What is pityriasis rosea?
Pityriasis rosea is an erythematous papular scaly acute inflammatory skin disease. As the name suggests, the lesions appear as reddish to reddish maculopapular rashes covered with pithy scales. Patients often have mild to moderate itching, and about one-quarter of patients experience severe or no itching. The disease is prone to occur in adolescents and young adults, and the course is self-limiting.
The skin lesions are usually single pale red papules or macules at first, which gradually enlarge and can reach 2-5cm in diameter within a few days. They are called mother spots or precursor spots, which are mostly located on the trunk and neck. , thigh or buttocks. Its central color is bright orange-red, the edge is slightly raised and pale red, and it is covered with chaff-like thin scales. Desquamation in the center of the patch tends to heal first, forming the characteristic edge of “collar-like desquamation”. 1-2 weeks after the appearance of the mother spot, generalized and symmetrical batches of skin lesions appear successively on the trunk, neck and proximal extremities. The typical sub-spots are oval or circular macules with a diameter of 0.5-2cm, rose or yellowish-brown, with fine wrinkles on the surface, and the edges are covered with thin cigarette paper-like scales. The long axis of the lesions is parallel to the dermatoglyphic or skin tension .
The course of pityriasis rosea is self-limiting, and the rash usually resolves spontaneously within 3-8 weeks, leaving temporary hyperpigmentation or hypopigmentation after resolution. After one attack, most patients no longer have the disease, and a very small number of cases can recur.
What causes pityriasis rosea?
Unfortunately, the etiology and pathogenesis of this disease have not yet been clarified. At present, there are many theories such as infection, drug factors, autoimmunity, and genetic allergy, among which the virus infection theory is the most likely. Some patients may have prodromal symptoms such as headache, sore throat, joint pain, mild fever and a history of upper respiratory tract infection before the onset of the disease. Therefore, some scholars believe that herpes virus, influenza virus, Epstein-Barr virus, Legionella, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, cytomegalovirus and other infections May be related to the onset of pityriasis rosea.
How to treat pityriasis rosea? Since pityriasis rosea can heal itself, the purpose of our treatment is to relieve symptoms and shorten the course of the disease:
1. Wool, sweating, hot water and excessive friction can cause irritated skin lesions, and should be avoided in the acute stage;
2. Internal medicine treatment: patients with severe itching and sleep disturbance can take oral antihistamines;
3. External medicine treatment: calamine wash can be selected according to the shape of the skin lesions If the skin is dry, topical emollients can be used;
4. Physical therapy: After the acute inflammation period, combined with UVB and narrow-band UVB irradiation.
All in all, if you have pityriasis rosea, please don’t panic, go to the dermatology department of a regular hospital in time, insist on treatment, and follow the doctor’s advice!
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