Herpes

This type of disease, like lichen (Lichen), has been known to mankind since the time of Hippocrates. This concept combines skin diseases (dermatoses) with characteristic formations in the form of colored spots, skin itching and peeling.

The word “lichen” is a rather conditional term, since eczema is also popularly called weeping lichen, and psoriasis is scaly. However, both of these diseases are difficult to attribute to lichen.

What are lichen?

There are many varieties of lichen, however, as well as the reasons for their occurrence. It can be a fungus, a virus, etc., but all cases of lichen are associated with reduced immunity.

So, a fairly common form is Wilson’s lichen or lichen planus . It appears mainly as a consequence of colds and other diseases against the background of weakened immunity in the form of pinkish-red itchy nodules with depressions in the center. Although the real cause of the formation of red lichen has not yet been established, it is not contagious.

Cases of pink lichen are more frequent in spring and autumn, which is also associated with weakened immunity. Such a deprive develops very quickly. At first, a large red spot appears on the body, which after a while begins to turn yellow, wrinkle and peel off. After a few days, the same spots are found on the body, flaky in the center and framed by a red border. Such lichen is also not contagious.

A more dangerous species is ringworm . This fungal disease is named so for a reason. Initially, one or more spots appear on the skin, covered with scales and, as it were, with trimmed hair. Usually they get sick people in contact with animals, unfortunately, very often these are children. In rare cases, ringworm even affects the nail platinum.

Another fungal disease is versicolor . It is easy to recognize because small pink spots are first detected, after which they turn into spots of yellow, light brown color. Multicolored lichen is not accompanied by inflammation, but can peel off.  

The most unpleasant disease among this category is shingles , which is also called herpes zoster. It received this name due to the fact that the cause of herpes zoster is the Herpes zoster virus, that is, a virus that multiplies in nerve cells. By the way, it is also the causative agent of chicken pox. At the first stage of development of shingles, a person feels numbness in any part of the body, then pain appears in the leg or torso. After about two weeks, a rash develops in the chest area. It gradually turns into bubbles, the crust of which dries up, shrivels and falls off. In the affected area, pain may be present for several weeks.

Shingles should not be confused with herpes simplex, that is, lichen vesicles. Although it is also caused by the herpes virus, but of a slightly different type – Herpes simplex, the symptoms of these diseases are completely different.

With lichen lichen, also called fever of the lips, a rash can appear on the wings of the nose, the corners of the mouth and the red border of the lips.

Diagnosis

Some forms of lichen have symptoms similar to other diseases. In order not to treat an imaginary disease, in the meantime, launching a true one, we strongly recommend that you contact a dermatologist. To identify the type of lichen, he can do a skin biopsy, that is, a study of the disease on a skin and nail scraping taken from a sick person.

Treatment

Each type of lichen requires specific treatment. You can get rid of one lichen with the help of antifungal and antiviral ointments, others – only after a course of immunity restoration, and 30% require a course of acupuncture. There are also lichens that go away on their own. Therefore, you should not try to treat lichen on your own, you will definitely need to see a doctor.

Articles from the forum on the topic ” Lichen “