Beach lichen: causes of the disease, symptoms, effective methods of treatment. Solar lichen in humans - symptoms, treatment, photo description Ointment for sunspots

Sun lichen, sometimes referred to as sand lichen, is a common, non-contagious skin disease caused by a fungal infection. Such a lesion of the epidermis in medicine is called pityriasis or multi-colored lichen, its causative agents are skin yeast-like fungi.

Causes of solar deprivation

As is clear from the popular name, "solar" lichen develops only under certain conditions, for example, due to prolonged exposure to sunlight on the skin. Yeast fungi are constantly on the skin of a person and, as a rule, do not bring any concern. However, some factors can provoke their activity, and the fungus that multiplies on the skin begins to disrupt the functioning of melanocyte cells responsible for pigmentation.

Sun spots appear on the skin, round or oval in shape, pink, yellow or light brown in color, with clear uneven edges. They most commonly occur on the neck, back, abdomen, and arms. Due to a violation in the production of melanin, these spots do not lend themselves to sunburn and often stand out against the background of skin darkened from sunburn. The spots do not bring discomfort, peel off, but do not itch. If the lesion is not very large, it can go away on its own, but often the spots spread throughout the body if left untreated.

Origin factors

Causes of solar lichen include:

Solar fungus: treatment

Pityriasis versicolor can appear in both adults and children. Treatment of solar lichen should be done immediately, as soon as the first spots appear, since uncontrolled, unsystematic self-therapy can lead to a greater spread of lesions or to permanent relapses.

Primarily, need to see a dermatologist. An important first step is to rule out other diseases with similar symptoms (eg, vitiligo, syphilis) and determine the causes of the disease. For this, the following tests may be prescribed:

Once the diagnosis is confirmed, a systemic treatment for sunspots will be prescribed. It may include taking antifungal drugs such as Fluconazole, Micoflucan, etc. in combination with topical ointments containing ketoconazole, bifonazole, cycloperox (Clotrimazole, Cycloperox, Salicylic ointment, Ketoconazole).

The course of treatment takes 2 weeks and it is important not to miss a single dose of medication.

Besides to enhance the effect of external preparations, before applying the ointment to the area with lichen, it is important to wash it with lotion or shampoo with selenium sulfide. The same lotions will be useful for prevention after treatment.

Do not forget about general strengthening measures during illness. This will help the reception of multivitamin complexes and a varied diet.

During treatment, you should follow the rules of personal hygiene, change clothes every day and iron them before wearing, use an individual towel and washcloth, and also exclude body scrubs with large abrasive particles.

Folk remedies

Before using folk remedies it should be remembered that they are only part of the overall treatment and cannot cope with the symptoms on their own. They should be used only in combination with medications and after consulting a doctor, because some components can cause an allergic reaction and aggravate the situation.

In the people, solar lichen is called beach sickness or solar fungus. According to statistics, most often, this pathology appears on the skin in the summer period of time, and is a characteristic scaly pigment spots. Another distinctive feature of the disease is that young people under the age of 30 suffer from it, often and a lot in the sun.

Solar lichen, unlike all other varieties, is practically not transmitted from an infected person to a healthy one. Infection occurs only with very close and prolonged contact. In fact, pathology is actively developing in the human body, if all favorable factors are present for this.

Physicians describe solar lichen as a fungal disease (dermatological keratomycosis). This means that in its active phase it affects only the superficial (keratinized) layer of the epidermis and the hairline of the skin. Human infection is provoked by fungi such as Pityrosporum ovale, Malassezia furfur or Pityrosporum orbiculare.

But there are a number of factors that prevent the body from fighting the pathology, giving the infection a certain impetus to the rapid damage to the skin. Among them are the following:

weakened immunity or general weakness of the body after prolonged infectious or viral diseases;
chronic vegetative-vascular dystonia;
diseases of the endocrine system, including diabetes mellitus;
pathological sweating with changes in the composition of sweating enzymes;
the predominance of clothing made from non-natural fabrics and materials in the wardrobe.

In addition, the development of the disease contributes to the regular use of personal hygiene products with antibacterial components or intense sunburn obtained on the beach or in the solarium.

