Tubular lichen is quite widespread in our country, although it is typical for residents of warm regions. Its exacerbation most often occurs in the summer. This disease is called differently, for example, sunshine, as well as multi-colored, or pityriasis. Mostly teenagers and young men suffer from it. Consider this pathology in more detail.
Causes of the disease
Lichen (tubular, multi-colored) occurs due to yeast fungi of the genus Malassezia, which can also be found on healthy skin. They need lipids for growth, so there are a lot of them near the ducts of the sebaceous glands. These fungi are conditionally pathogenic and are able to stay on the skin for a long time without manifesting themselves. Their activation occurs as a result of a decrease in immunity and the appearance of favorable conditions for them.
It has been observed that tubular lichen occurs in individuals suffering from excessive sweating. The disease also develops due to high humidity, personal hygiene, imperfections of the autonomic nervous system, and the wearing of synthetic clothing. In addition, lichen can occur due to excessive tanning, frequent use of antibacterial gels or soaps.
This pathology often accompanies persons with diabetes, tuberculosis, seborrhea, rheumatism, as well as with diseases of the intestine, stomach, heart and blood vessels. It was found that tubular lichen occurs as a result of treatment with corticosteroids and taking hormonal contraceptives. A hereditary predisposition is not excluded.
Symptoms of the disease
Due to the fact that yeast contributes to loosening the stratum corneum of the epidermis and disrupts the formation of the pigment melanin, which determines the color of the skin, pink, brown, pinkish-yellow or light brown spots appear on it. These rashes are also depriving. The outlines of the spots are clear, with uneven edges. They may look like papules that protrude slightly above the surface of the skin.
At first, the spots are small, but gradually they begin to increase and even merge with each other. On their surface there is a slight peeling. These spots are very visible on the skin, as they differ from it in their color.
Tubular lichen in humans is rarely accompanied by itching or burning. If such symptoms appear, this indicates the attachment of the bacterial flora. Most often, this disease affects the skin of the back, shoulders, chest, abdomen, neck, i.e., places where there are many sebaceous glands. Much less commonly, lichen occurs on the face, in the axillary, inguinal, scalp. Fungi penetrate into the sebaceous glands and hair follicles, which complicates the treatment. As a result, the course of the disease is long-term in nature with constant relapses.
How is the disease diagnosed?
Tubular lichen is diagnosed using the following methods:
- External examination and Balzer test. After the inspection is carried out, the detected depriving foci are smeared with an alcoholic solution of iodine. In some cases, aniline dyes are used instead , as a result of which the lesions are stained much stronger than healthy skin.
- Definition of a symptom of "shavings". This method consists in the fact that if the lichen spots are carefully scraped with a scalpel, then their peeling intensifies.
- Examination of the skin under the Wood fluorescent lamp. It is carried out by a dermatologist in order to identify atypical skin lesions that are not visible to the naked eye. Under the light of the lamp, depriving foci fluoresce with a dark brown, red-yellow, or greenish color.
- Laboratory examination of epidermal flakes under a microscope, which were obtained by scraping from the lesion. If the result is positive, then the pseudomycelia filaments and yeast spores will be clearly visible.
Lichen tubular: treatment
The duration of the disease, its types, the area of damage to the skin determine what treatment will be prescribed. If the skin is affected by less than 18 percent, and the pathology arose relatively recently, then only external agents are prescribed. At the same time, they treat not only affected skin, but also healthy ones in those places where tubular lichen usually occurs.
How to treat this disease, by what means? Currently, quite effective antifungal drugs are used for this:
- antimycotic shampoos that contain the fungicidal agent ketoconazole ;
- antifungal sprays;
- antifungal creams.
If tubular lichen has been bothering a person for more than two years, then treatment exclusively with external agents will not bring any result. In this case, the doctor usually prescribes systemic antifungal drugs, which are also used for people whose skin is affected by deprivation by more than 18 percent. It can be such funds as Fluconazole and Intraconazole, which reduce treatment time and prevent the development of relapses.
During treatment, it is necessary to change clothes and clothes every day, and bed linen should be boiled in a soap-soda solution. Patients should not experience stress and overwork, be in extreme cold and heat, and also wear synthetics.
Such treatment is usually effective, but hypopigmentation of the skin persists for a long time.
Prevention
To prevent relapse, it is necessary to wipe the skin with acidified water or salicylic alcohol in the heat, because the alkaline sweat reaction provokes the multiplication of the fungus. Once every 1.5-2 months, it is necessary to use antifungal drugs. Try to sweat as little as possible and keep your underwear and clothing clean.
Output
Tubular lichen, whose photos are far from aesthetic, is a rather unpleasant phenomenon. If the skin is severely affected, then the treatment is carried out for a long time, relapses are possible. Therefore, if symptoms of such a disease appear, it is necessary to consult a doctor, since timely treatment guarantees complete healing.