Treatment of pityriasis versicolor with folk remedies

Pityriasis versicolor (also known as versicolor) is a skin disease caused by yeast-type fungi (Pityrosporum orbiculare). The disease responds well to treatment with folk remedies if therapy is started in a timely manner. At home, you can prepare effective ointments, infusions and decoctions, and also use products that any housewife always has in her kitchen.

Causes and symptoms of the disease

Pityriasis versicolor is not very highly contagious. To get sick, you need direct contact with the patient's skin. Factors that may increase the risk of infection:

• decreased immunity;
• profuse sweating;
• skin injuries;
• dry skin due to frequent visits to the solarium or excessive use of cosmetics;
• hot climate;
• hormonal changes;
• diseases: gastrointestinal tract;
• endocrine;
• dermatological

A sign of pityriasis versicolor are spots on the skin (shades ranging from pink to yellow) that do not change color when exposed to ultraviolet light. The size of the spots varies from 1 to 5 cm in diameter, the lesions have an irregular shape. The skin at the site of infection becomes covered with easily detachable scales and itches. Localization - mainly the upper body: face, neck, chest, shoulders, back.

What it is?

Pityriasis versicolor is a long-term (chronic) fungal infection of the stratum corneum of the epidermis. A common (slang) name that can be found at resorts is “solar fungus.” It is necessary to distinguish the disease from Vitiligo, pink zhibert and syphilitic roseola.

The name “lichen” (Lichen) has been known since the time of Hippocrates; it includes many skin diseases, which are characterized by the formation of colored spots and peeling. The causative agent of pityriasis versicolor was described by G. Robin in 1853, and in 1951 M. Gordon identified round and oval forms of the pathogen, both in places of pityriasis versicolor rashes and within healthy skin, classifying it as a yeast-like fungus.

Folk remedies for the treatment of pityriasis versicolor

Some products can be harmful to the body and require special use.
There are many medications designed to treat pityriasis versicolor in humans. But many of them are highly toxic, have a lot of side effects and are not recommended for use, for example, in children or pregnant women. Before using any natural component in a medicine at home, you need to test for an allergic reaction: apply a little product to the inner bend of the elbow and wait 24 hours. If the skin at the application site is not red, the medicine can be used.

Traditional methods will make the treatment of pityriasis versicolor more gentle and safe. Also, traditional medicine is widely available and easy to use.

Ointments made from natural ingredients

Natural ointments using medicinal herbs and improvised means are accessible to anyone and easy to prepare:

• Sorrel. Fresh sorrel leaves need to be chopped in a blender or with a knife, and then mixed with rich sour cream. The mixture is applied to damaged skin for 10 days until the spots disappear.
• Herbal ointment. Preparation: 15 hop cones;
• 10 calendula flowers (fresh);
• 2 tbsp. l. dry burdock root;
• mix the ingredients and cook in 200 ml of water for 15-20 minutes;
• add pharmaceutical petroleum jelly and licorice root (2 tbsp) to the cooled, strained mixture;
• Apply to infected areas 2 times a day.

Decoctions and infusions of herbs

You can prepare ointments, infusions and decoctions based on herbs.
Medicinal herbs are used to treat lichen:

• Celandine. The plant in dry crushed form (15-20 g) is poured into 0.5 liters of boiling water and left for half an hour at room temperature. The resulting mass should be filtered and applied as a lotion to areas with pityriasis versicolor daily in the morning and before bed.
• Eucalyptus and string in equal proportions are poured into 3 glasses of water. The broth is boiled in a water bath for an hour, the sore spots with pityriasis versicolor are washed every day.
• Peppermint in the form of a decoction (1 tbsp mint per 250 ml of water) is used to treat ringworm at home. Compresses are made with the decoction every day.
• Blackberry leaves and calendula flowers in a ratio of 1:2 are brewed with boiling water and taken orally.
• Sorrel (leaves and roots are used) in the form of a water infusion is used to treat pityriasis versicolor at home.