Signs and symptoms

The first characteristic sign that the disease has begun to intensify is the appearance in a person of small rounded pigment spots of an uneven shape. The affected areas, most often, differ significantly from normal healthy skin in color, turning into light coffee, brown or brown.

Another clear sign that this skin formation is solar lichen is the fact that the spot practically does not carry an inflammatory process, does not turn red and does not swell.

Most often, age spots are localized in the neck, chest, on the lower back or back of the patient. In babies, such formations appear on the head, arms, legs or under the armpits.

If solar lichen is not treated, the spots begin to grow, uniting into one large (up to 15-20 cm in size) pathological focus. At the same time, symptoms such as itching or burning appear only in cases where the disease has occurred against the background of a bacterial infection. In other cases, these symptoms are absent, and the affected areas of the skin during tanning remain the original flesh color.

Diagnostics

At the first sign of any pathological changes in the skin, it is necessary to consult a specialist. The dermatologist will conduct a visual examination and, based on the results of the tests, make a diagnosis. Only after that, the specialist prescribes how to treat solar lichen. In order to accurately determine the nature and nature of the pathological process, the doctor may recommend the following series of examinations:

Balzer test. A small amount of iodine is applied to the skin area, and, in cases of damage to it, we deprive it of an intense brown color;
Examination for Besnier's symptom. It is carried out by scraping the upper layer of the epidermis;
Diagnosis using a fluorescent lamp. The light flux is directed to the pigment spot, while the focus of the pathology is painted in dark brown, green or red tones.

All these studies are carried out against the background of a comparative analysis of the results obtained with the symptoms of diseases such as leukodermatitis, syphilitic roseola, leprosy and Gibert's disease. If the specialist excludes all of the listed diseases, he immediately writes out a scheme and tells how to treat solar lichen.

Treatment

You can get rid of solar lichen by applying special creams and ointments to problem areas of the skin. The safest and most widely used dosage forms include:

Resorcinol or salicylic alcohol (not more than 5%);
Ointment: sulfuric or salicylic;
Medications: Mycozolon, Lamisil, Naftifin, Bifalazole, Terbinafine.

But not only these drugs will help cure solar lichen. When treating, rely on the use of antimycotics offered by the pharmacy chain in the form of sprays or lotions. These support agents are applied to the skin area in a small layer, and then rubbed into the upper layer of the epidermis with light massaging movements. Such treatment at home can be carried out only after consulting a doctor and a clear understanding that you will not have an allergic reaction to the components of these drugs.

Folk remedies

If the disease is not advanced and does not require the use of additional antifungal and antiseptic drugs, the doctor will recommend you how to get rid of solar lichen using traditional medicine.

You can cure the disease by preparing a solution of calendula from 1 part of the dried flowers of the plant and 5 parts of vodka. Treatment with sea buckthorn, peach, St. John's wort or rosehip oils has a positive effect on lichen.

To restore the mineral and vitamin balance of the affected area of the skin, use an ointment prepared on the basis of sour cream, ground sorrel root and stem.

The product is applied to the pigment spot and rubbed into the skin with light massaging movements.

There are many ways to remove solar lichen and how to treat it at home, but the most important thing is to cleanse the body from the inside. For this, a healing drink is prepared, consisting of ½ teaspoon of soda, 1 tablespoon of vinegar and 1 tablespoon of honey. This solution is drunk twice a day until complete cure.

Prevention

If you are prone to skin diseases such as pigmentation, follow a series of simple recommendations to prevent sunburn on your skin:

With prolonged exposure to the sun, be sure to use products to protect the skin from active sunlight;
Do not abuse visits to solariums and beaches on hot sunny days;
After you swim, be sure to wipe your skin with a towel to soften the activity of the sun's rays;
Do not forget about safety measures and personal hygiene in public places - baths, saunas, swimming pools.
On open beaches, do not lie down on the sand - be sure to lay a litter, wear individual slippers in the pool or sauna;
Try to buy clothes made only from natural fabrics in your wardrobe.

If you are still infected and pigment spots begin to appear on your body, be sure to visit a dermatologist. Remember that gentle treatment of formations with folk remedies is possible only when the threat of the spread of pathology is completely removed, its nature is revealed and the threat of possible complications is removed.

