Lichen is a very serious skin disease, which is most often characterized by the appearance of nodules that cause severe and intolerable itching. In addition, inflammation and tissue necrosis may appear. Therefore, it is very important to determine the incubation period for depriving a person in order to minimize the possible consequences of this disease in time.
Causes of lichen
The most common variety is ringworm. The incubation period for lichen in humans can vary depending on many factors. Most often, it ranges from several weeks to two months.
Usually this disease is transmitted from a sick animal or person to a he althy one. The most common method of transmission of the disease is contact-household. It is also common to become infected by touching sick animals, using objects that an infected person has touched, or visiting places of common use.
When an infected person or animal touches any objects, their skin or hair particles remain on them. They can remain very viable.long time. The result can be epidemics, for example in schools and preschools. The highest risk of contracting lichen occurs in the spring and autumn months.
The most susceptible to infection with this skin disease are patients who have reduced immunity, who work with the ground without gloves, having cracks and microdamages on the skin. And also if they are in prolonged contact with sick animals or people.
Incubation period
The incubation period for ringworm in humans ranges from one to two days to one and a half to two months. The rate of development of this fungal infection directly depends on which pathogen is in the human body.
It's one thing if it's a superficial infection. In this case, the incubation period for depriving a person will be no more than a week. The first symptoms should appear on the 5-6th day after contact with the pathogen.
Lichen of a different kind, for example, infiltrative-suppurative, may not manifest itself even for several months. In this case, it is often not possible to determine when the infection occurred.
Symptoms of disease
Lichen affects any part of the human skin, but most often the disease develops on the head. In this case, if the patient has a large amount of hair, the first signs of infection may go unnoticed.
You should be worried ifhair without objective reasons begin to break and fall out. And also there is peeling and intolerable itching. The focus of inflammation of the infection begins to appear 7-10 days after infection.
As a rule, after the incubation period has passed, depriving a person, several foci of a fairly large size are formed. A rash and suppuration form around them. In this case, the hair falls out even more, and the ends are covered with a characteristic gray coating.
If lichen appears on the human body, then detecting it is even easier. Skin swelling appears on the back, arms, legs or chest, which can be pink or red in color.
If your nail plate is affected by a fungus, it will eventually become cloudy, rough and rough and even begin to crumble.
In the saddest case, with a chronic disease, the hair falls out a lot, noticeable bald spots form, the itching does not stop. The shape of the spots may vary, most often they emit a sugary odor.
With the infiltrative-suppurative form of infection, fever, weakness, lymph nodes will increase throughout the body. Also, this form is accompanied by migraine. This is one of the most difficult forms. The number of lesions can be several dozen.
Transmission of lichen from animals
One of the most common ways to get lichen is to pick it up from animals. The carrier is often stray cats. Therefore, it is important to remember how lichen is transmitted. The incubation period for the disease is verylong, and it can be very difficult to start treatment in a timely manner.
The symptoms are extremely unpleasant, and as a rule, it is not possible to recover quickly and without consequences. Bald spots appear at the site of infection, a prerequisite is severe hair loss. But you can get infected with any, even the smallest contact with an animal. The main thing is not to mistake this disease for severe dandruff, and in the early stages they are very similar. Getting carried away with the treatment of dandruff, you can seriously start lichen.
The incubation period for lichen in humans, from an infected cat, can be several weeks. Therefore, it is best to completely exclude communication and contact with homeless animals. Or if you decide to take the animal into the house from the street, then before bringing it into the apartment, visit the veterinarian. The specialist will be able to guide you if the cat has lichen or other diseases, prescribe the necessary drugs for both the animal and you and your family members.
Extremely unpleasant disease - cat's lichen. A person has a long incubation period, so the disease is usually started, and then they pay for their carelessness for a long time.
Pityriasis rosea
Not only cats and other animals become carriers of lichen. Any person has a serious risk of contracting Zhiber's pink lichen. This is a dermatological disease, which at the same time has the character of an allergic one. The causative agent is most often a specific herpes virus.
This disease usually appears after severe coldsdiseases. And any - from SARS and influenza to diseases of the throat and ears. Usually, the development of pink lichen coincides with the active phase of a cold.
Recognizing this type of lichen is easy. Spots and numerous rashes appear on the skin. Especially it should be feared by people with a weakened immune system. At the same time, for others, this type of lichen is usually not contagious. The incubation period for rosacea in humans ranges from two days to three weeks.
Shingles
Another type of lichen is shingles. It is also caused by the herpes virus. And specific - zoster. It can be distinguished by the location of the skin lesions. They correspond to the location of human nerve trunks.
The most serious problem is that the incubation period for shingles in humans can be as long as several decades. At the same time, even if a person is a carrier of the virus, he may not be susceptible to it. Most often, this disease occurs in mature and elderly people. In medicine, no case of infection in children under the age of 10 has been recorded.
This type of lichen is not spread by airborne droplets. You can catch the virus only through close and direct contact. People who did not have chickenpox in childhood should be especially careful.
Treatment for lichen
The main goal of lichen treatment is to destroy the pathogen. This is achieved with the help of local therapy. It includes regular intake of antifungal drugs, in especially severe cases, a specialist can prescribe special hormones that will help the body fight the virus. Multivitamins, iron and phytin preparations, and aloe extract injections are also used.
At home, it is recommended to treat the affected skin with a 5% iodine solution, apply antifungal creams and ointments.
Prevention of lichen
Lichen is a disease that can and should be prevented. For effective prevention, it is necessary to conduct a regular examination of all family members for the appearance of the first signs.
A sick person should be immediately isolated, his belongings and accessories should be constantly disinfected.
After visiting public toilets and other public places, wash your hands thoroughly, take a shower daily, do not use other people's personal hygiene items - combs, underwear. Do not come into contact with stray animals.