During treatment, it is important for the patient to use strictly individual tools to treat the skin areas affected by pityriasis versicolor.

other methods

The use of traditional methods of alternative medicine opens up the possibility of treating pregnant women, women during lactation, and even young children for pityriasis versicolor at home. Products prepared on the basis of natural ingredients are harmless to the body and effectively act on the yeast pathogen of fungal infection.

Beetroot and lemon

Fresh beet juice and lemon juice should be taken orally for 2 weeks.
To prepare medicine from these products you will need:

• 200 g beets;
• 1 lemon.

Fresh beets are grated and squeezed through cheesecloth. Lemon juice is added to the liquid. The mixture must be diluted with boiled water until the volume reaches 300 ml. This medicine is taken orally throughout the day. Every day you need to prepare a fresh mixture of juices. Duration of treatment is half a month, and in particularly complex clinical cases even longer.

Birch tar

Method of treatment:

• Apply a thin layer of birch tar to the skin.
• Wrap with a bandage or gauze bandage.
• There is no need to rinse off the product.

Apple vinegar

Apple cider vinegar, available in every home, is harmful to yeast fungi. Lotions and compresses are made with vinegar; the number of procedures per day depends on the degree of damage to the skin by pityriasis versicolor. Basically, 4-6 activities are done per day. The product can be used in combination with garlic and onion lotions.

Onion

You can fight pityriasis versicolor by using onions at home. 1 onion is chopped until a paste forms. This product can be applied to the affected skin daily. Onion juice is good to rub into large skin lesions. The antibacterial effect will speed up the recovery and healing of the skin.

Viburnum for pityriasis versicolor

Viburnum is effectively used to treat many diseases, including lichen.
Fresh viburnum is an effective folk medicine for many ailments, including fungal ones. If the berries are pureed with a blender and this viburnum pulp is applied to the affected areas of the skin, recovery from pityriasis versicolor occurs within 7 days of using this product. It is recommended to keep compresses on the skin for no longer than 30 minutes a day.

Boric acid

Boric acid destroys the DNA of the yeast that causes pityriasis versicolor. The product is available in every pharmacy. To prepare the medicine you will need 1 tsp. powdered boric acid and a glass of hot water. The mixture must cool to room temperature before use. Using a cotton swab, without touching healthy skin, you need to apply the mixture to the lichen spots for 14 days.

How to prevent the disease?

In order to prevent relapses, local treatment is carried out during the warmest periods of the year. The scalp is treated with ketoconazole shampoo. This shampoo can also be used as a shower gel, rubbing the body with it every month for 3 days in a row for up to 5 minutes. The rest of the time, the skin is lubricated with 1% salicylic alcohol once a week.

Despite the fact that pityriasis versicolor is not considered a contagious disease, it is recommended to carefully monitor the contact of family members of the patient with his clothing, personal hygiene, or bedding. All those suffering from this disease must have their own set of bed linen, towels and clothing. During treatment, disinfection of the patient's linen and clothing is carried out by boiling in a 2% soap-soda solution, followed by ironing five times with steam. Synthetic materials should also be avoided. Preference should be given to cotton fabrics.

People suffering from pityriasis versicolor are advised to avoid stressful situations, increased physical activity, excessive sweating, and high temperatures. We should also not forget about strict adherence to the rules of personal hygiene.

Tablets for pityriasis versicolor

Systemic antifungal drugs are available in the form of tablets or capsules. Their help is resorted to in severe cases of lichen, when external means in the fight against the fungus have proven ineffective. Most often, doctors prescribe medications from the table below.

Antifungal agents in tablet form may have other restrictions on use. Therefore, a preliminary consultation with a doctor is mandatory. Otherwise, you can harm your own health, and the disease will continue to progress.

Treatment methods

The clinical picture of pityriasis versicolor is in many ways similar to the manifestations of other skin diseases. Therefore, if spots appear on the skin, you should consult a dermatologist. Based on a physical examination and a series of tests (microscopic examination of a sample of the affected skin, iodine test, use of a Wood's lamp), the doctor should explain in detail how to properly treat pityriasis versicolor.