Pityriasis versicolor, which in the common people is called "sunny" or "multi-colored" due to the peculiarities of the appearance and course of the disease, lovers of strong tanning can find on their bodies. Symptoms of the disease are pronounced and are spots that stand out on the skin with their color. The treatment of this disease does not cause difficulties, but at the same time, the lack of therapy leads to relapses, then it is more difficult to cure the disease.

Causes of the disease

The main causes of the disease:

Excessive exposure to sunlight, which provokes the reproduction of a fungus on the skin and a violation of the acid balance. Often, multi-colored lichen is called a "marker" of diseases of the liver and biliary tract - it appears to a greater extent in people who have problems with the work of these internal organs.
Excessive sweating can lead to the appearance of solar lichen.
Endocrine diseases, such as obesity, diabetes, are disposed to the disease.
Weakened immunity;
Frequent use of antibacterial skin care products that disrupt normal skin pH levels.
Stressful effect on the skin caused by frequent visits to the solarium.

It is these reasons that cause the appearance of solar lichen, which manifests itself in the form of spots of white, milky, beige color on areas of the skin that are most susceptible to ultraviolet rays: on the back, shoulders, forearm, arms, décolleté.

Symptoms of the disease

Having noticed the first symptoms in the form of spots, it is recommended to stop exposure to the sun. But it should be borne in mind that solar lichen may not manifest itself for a long time - the incubation period of the disease lasts from 2 weeks to 3 months. Therefore, it can appear not only in summer, but also in the cold season, most often in autumn.
The course of the disease itself is long - about 2 weeks, but solar lichen is not contagious. It is transmitted from person to person only with very close and prolonged contact with the focus of the disease.

There are such stages of the development of the disease:

Solar lichen, except for a cosmetic defect, does not cause much harm to the body. With timely diagnosis, the disease is not difficult to treat and in the future you can sunbathe without fear of serious consequences.

Lichen treatment

Before starting treatment, the doctor conducts a diagnosis in order to exclude from suspicion diseases whose symptoms are similar to solar lichen - vitiligo, syphilis, leprosy, Zhiber's disease.

It is not difficult to cure solar lichen if you follow all the recommendations of a dermatologist. When choosing a drug, it is better to give preference to forms in the form of sprays, lotions, solutions, ointments - they are easier and more evenly distributed over the skin. It is recommended to treat lichen on the body, adhering to the following scheme:

Before applying an antifungal ointment to the lichen, it is recommended to wash the lichen-affected areas of the body with a shampoo that is used to treat dandruff: Nizoral, Sebozol, Dermazol, Perkhotal.
Then, antifungal ointment Clotrimazole or similar drugs are applied to problem areas: Miramistin, Cycloperox, Lamisil, Bifalazole, Terbinafine, etc.

The course of treatment is determined by the doctor and is usually 2 weeks of daily use of antifungal drugs. After that, a monthly break is made and the treatment is repeated.

Other less effective treatments for solar lichen are also practiced:

You can cure extensive lichen by using sulfuric, salicylic or sulfuric-salicylic ointment.
Small lesions can be cured with iodine or iodosalicylic alcohol, apple cider vinegar, 5% salicylic alcohol. These drugs are applied to lichen very often - every 3 hours.
Since pityriasis versicolor appears due to disturbances in the functioning of the immune system, in parallel with the main treatment, the doctor prescribes a course of multivitamins.

Treatment with folk remedies

It is often practiced to treat fungal skin lesions with folk methods, which many consider less dangerous and more effective than the use of pharmaceutical preparations.

St. John's wort, rosehip, peach and sea buckthorn oils cope well with fungal skin diseases. You can purchase ready-made preparations at a pharmacy and lubricate the affected areas on the body.
You can make your own tincture from 5 parts of vodka and 1 part of calendula flowers. Lubricate multi-colored lichen very often - up to 5 - 6 times a day.
Onion also effectively copes with this disease, the juice of which wipes spots on the skin.
Since lichen occurs due to an imbalance in the acid balance of the skin, sorrel can be used for treatment. To do this, its roots and leaves are crushed into gruel, mixed with sour cream and rubbed into the affected areas. Such an ointment copes very well with solar lichen.
It is also recommended to treat pityriasis versicolor from the inside. To do this, prepare a drink from baking soda, a teaspoon of honey and a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar.

