What does ringworm look like on the head? This is a common question, so let's look into it in more detail.
Behind the concept of "lichen" lies a lot of different skin diseases. Some of these pathological processes are highly contagious and can be transmitted to humans from infected people or animals. This disease affects the skin on any part of the body, but lichen is most common on the head, arms, abdomen, legs and back.
Shapes
It is possible to distinguish the main forms of this disease:
- Pityriasis.
- Girdle.
- Flat red.
- Shearer.
- Pink.
The last two varieties of lichen are not contagious and manifest as autoimmune disorders. The rest are of an infectious nature and are caused by various pathogens.
Lichen on a person's head is veryunpleasant disease. People of all ages suffer from it, gender in this case does not matter. By the way, children get sick much more often than adults. Doctors cannot give an unambiguous answer to the question of why some people become infected with lichen, while others do not. The immune system plays a major role in the development of this disease. If a person's immunity is strong enough, then he is able to resist infection. An organism that is weakened by constant stress, poor nutrition or bad habits is more likely to suffer from such diseases.
Pityriasis versicolor
Pityriasis versicolor or versicolor on the head is an infectious form caused by the opportunistic fungus Malassezia. This pathogen can be on the surface of the skin of an infected person for a long time without showing any symptoms, but as soon as the immune system weakens, the disease begins to actively progress. It does not pose a danger to he alth and life, however, it gives a person significant physical and psychological discomfort. The best environment for the development of the parasite is moist skin, the use of ointments based on hormonal substances, endocrine disorders in the body, long-term infectious diseases.
First of all, light spots form on the scalp, which over time become yellowish or pink. They can appear not only on the head, but also on any part of the body. Ringworm on the head is not accompanied by hair loss.
BasicThe difference between this disease is the absence of uncomfortable and itchy sensations. The spots are not inflamed, do not rise above the surface of the skin, do not peel off, but can increase in size or merge into one large spot, affecting large areas of the head and body. Gradually, these spots may change color, becoming darker, with a brown tint.
The disease, as a rule, proceeds for a long time, and if left untreated, it can affect very large areas. With adequate therapy, the spots become light in color and the patient is not disturbed.
The treatment of this type of lichen in a person on the head is the use of antifungal agents and immunomodulators.
Lichen planus
The reasons for the development of such a disease are still unclear, the same applies to the pathogens of this pathology. Red lichen can be considered non-contagious, although this information has not been proven by science to this day.
This type of lichen refers to diseases that are autoimmune in nature, when the body's own cells are attacked by antibodies. In order for the disease to begin to progress, a certain provoking factor must be present. These factors can be:
- Chronic viral infections.
- Constant stress.
- Bad habits.
- Occurrence of endocrine pathologies, etc.
For this variety of lichen on the head of an adult, the formation of a specific rash in the form of nodules with a shiny surface is characteristic. Gradually, such rashes begin to acquire a bluish tint.
This type of lichen is accompanied by severe and unbearable itching. Moreover, the whole body itches, and not just the affected areas. The rash can appear on any part of the skin, including the head, but such lichen is much less common.
This type of disease has several basic forms:
- A blistering appearance of lichen planus, in which the rash looks like blisters filled with a clear liquid.
- Annular shape, in which the rashes look like an arc or a semicircle and rapidly spread throughout the body.
- Warty variety - the rash looks like warts.
- Pinga lichen, when the rash may resemble sharp thorns.
- Typerkeratic type, characterized by lesions of the mucous membranes. Lichen affects the entire skin or is located on a specific area of the body.
Pityriasis rosea
The cause of rosacea on the head is also unknown. However, there are three possible prerequisites for the development of this disease: allergic, bacterial and viral. Initially, an infectious agent enters the body, an allergic reaction develops, which manifests itself in a similar way. A single pink maternal spot forms on the skin, and after a certain time, infected foci begin to appear throughout the body, including on the head. Sometimes they increase in sizethere is severe itching. After this, the spots turn yellow mainly in the central part, and a pink border remains around them. A little later, the lesions begin to peel off strongly and leave dark-colored spots that disappear after proper treatment. The initial stage of lichen on the head is difficult to recognize in a timely manner.
This kind of lichen can occur on the face, head, limbs, back, stomach. In addition to spots, bubbles and nodes can form, which, as a rule, is associated with the individual characteristics of the human body.
Pityriasis rosea on the face is much less common than in other areas of the skin.
This disease is not treatable and belongs to the category of chronic. It can appear without any reason and also suddenly disappear. Aggravations can sometimes be associated with the change of seasons.
Ringworm on head
A very common disease that belongs to the subspecies of lichen is ringworm, localized on the scalp. The symptoms of this disease are very difficult to confuse with other types.
This lichen is caused by fungi of the Trichophyton tonsurans species, which, unlike others, can live in the nail plates and the human lymphatic system. It can sometimes take several months from the moment it enters the body until the first symptoms of the disease appear.
