Zhiber pink lichen is a lesion of the skin of an unknown origin, presumably possibly of a viral nature. This disease manifests itself in the form of characteristic spotted rashes, and at the initial stage it can be represented by only one (maternal) spot.
In clinical dermatology, this disease is also called scaly roseola, pink pitiriasis (pitiriasys rosea), or just Zhiber pink lichen (pictured).
What does it look like?
A similar skin disorder manifests itself in the form of numerous spots of an oval shape and bright pink color, which are localized, as a rule, on the skin of the trunk and extremities. The cause of pitiriasis is currently unknown. Some scientists put forward several theories of the appearance of pink lichen, however, none of them exhaustively explains the origin of the pathology. However, it has been well established that the cause of the disease is not a variety of fungal pathogens.
Observations show that Gibber's pink lichen in humans occurs most often against the background of colds in the fall or spring.
The violation is presumably reactive in nature, that is, it is a reaction of the body to the effects of certain internal or external factors, as well as to the infection of an infectious agent not known to medical science.
With improper external therapy, a bacterial infection that causes purulent phenomena can join this disease, especially in cases when a person has a decrease in immune defense.
Theories of pathology
The etiology of such a disease is not fully understood. Zhiber pink lichen is not dangerous for life and is not infectious and is not transmitted, and can occur due to a variety of factors. There are several theories regarding the causes of pathology:
- Viral theory: it is believed that the disease provokes the virus. It should be noted here that scaly roseola has the same incubation period as the virus that caused it, and a similar theory reflects the fact that in nature there is one of its subspecies that causes Giber disease.
- The bacterial theory that arose when scientists noticed that when vaccinated with a streptococcal vaccine, in some cases, reactions similar to lichen occur. This is also evidenced by the fact that often this disease often occurs after a cold.
- The theory of reactive inflammation, which considers this pathology as an immune response of high sensitivity to a bacterial infection.
- Multivariate theory - takes into account the presumptive effect of all of the above reasons, as well as the harmful effects of psychological factors (stress, psychosomatic phenomena) on the condition of the skin.
Not dangerous and not contagious
A very positive point is that pink lichen is not dangerous to others and they can not be infected from animals. The lichen spots usually go away on their own in a few weeks without any marks on the skin.
In addition, pitiriasis is not a recurring condition, and this fact suggests that an immunity to a similar skin disease is formed in the human body. Therefore, it has been scientifically proven that the pink lichen giber never goes into a chronic form and does not last a long period of time.
Clinical picture
Before the onset of pitiriasis, a person may feel unwell, he may experience pain in the joints, cephalgia, inflammatory reactions in the lymph nodes, after which there is a maternal plaque - one big bright spot on the skin.
The field of this comes the next stage - the spread throughout the body of bright pink or yellow spots, slightly rising above the surface of the epithelium. Such a rash does not appear simultaneously. The spots gradually spread throughout the body, sometimes this occurs in flashes or the extinction of the pathological process. These formations are symmetrical, have clear boundaries, and their shape is elongated or rounded. Symptoms of pink lichen giber (photo is available in the article) is important to recognize in a timely manner.
A rash representing pink lichen spreads throughout the body. The initial elements are located on the chest, then go to the back, inguinal folds, neck, hips, shoulders. A little less commonly, lichen affects the limbs, genitals. Plaques located on the scalp and face are extremely rare.
Pitiriasis never spreads to the mucous membranes. Painful sensations of a person, as a rule, do not bother, only occasionally in the initial phase of the disease, patients note a slight itch.
Approximately during the first seven days of the pathological process, in the middle of each of the spots, the epithelium begins to dry out and exfoliates into many tiny flakes. At this time, tight clothing made of synthetic fabrics should not be worn and excessive sweating should be avoided. Do not lubricate the rash with alcohol solutions and ointments containing zinc or sulfur in order to avoid skin irritation.
After such scales come off, a pink rim remains on the site of the plaques, which rises around the spot, and after its complete disappearance, age spots may appear, which also disappear with time.
Duration
The duration of this disease is approximately two months, after which there is a complete recovery.
In people suffering from immunodeficiency virus, pink lichen is often attached to a similar disease. If a person is sick with pitiriasis in the late stage of HIV, when an irreversible decrease in immunity occurs, then such a skin lesion can take an atypical course.
The occurrence of pink lichen giber is most often found in people under 30 years old, with the same frequency among the female and male population. Much less often, this disease affects children.
How does Gibber pink lichen manifest in children?
The manifestation of the disease in children
The skin of children is very delicate, therefore, with Zhiber’s disease, they often worry about itching in the area of lesions, and the cause of the occurrence may be a weakening of the immune system or preventive vaccination. It should be noted that vaccinations during the height of this pathology are not recommended, since the immunity in children at this time is reduced.
Photo of pink lichen giber can be carefully considered in the article.
