In summer, lichen becomes a very common disease. It is treated with medications and traditional recipes. An effective and affordable way to get rid of this problem is vinegar. It contains a lot of healing substances that kill the pathogen. At the same time, the top layer of skin is quickly restored. The composition of the product is absolutely natural, but it should be used with caution, after consulting with a dermatologist. Let's consider how effective vinegar is against lichen in humans, how and when to use it, and what you need to pay special attention to.
Which vinegar to choose for treatment
The following types are available for sale:
- 70% essence;
- 9% table vinegar;
- 9% natural apple, wine, balsamic vinegar.
The first 2 types are obtained from non-food products. They themselves do not contain any healing substances, therefore they are not suitable as a remedy for lichen. The most useful for getting rid of this skin disease is apple cider vinegar, made from sweet varieties of apples.
There are various methods that can be used to remove lichen from human skin, but treatment with vinegar has proven itself to be one of the best ways to combat this insidious disease.
Being completely natural, it has the following beneficial effects:
- Strengthens the walls of capillaries, thereby improving metabolic processes in the body.
- Increases the protective functions of the epidermis, which reduces the likelihood of infection with fungal diseases, including lichen.
- The acid kills bacteria or prevents them from multiplying.
- The calcium contained in apple cider vinegar helps damaged skin layers recover faster.
- Vinegar improves the secretion of the sebaceous glands and relieves inflammatory processes.
When using it, allergic reactions are excluded. Therefore, even pregnant women and children over 3 years old can be treated with it (after diluting it with water to avoid burns to sensitive children’s skin). This effect is achieved thanks to the natural composition.
Beneficial features
Folk recipes with acetic acid are used to treat various types of lichen for good reason. Vinegar is a liquid with a specific odor, which contains substances essential for the human body:
- magnesium;
- potassium;
- fluorine;
- vitamin B;
- calcium;
- phosphorus;
- pectin.
The product also contains various acids, which, when interacting with other components, normalize metabolism and promote the breakdown of carbohydrates and fats in the human body. Since ancient times, vinegar has been used as an antibiotic in the treatment of various ailments, including serious ones. The acidic liquid is known for its bactericidal and anti-inflammatory properties, which make it possible to use it to combat pharyngitis, sore throat, rheumatism and arthritis. Using a liquid with a specific odor and sour taste, you can destroy a fungal infection, get rid of lichen and diaper rash.
Application for various dermatoses
If you want to get rid of lichen using such a simple remedy, you must first consult a dermatologist, and not immediately thoughtlessly cauterize the affected areas with this remedy. Only after a specialist determines which type of dermatoses has affected the skin can the feasibility and safety of such treatment be correctly assessed.
Shearer
The source of infection with this type of lichen is most often animals, less often humans. Such lichen can be distinguished by growing foci of rashes, peeling, and brittleness of the hair when the scalp is affected by the fungus.
Treatment of ringworm with vinegar begins with the use of tar, since the positive dynamics of its effects are also confirmed by official medicine. Effective treatment of microsporia (popularly ringworm) involves preparing a compress from 2 equal parts of butter and tar. The resulting composition is applied to the affected areas and, after making a bandage, is left overnight.
After treating with tar, apply a compress of undiluted apple cider vinegar to the skin. It is applied to the skin 4 times a day.
Pityriasis
The main symptoms of this type of lichen are brown and pink spots on areas of the skin that are subject to heavy sweating. In this case, an adult should lubricate all affected areas of the body with undiluted apple cider vinegar up to seven times a day.
Also, a very good effect with this type of lichen is achieved if a cotton pad moistened with apple cider vinegar is applied to the skin for 5-10 minutes. If the question arises of how to cure lichen in a child with apple cider vinegar, then the answer is simple - the same as for an adult, except that the remedy for treating a child must be diluted with water to avoid burns.
girdling
With this type of lichen, small blisters filled with clear liquid appear along the ribs. There is severe itching and pain throughout the entire circumference of this area, which indicates shingles.
Ringworm is often confused with other skin lesions. To confirm the diagnosis, it is recommended to consult a dermatologist.
For better treatment of this type of lichen, it is recommended to treat using vinegar along with garlic:
- Four medium cloves of garlic are placed in a container with three glasses of apple cider vinegar.
- Leave for about two weeks.
- A clean cloth is soaked in this tincture, applied to the affected areas of the skin, covered with parchment paper on top and secured with a band-aid.
- Leave it overnight and change the compress in the morning.
It is also effective to smear the skin affected by shingles with vinegar along with freshly squeezed cranberry, burdock and onion juice. Oatmeal, burdock oil and calendula tincture are added to it. For this type of lichen, apply the resulting mixture to the skin 3 times a day for a week.
Usually, herpes zoster goes away within two weeks, but with proper application of treatment regimens and doctor’s recommendations, recovery can occur even earlier.
Pink
The home remedy also helps get rid of pityriasis rosea, which is characterized by inflammation and peeling of individual areas of the skin, the center of which is slightly lighter than the edges. The lichen rash is burned with undiluted apple cider vinegar, applying a cotton pad for 10 minutes up to 6 times a day.
