Symmetrical non-itchy rash on body

[rs4xj69]

Hello, I am a 26 year old white male.  Several weekends ago I was sick, had a fever one night and my neck felt really swollen.  I was over it after several days but by the next weekend (7 or so days after the fever) I noticed a few red spots on my wrists.  By the next day it was starting to appear all over my forearms.  I waiting one week to see if it would subside then I went to see a dermatologist.  By this time the rash was highly concentrated on my forearms, it almost looked like I had a bad sunburn from a distance, and I was noticing an outbreak on the top of my right foot.  I only had some spots on my upper arms and only very few spots on my torso.  The rash doesn't itch or is not uncomfortable in any way, the redness seems to depend on many factors since sometimes its really red (in the mornings) but other times is less so, there is no puss/oozing or anything gross like that, it just seems to flake and leave dead skin in areas the rash did exist but has since disappeared

The doctor wasn't able to tell me much, basically told me it is probably a viral infection (since the rash is symmetrical) caused by my fever and swollen throat, but we can't be sure (and is probably not worth it to run tests and otherwise spend money trying to figure it out).  He prescribed me some cortisone cream that I have been using and appears to be effective, at least at helping the redness.  It's been 4 weeks since I first noticed the spots on my wrist (3 weeks since seeing the doctor) and I don't feel the rash is subsiding.  It is re-appearing on my arms if I don't use the cream for a couple days, the top of my right foot is still red and blotchy, my lower legs have many areas of the spots (but I have hairy legs so its harder to see) and I seem to noticed new spots on my torso and upper legs almost daily.

I attached a picture to give you an idea.  I have been using the cream on my torso for the past couple days so the spots don't look as red.  The picture of my arm is a bit blury but the redness has returned since I haven't been using the cream on my arms for a couple days.

I just wanted another opinion or hopefully some insight from someone who has experience something like this before. Does this sound like a common viral infection that will eventually pass on its own, or should I be more concerned?  How long should I expect it to take for this to completely go away?

Thank you all for your time.

[Denore]

The worse case scenereo could be HIV infection, dont be paronod as yet though you must get tested and advance to the next steps.

[dmartin138]

I don't know if you are still looking at this post, but i have the exact same rash and have no idea what it is.  i have only had it about 1 week but it looks just like your pics and doesn't itch or anything.  i have had a sore throat recently but i don't think i have had a fever.  just wondering if you ever figured out what it was or how to make it go away.
thanks!

[rs4xj69]

Could this be more serious than a "common" viral infection? or am I just being paranoid?