Differential and laboratory diagnostics
Gibert's disease has specific signs during a visual examination, however, there are some diseases that look very similar to him. Therefore, it is extremely important to distinguish them from each other, for which differential diagnosis of the patient is carried out. The list of pathologies similar to Giber disease includes:
- Lichen planus, in which the rashes are characterized by the absence of exfoliation of the skin.
- Pityriasis versicolor, which is caused by a fungal infection. Spots with this pathology do not have a clear outline and often merge with each other, forming one large spot.
- Psoriasis externally almost does not differ from pink lichen, but is characterized by a chronic course.
- Ringworm or microsporia is characteristic in that it affects mainly the scalp.
- Herpes zoster is provoked by the herpes virus and proceeds with severe soreness, and the rashes look like blisters.
- Syphilitic roseola, which is a symptom of secondary syphilis. A rash with this disease is localized throughout the body, including the mucous membranes.
- Allergic dermatitis, which manifests itself at the site of direct contact of the skin with an allergen. In this case, rashes, unlike Gibert’s disease, do not spread throughout the body and pass after several hours.
- Eczema, which is a disease that causes a rash in the form of vesicles (vesicles), and a constant sign of this pathology is severe itching and a chronic form.
Some laboratory studies will also help to eliminate fungal, bacterial and viral diseases similar to pitiriasis. Specialists at the same time prescribe special studies of epithelial fragments at the spot formation site to exclude such infections. Blood tests also help establish the presence or absence of syphilitic infection, determine the overall inflammatory response in the body, and help assess the levels of immunodeficiency.
Symptoms and treatment of pink lichen giber are interconnected.
Disease treatment
According to medical experts, patients who suffer from uncomplicated pitiriasis do not need therapy for this disease, since within two months from the onset of the pathological condition, the cure occurs spontaneously.
When pink lichen passes, as a rule, no traces remain on the skin, and a similar problem never appears again in a person. Depriving Zhibera is not contagious, and if the patient feels well and does not have symptoms of the malaise characteristic of the onset of the disease, he is allowed to visit public places and perform professional duties.
What is the treatment for pink lichen giber (consists of its appearance in the photo)?
When lichen is accompanied by severe itching, pain, or other pathological phenomena, certain therapeutic procedures are necessary. For these purposes, some antihistamines are used in the form of tablets, solutions for oral use, as well as immunomodulators to eliminate the inflammatory process and itching.
It should also be noted that bathing in water, friction of the skin and pressure on it, as well as ultraviolet irradiation and some medications that contain tar and sulfur in their composition, lead to the fact that Zhiber's lichen begins to spread even more throughout the body, in As a result, recovery comes much later than anticipated. Therefore, patients with this pathology are not recommended to visit a bath, sauna or pool. You can wash in the shower, warm water and in no case use a washcloth.
In addition, activities that can lead to excessive sweating should be avoided, as this also leads to the progression of this skin disease. During the course of the pathology, doctors also strongly recommend avoiding tanning and sunbathing.
In addition to the above, the list of recommendations includes the normalization of the patient’s diet, exclude fatty foods, coffee, alcohol, and moderate the amount of sugar and salt consumed.
Drug treatment and prevention
In the treatment of gingival pink lichen, as a rule, means of symptomatic therapy are used. These include:
- Antihistamines: Erius, Suprastin, Tsetrin, Tavegil, etc.
- Medicines that reduce inflammatory reactions in the body: calcium chloride, Pantothenate.
- Local medicines in the form of ointments containing hormones: “Elokom”, “Advantan”, “Momat”, “Lokoid”, etc.
- Solutions and pastes, which contain zinc, naphthenic hydrocarbons 2%, borate 2%, for example, Tsindol, zinc ointment, etc.
In the treatment of Gibber's pink lichen, such solutions as iodine, Fukortsin, Tsindol, zelenka, boric acid, potassium permanganate, hydrogen peroxide, apple cider vinegar, sea buckthorn oil and other irritating agents should not be used.
The use of physiotherapeutic procedures, for example, medium-wave UV irradiation, is also recommended.
Treatment of pink lichen giber in children
Most often, therapy is not required. The most important thing is to follow a low-allergenic diet and prevent the spread of spots on the skin, you need to make sure that the baby does not comb and injure the affected areas. In case of severe itching, “Tsindol” and antihistamines (“Claritin”) are prescribed. In eczematous phenomena, in rare cases, corticosteroid ointments and creams are prescribed (Beloderm).
A photo of pink lichen giber in children is presented below.
Recovery with this pathology can be observed in the form of a change in the shade of characteristic rashes. Spots lose inflammatory corollas, turn pale, and then disappear.
Prevention
Prevention of such a pathology must necessarily include measures to maintain the proper functioning of the immune system. It is also necessary to observe the regime of loads and rest, include in the diet a sufficient amount of vitamins that prevail in fresh vegetables and fruits, and also ensure a good sleep.
An important point in the prevention of Giber disease is the stability of the nervous system. In this case, stressful situations, which most often become the trigger for the development of pink lichen, should be avoided.
We examined gibber pink lichen, photos, symptoms, and treatment.