Ringworm on the head is manifested by specific rashes that do not have smooth boundaries. The size of these formations varies from one to three centimeters. Such foci never mergeamong themselves, and if these are rashes on the scalp, then they are characterized by breaking off the hair at the very roots, which is why this disease was called "ringworm". This disease is highly contagious and can become chronic.
The main symptoms of lichen on the head are as follows:
- Formation of pronounced itchy rashes.
- Severe swelling in the affected areas.
- The spots have no clear boundaries.
- Damage to the structure of the hair on the head.
Most often this type of lichen occurs in the following categories of people:
- Children.
- Persons with poor hygiene.
- Immunocompromised individuals.
- Presence of latent chronic infections.
- Endocrine disorders.
Shingles
This type of lichen in the hair on the head is provoked by the Varicella zoster virus, related to herpes infections. Most often, this disease affects people over 40 years of age. In the cool season, outbreaks of the disease are more common. Children usually do not suffer from this disease.
Initially, malaise occurs, the temperature rises, a pronounced pain syndrome and body aches appear. After a few days, specific bubble rashes with liquid form on the surface of the skin. In this case, unilateral rashes on the trunk or on the head are characteristic, although other options are possible.
This type of lichen on the scalp or faceis usually extremely rare. In most cases, such a rash is located in the abdomen and back. In a mild form, the disease completely disappears in about a month. More severe forms can be accompanied by serious complications. These include:
- Inflammation of the trigeminal nerve, which is characterized by temporary symptoms in the form of facial paralysis.
- The defeat of the ear canals, which is accompanied by severe ear pain and headache, can sometimes lead to complete hearing loss.
- Inflammation of the mucous membrane of the eyes.
- A gangrenous lesion that affects the deeper layers of the skin.
- Sometimes secondary infection is observed.
- A hemorrhagic type of disease characterized by the formation of blisters, sometimes filled with blood.
Causes of pathology
Regardless of what kind of lichen occurs in each individual case, the main factors in its occurrence are:
- Decreased immunity.
- Chronic infections, often hidden.
- Diseases of an endocrine nature.
- Presence of allergic reactions.
- Pathologies of the digestive tract.
- Frequent stress.
- Bad habits.
- Inadequate personal hygiene.
General manifestations of the disease
These include:
- Formation on the skin of spots or bubbles of a round, arcuate or oval shape.
- Redness, itching and flaking of the skinheads.
- Merging lesions between each other.
- The rapid spread of the rash.
- Symptoms of general malaise, fever.
If similar symptoms appear, you should contact a specialist for diagnosis.
Diagnosis of disease
To make a diagnosis, it is necessary to conduct a diagnosis, which, for various forms of lichen on the head, includes:
- Visual examination by a specialist.
- Anamnesis study.
- Scraping from the area of the affected skin surface.
- Skin tests with alcohol and iodine.
Once an accurate diagnosis is established, you can begin to treat one or another type of lichen on the scalp.
What to do with lichen on the head?
Treatment
Treatment of the disease should be aimed at eliminating its underlying cause. If it is a specific infectious agent, then antifungal and antiviral drugs are prescribed.
In the case of red flat or pink lichen on the scalp, the situation becomes much more complicated. In this case, it is necessary to clearly establish the cause of the development of these diseases. In the treatment of red lichen, additional examinations are carried out, which are:
- Assessment of the digestive tract.
- Evaluation of the activity of the nervous system.
- Blood test to determine glucose levels.
- Checking blood pressure.
Which ointment to choose from lichenon your head?
During the period of exacerbation of such diseases, the following medications are taken: "Tetracycline", "Neomycin", as well as macrolide antibiotics. The dosage of these medicines should only be set by a specialist.
In addition, some antiallergic drugs are also prescribed as a treatment for lichen on the head. In cases where there are some problems with the functions of the nervous system, it would be advisable to take sedative medications. If pathological rashes become inflamed, doctors prescribe hormonal drugs, for example, Dexazon, Prednisolone, Urbazon.
Treatment of pink lichen is not always carried out, since this disease tends to go away on its own. Nevertheless, during periods of exacerbations, there is a risk of joining the lichen with another dangerous infection, and pink lichen can turn into streptoderma - a purulent skin lesion. To relieve symptoms, do not wear synthetic clothing, take a bath, use hard washcloths. As for nutrition, it is necessary to follow a special hypoallergenic diet. Areas of affected skin should be treated with special solutions and ointments. The best prevention of such diseases of the scalp is the strengthening of immunity and careful personal hygiene.
Tingles can be treated with antifungal medicines. In parallel, local ointments are prescribed. If the disease is severely neglected, treatment is carried out with general antifungal medicines.actions that are used, as a rule, orally. Pityriasis versicolor is treated similarly.
We looked at what ringworm looks like on the head, and what needs to be done to get rid of it.
