar radiation (sunburn), cutaneous radiation syndrome, mercury toxicity, blister agents, niacin administration, or waxing and tweezing of the hairs—any of which can cause the capillaries to dilate, resulting in redness. Erythema is a common side effect of radiotherapy treatment due to patient exposure to ionizing radiation.

Erythema disappears on finger pressure (blanching), while purpura or bleeding in the skin and pigmentation do not. There is no temperature elevation, unless it is associated with the dilation of arteries in the deeper layer of the skin.

Different types of heat sources can cause this condition such as:

- Repeated application of hot water bottles, heating blankets or heat pads to treat chronic pain—e.g., chronic backache.

- Repeated exposure to heated car seats, space heaters, or fireplaces. Repeated or prolonged exposure to a heater is a common cause of this condition in elderly individuals.

- Occupational hazards of silversmiths and jewellers (face exposed to heat), bakers and chefs (arms)

- Resting a laptop computer on the thigh (laptop computer-induced erythema ab igne). In a 2012 review, Riahi and Cohen describe the characteristics of laptop computer-induced erythema ab igne. Temperatures between 43-47 °C can cause this skin condition; modern laptops can generate temperatures in this range. Indeed, laptops with powerful processors can reach temperatures of 50 °C and be associated with burns. Positioning of the laptop on the thighs can allow for direct exposure to the heating elements of the laptop, which include the central processing unit (CPU) and the graphics processing unit (GPU). At least 15 cases have been reported by 2012 with the condition usually affecting the left anterior thigh. In these reports, 9 of the 15 patients were women (60%) with an average age of 25 years at diagnosis.

- In Kashmir, due to the use of a kanger which also causes kangri cancer

- It is a classic finding in chronic pancreatitis and may also be seen in people with hypothyroidism or lymphoedema

Many suspected aetiologic factors have been reported to cause EM.

- Infections: Bacterial (including Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination, haemolytic "Streptococci", legionellosis, leprosy, "Neisseria meningitidis, Mycobacterium, "Pneumococcus, "Salmonella" species, "Staphylococcus" species, "Mycoplasma pneumoniae), "Chlamydial.

- Fungal (Coccidioides immitis)

- Parasitic ("Trichomonas" species, "Toxoplasma gondii), "

- Viral (especially Herpes simplex)

- Drug reactions, most commonly to: antibiotics (including, sulphonamides, penicillin), anticonvulsants (phenytoin, barbiturates), aspirin, antituberculoids, and allopurinol and many others.

- Physical factors: radiotherapy, cold, sunlight

- Others: collagen diseases, vasculitides, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, leukaemia, multiple myeloma, myeloid metaplasia, polycythemia

EM minor is regarded as being triggered by HSV in almost all cases. A herpetic aetiology also accounts for 55% of cases of EM major. Among the other infections, "Mycoplasma" infection appears to be a common cause.

Herpes simplex virus suppression and even prophylaxis (with acyclovir) has been shown to prevent recurrent erythema multiforme eruption.

Chilblains — also known as pernio, chill burns and perniosis — is a medical condition that occurs when a predisposed individual is exposed to cold and humidity, causing tissue damage. It is often confused with frostbite and trench foot. Damage to capillary beds in the skin causes redness, itching, inflammation, and sometimes blisters. Chilblains can be reduced by keeping the feet and hands warm in cold weather, and avoiding extreme temperature changes. Chilblains can be idiopathic (spontaneous and unrelated to another disease), but may also be a manifestation of another serious medical condition that must be investigated. A history of chilblains suggests a connective tissue disease (such as lupus). In infants, chilblains together with severe neurologic disease and unexplained fevers occurs in Aicardi–Goutières syndrome, a rare inherited condition.

It is associated with various physiological as well as pathological changes, or may be a normal finding:

- Portal hypertension

- Chronic liver disease (including chronic hepatitis)

- Pregnancy

- Polycythemia

- Thyrotoxicosis

- Rheumatoid arthritis (especially in patients with polycythaemia)

- Eczema and psoriasis

- Deep telangiectasias

- Coxsackievirus A infection (Hand, foot and mouth disease)

- Rocky Mountain spotted fever

- Secondary syphilis

- Kawasaki disease

- Adverse drug reaction: palmoplantar erythrodysesthesia (acral erythema)

Because circulating levels of estrogen increase in both cirrhosis and pregnancy, estrogen was thought to be the cause for the increased vascularity. More recently, nitric oxide has been implicated in the pathogenesis of palmar erythema.