Typically, therapy involves the systemic internal and external use of medications to destroy the causative agent of the disease.

Then keratolytics are prescribed - agents that promote better exfoliation of damaged skin. The duration of treatment is about a month. A sign of complete recovery is the complete absence of dead particles on the skin. After this, a gradual renewal of the epidermal tissue occurs, as a result of which the lichen spots disappear.

During the entire treatment period, you must avoid wearing clothes made of synthetic materials. It is important to regularly change your underwear and bed linen, and iron it after washing. It is recommended to wash in warm water using a separate washcloth and towel. After restoration of the skin, it is advisable to undergo repeated diagnostics using a Wood's lamp.

Prevention measures

Pityriasis versicolor is a fungal skin disease. The risk of becoming infected through contact with a sick person is low. However, the likelihood increases if the body's defenses are weakened. To prevent infection, doctors recommend timely treatment of gastrointestinal diseases and endocrine pathologies. It is necessary to observe basic rules of personal hygiene and regularly change underwear and bed linen. For preventive purposes, it is useful to use antifungal shampoos.

Pityriasis versicolor is considered a common disease among young people. If primary symptoms occur, you should immediately consult a doctor. Based on the diagnostic results, the doctor prescribes comprehensive treatment. It usually involves the use of antifungal ointments and creams; in some cases, therapy is supplemented with folk recipes (treatment with salicylic or boric acid, lotions with St. John's wort, wiping the skin with apple cider vinegar). If the scalp is affected, the use of special shampoos is mandatory. Otherwise, the lichen will spread to more and more areas of the skin, causing discomfort to the person.

Solutions and sprays

For pityriasis versicolor, doctors recommend using sprays and various solutions. They are easy to use, rarely cause side effects, and their list of contraindications is minimal. In addition, such products have a beneficial effect on the condition of the epidermis, helping to cleanse it of accumulated scales and crusts.

Solutions and sprays act directly on the affected area. At the same time, healthy areas of the skin remain untouched.

Many patients notice a noticeable improvement in their condition within a few days after starting to use the drug. Therapeutic solutions have a pronounced antifungal effect.

Their active components have a destructive effect on the process of biosynthesis of cell membranes of pathogenic flora. Therefore, such drugs are very effective at the initial stage of fungal skin infections.

Examples of popular means

Bifonazole

- one of the cheapest prescription external remedies. It is available not only in the form of a solution, but also in the form of a cream and powder. The active ingredient is bifonazole, which remains active for 2 days after application. The drug has no age restrictions. However, when used to treat a child under 6 months of age, pediatrician supervision is mandatory. Bifonazole is applied to the skin twice a day for 2-15 weeks.

Spray Terbinafine

is on free sale. Its active component is terbinafine hydrochloride. It is eliminated from the body within a day after use. The spray is recommended to be applied twice a day for two weeks. If necessary, the course of treatment is extended. The drug is prohibited for use in vascular pathologies and malignant tumors.

Clotrimazole

Available in the form of cream, gel and solution for external use. The active component is the substance of the same name. It is recommended to apply the solution to the areas of skin affected by lichen twice a day. The duration of such therapy should not exceed one month. Simultaneous use with antibacterial agents is not recommended due to reduced effectiveness. After application, burning, swelling and dry skin may occur.

Features of treatment during pregnancy

During the period of pregnancy, many medications used in the standard treatment regimen for pityriasis versicolor are prohibited. They can provoke various abnormalities in fetal development. Therefore, therapy is carried out under the supervision of a dermatologist, therapist and gynecologist. Among the approved treatment methods are the following:

• use of traditional medicine (in the absence of an allergic reaction);
• diet;
• use of vitamin complexes.

A woman should exclude all factors that provoke the disease, try to use non-aggressive cosmetics, and wear clothes made from natural fabrics. In the absence of a visible therapeutic effect, they resort to external medications. This can be tar or sulfur ointment, Exoderil, Dermazol, Keto Plus. It is recommended to combine drug treatment with the points listed above to increase its effectiveness.