Disease prevention

do not abuse exposure to the sun;
be sure to use sunscreen;
before sunbathing after bathing, the skin must be wiped with a towel, only then exposed to the sun;
observe safe hygiene measures so as not to catch the fungus from other people: do not use other people's towels, be sure to lay your own bedding on the sunbed, do not lie on bare sand;
wear clothes made from natural fabrics.

You can cure this disease with folk methods, but it is better to entrust the treatment to proven pharmacy antifungal drugs that a dermatologist will select.

What is solar lichen? I will not operate with scientific words, but will describe this problem, so to speak, in words accessible to the people. Most often, it appears on tanned skin in the form of small, round, light spots. These spots appear on the skin after sunbathing or relaxing at sea. Many do not even pay attention to them, and in some cases, after the tan fades, the spots disappear on their own, and reappear next summer. They can mainly be seen on the chest, abdomen, back and occasionally on the legs and arms. In these places, the skin ceases to secrete melanin, as it is affected by the fungus.

If not treated, solar lichen. Mostly in middle-aged people, this fungus goes away on its own, but it is possible that over the years it can develop into vitiligo, a disease that can only be treated with skin grafts. Therefore, it is better not to hope that everything will go away on its own, but to take up treatment. So, if you notice small, light spots on your tanned skin, I advise you not to put off getting rid of them indefinitely and get rid of them as soon as possible. Moreover, it will not be difficult.

You need to go to the pharmacy and ask for salicylic ointment 10%. I say right away that you will need not one jar, but two or three, it all depends on how affected your skin is. Immediately prepare the bed linen on which you will sleep during the treatment. Do not plan any important meetings for these 5 days. Do not drink alcohol.

First day. Wash your body well. Procedures must be done two hours before bedtime. Since this is a fungus and it is able to move, it is necessary to apply the ointment to the entire body. Start from the neck and all the way to the knees. The ointment should be applied in a thick layer and thoroughly rubbed all over the body. As a result, your skin should be all oily from the ointment. For the next two hours, you should not sit down anywhere and lie down, let the ointment soak in. Only after the ointment is absorbed, you can go to bed. In the morning, in no case should you go to the shower. Do not wash the places where the ointment was applied. During the day, you can safely put on clothes, as the ointment is already well absorbed and there will be no greasy marks on clothes. After the course of treatment, all clothes and bedding will need to be washed well.

Apply the ointment every evening for 5 days, only the next 4 days before applying the ointment you can not wash, you may experience discomfort and slight itching, but you need to endure it. The most important thing in the whole process is to carefully apply the ointment to all areas of the skin and do not rinse throughout the course. Yes, you understood me correctly, you will not have to wash at all for four days, of course you can observe intimate hygiene. This is necessary so that the ointment clogs in all pores and kills the fungus.

At the end of the course of treatment, the spots will still be visible. The fungus is gone, but the unburned spots remain. To even out the skin tone, there are two options, go to the solarium or sunbath several times, but do not overdo it or wait until all the tan is gone.

People who have had solar lichen should not sunbathe much. Therefore, next summer, if you want to get a beautiful tan, you should also stock up on 10% salicylic ointment. And it is better to sunbathe only in the afternoon and to a minimum. Take care of your skin, the sun in our time is not so useful and everything affects our skin and health.

Solar lichen is a chronic infectious pathology of the skin, characterized by the appearance of foci of hyperpigmentation and peeling in its areas.

This disease affects mainly young people (usually under the age of 30), regardless of gender.

Sun lichen has many different names - sun fungus, beach sickness. All of them say that the disease develops in the hot season, under the influence of ultraviolet rays.

The reasons

Why does solar lichen occur, and what is it? It is almost impossible to get infected with this lichen from the carrier, since this fungus does not develop on the skin without concomitant factors.