Incorrect treatment of pityriasis rosea
- Lubrication with iodine, brilliant green
. These antiseptic drugs do not provide results in the treatment of pink dandruff. The virus is located deep in the skin, so iodine or brilliant green cannot affect it, but at the same time they dry out the skin, causing a burn. - Celandine
. The poisonous sap of the plant leads to damage and inflammation of the skin. Celandine causes burns, increasing the risk of complications. - Zinc ointment
. Causes skin tightness. - Salicylic acid, alcohol
. Ineffective against the virus. Dries and irritates the skin, increasing peeling. Leads to hyperpigmentation. - Vinegar
. Dries out the skin and increases peeling.
To treat Gibert's disease, you can only use products prescribed by a dermatologist.
Cautions and possible adverse reactions
To get the most positive effect from treating lichen with vinegar and to avoid adverse reactions, you need to know the specifics of using the product:
- Alternative treatment for any type of dermatoses will be most effective if you resort to it from the very first symptoms, and complete it only after the slightest lichen rash has completely disappeared.
- Avoid contact of the product with eyes, mucous membranes, open wounds and abrasions.
- The proportions specified in the recipe must be observed.
- For any type of lichen, it is important to adhere to regular therapy.
- Before home treatment, it is advisable to do a test to determine individual intolerance to the product. To do this, drop a little vinegar on your wrist and wait for a reaction for 15 minutes. If nothing happens, then the traditional method of treatment can be safely used without fear for your own health.
Vinegar diluted with water can not only cauterize the areas of skin affected by lichen. This mixture can also be consumed internally (1 tablespoon of vinegar per glass of water, you can add a teaspoon of honey), thereby increasing the body's protective functions and immunity.
It is forbidden to consume this drink orally on an empty stomach to avoid burns of the gastric mucosa with acid, as well as in case of increased acidity and stomach ulcers.
Using vinegar, you can get rid of lichen in cases where medications cannot be used for some reason. Of course, therapy will last a little longer, but it will be less harmful to the body. In any case, before starting treatment with folk remedies, you need to see a dermatologist and be sure to undergo an examination.
The mechanism of action of apple cider vinegar on lichen
The effectiveness of acid use is based on changes in the acid-base balance of the skin and on the regulation of electrolyte metabolism. Bacteria must absorb cellular fluid for their nutrition and development. With a lack of potassium, this process occurs without obstacles for microbes. Stabilizing the amount of this element in the body prevents bacteria from feeding and functioning.
In addition, apple cider vinegar, when applied to the skin, changes its acid-base balance towards oxidation. At the same time, it becomes less fatty, which is detrimental to microbes and fungus. The regeneration mechanism works actively due to the large number of amino acids in the composition. Their number in apple acid reaches 16 types. This explains the rapid wound healing.
Attention! The frequency of use of apple cider vinegar should be at least 5 times a day, up to 7 times are allowed.
Signs of the disease
Externally, erythrasma manifests itself in the form of light brown, brick-red, brown or yellow-brown spots on the skin, most often round in shape and without signs of inflammation. The diameter of the lesions can reach several centimeters, and they tend to merge, forming large affected areas. First of all, erythrasma spots appear in the folds of the skin, where there is a favorable environment for the proliferation of bacteria.
In addition to spots, erythrasma is characterized by:
- Peeling of the skin on the affected areas, aggravated by touch. Usually this is where the development of the disease begins.
- Mild, irregular itching. It intensifies and begins to cause significant discomfort only if a secondary infection is added to the primary disease.
- Absence of fever, wounds, ulcers and ulcers with copious discharge. This distinguishes erythrasma from most bacterial skin pathologies.
- Getting wet. An optional symptom, the manifestation of which depends on the amount of sweating and the quality of skin care.
It is noteworthy that in children, symptoms of erythrasma appear extremely rarely. The risk group includes adults, primarily men, who are predominantly overweight and prone to excessive sweating. In this case, in men, the skin in the groin, navel and inner thighs is usually affected, and in women, the entire abdomen, armpits and areas under the breasts are affected.
Contraindications to treatment
Although vinegar is a folk remedy, it, like other medicines, has contraindications. These include the following:
- Violations of the integrity of the skin, which include wounds, abrasions, scratches.
- Individual intolerance to acetic acid by the body.
- Presence of an allergic reaction.
- Incorrect concentration of acid in the solution, which can lead to complications.
Before the procedure, check for allergies, even if you do foot baths for fungus with vinegar and soda. Moisten a cotton swab with the solution and rub on the elbow area. Wait 5 minutes. If there is redness, burning or other reaction in the area, treatment of lichen with vinegar is contraindicated.
Preventing ringworm with apple cider vinegar
The vinegar method is used not only to treat lichen, but also to prevent it. This is especially important if one person in the family gets sick, and others need prevention. To carry out the event, just add the product to the shower gel and use it daily during hygiene procedures. In addition, in the absence of contraindications, you can take honey cocktail internally, which strengthens the immune system.
Prevention using vinegar will be very helpful during pregnancy, when other remedies have many contraindications.
Attention! During gestation, malic acid is used only externally.
Elderly and frail people can also effectively protect themselves from deprivation. However, do not forget that acid is safe only if used correctly and carefully.