The medieval "Bald's Leechbook" recommended treating chilblains with a mix of eggs, wine, and fennel root.

A common tradition of Hispanic America recommends warm garlic on the chilblains.

Discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE) is a chronic skin condition of sores with inflammation and scarring favouring the face, ears, and scalp and at times on other body areas. These lesions develop as a red, inflamed patch with a scaling and crusty appearance. The centre areas may appear lighter in colour with a rim darker than the normal skin.

Discoid lupus erythematosus can be divided into localised, generalised, and childhood discoid lupus erythematosus.

Palmar erythema is reddening of the palms at the thenar and hypothenar eminences.

Erythema marginatum is a type of erythema (redness of the skin or mucous membranes) involving pink rings on the torso and inner surfaces of the limbs which come and go for as long as several months. It is found primarily on extensor surfaces.

An association with bradykinin has been proposed in the case of hereditary angioedema.

Some sources distinguish between the following:

- "Erythema marginatum rheumaticum"

- "Erythema marginatum perstans"

Baboon syndrome affects both sexes equally, and can occur at any age, but seems to be more common in childhood than in adulthood.

The overwhelming majority of neutrophilic eccrine hidradenitis (NEH) is seen in people with cancer, especially leukaemia, who receive chemotherapy with a cytotoxic drug. These include: Bleomycin, chlorambucil, cyclophosphamide, cytarabine, doxorubicin, lomustine, mitoxantrone, topotecan, and vincristine.

NEH was first described in 1982 in a patient with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) who had received cytarabine as chemotherapy.

Cancer itself, infections, and other medicinal drugs also can lead to NEH. NEH has been reported in patients with cancer who have not received any form of chemotherapy (i.e., as a paraneoplastic syndrome), in patients with HIV and/or AIDS, and after the use of paracetamol (acetaminophen). Also the use of targeted agents can lead to NEH, e.g. imatinib, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor.

NEH has also been described without any known reason (idiopathic cases), including idiopathic cases in children.

The exact cause of NEH is unknown. In patients receiving chemotherapy, it has been postulated that a high concentration of the cytotoxic drug in sweat has a direct toxic effect on the eccrine glands.

Localised discoid lupus erythematosus typically presents with skin lesions localised above the neck, with favoured sites being the scalp, bridge of the nose, cheeks, above the lips and ears as well as the arms hair scratching glasses touching name="Andrews1"/> Another form of discoid lupus erythematosus includes oral discoid. Oral discoid lupus erythematosus results in oral lesions which present themselves as white spots, ulcers and central erythema lesions. Oral discoid lesions most commonly occur on the labial mucosa, vermillion border and buccal mucosa. Atrophy may be observed in some cases. Dentists may be important in establishing the diagnosis before the cutaneous lesions become apparent.

Symmetrical drug-related intertriginous and flexural exanthema (SDRIFE), more popularly known as Baboon syndrome because of its resemblance to the distinctive red buttocks displayed by female baboons, is a systemic contact dermatitis characterized by well-demarcated patches of erythema distributed symmetrically on the buttocks.

The cause of the syndrome may be drug-related, i.e. induced by systemic administration of hydroxyzine penicillin, iodinated radio contrast media and others.

Urticarial erythema multiforme is an unusual reaction virtually always associated with antibiotic ingestions, characterized by skin lesions that consist of urticarial papules and plaques, some of which clear centrally forming annular lesions, but with no true urticarial lesions.

Septal panniculitis is a condition of the subcutaneous fat affecting the layer of adipose tissue that lies between the dermis and underlying fascia, of which there are two forms: acute erythema nodosum and chronic erythema nodosum.

Erythema multiforme is frequently self-limiting and requires no treatment. The appropriateness of glucocorticoid therapy can be uncertain, because it is difficult to determine if the course will be a resolving one.