The main causes of solar lichen are:

the action of sunlight - they disrupt the acid balance on the skin, contributing to the reproduction of the fungus.
increased sweating.
weakened immunity.
frequent visits to the solarium.
frequent use of antibacterial agents.

The causative agent of this infection is a fungus from the genus malassezia, which is part of the natural microflora of the human skin and begins active reproduction when conditions favorable for this occur.

Factors that provoke the reproduction of a microorganism may be associated with disturbances in the functioning of the body: hormonal failure, diseases of the endocrine system and thyroid gland, weakening of its protective functions.

External factors include: frequent stress, prolonged exposure to the sun, the abuse of sun tanning, trips to the solarium, etc.

signs

The first signs of sun fungus:

the appearance on the skin of barely noticeable torn spots. Such spots in color at first differ slightly from healthy skin;
an increase in the number of spots, their merging into one large formation;
discoloration of the skin at the site of such formation.

In some cases, solar fungus can occupy large areas of the skin.

Symptoms of solar lichen in humans

With solar lichen, the favorite places for symptoms to appear are the back, chest, neck, and shoulders.

The onset of the disease in humans is characterized by the appearance of small spots on the skin with clearly defined edges. The spots are dark in color and have a brown or reddish tint, as you can see in the photo below.

Lichen spots are irregular in shape, flat, they do not protrude above the surface of the skin. As a rule, they do not itch, do not become inflamed and do not cause any physical inconvenience.

There are no other signs of this disease. If a person has itching, burning and other unpleasant sensations, then this means that some other bacterial infection has been added to the lichen.

Excessive sweating can aggravate the disease. After all, the spores of the fungus, getting into the sweat, easily move over the skin of the patient, thus increasing the affected areas.

Prevention

Before sunbathing after bathing, the skin must be wiped with a towel, only then exposed to the sun's rays.
In case of excessive sweating, treat skin folds, armpits with powder, talcum powder, wipe with a decoction of oak bark.
Do not abuse sun exposure.
Be sure to use sunscreen.
Don't go to the solarium.
Wear clothes made from natural fabrics.

You can try to get rid of this disease with folk methods, but it is better to entrust the treatment to proven antifungal drugs that the doctor will select.

What solar lichen looks like: photo

Below is solar lichen in humans, and its detailed photos in the initial stage and beyond.

Solar lichen treatment

When solar lichen has been diagnosed, treatment is carried out at home. A person is prescribed local antifungal drugs, which are continued until the symptoms disappear completely.

If the disease does not respond to the prescribed therapy, progresses, or its recurrence is noted, in these cases it is advisable to use systemic drugs.

How to treat this problem? Basically, antifungal ointments are prescribed with which they smear the affected area of \u200b\u200bthe skin:

Mycozolin;
Miromistin;
Lamisil;
Naftifin.

Ointments and creams are rubbed into the skin with light movements once or twice a day, depending on the percentage of the active substance.

Usually treatment lasts no more than 10-15 days. In addition, you can lubricate the affected area with rosehip or sea buckthorn oil, or 5% salicylic alcohol. Do not neglect the use of multivitamins, since immunity suffers with the development of the fungus.

In addition to local treatment in advanced cases, general therapy is recommended. Drugs are called to suppress the activity of fungi:

Ketoconazole;
Orgunal;
Itraconazole.

Antifungal drugs help to successfully fight the focus of the disease, and also prevent the spread of the lesion to other parts of the skin. To restore melanin, cycloserine is used, which effectively stops the synthesis of pigments of the pathogen.

How to treat folk remedies

Traditional medicine offers many options for treating solar lichen in humans. However, treatment at home must be agreed with a doctor who can diagnose and prescribe complex therapy.

You can apply sea buckthorn or rosehip essential oils twice a day. With sensitive epidermis, it is desirable to dilute these products with some vegetable base oil (olive, corn, sunflower).
Rosehip infusion. An excellent immune booster. Pour into a thermos 2 tbsp. l. fruit, pour 0.5 liters of boiling water. After two hours, strain the infusion. Take orally twice a day for half a cup.
Wipe bleached stains with homemade apple cider vinegar every 2.5-3 hours.

So, you can supplement your therapy with proven home remedies. Don't replace, just add.