Deprive a child

Contents

What is deprive
What is lichen in children
The provoking factors
Symptoms of lichen in children
How to treat lichen in children at home
Popular questions and answers

Many people at least once faced with lichen in childhood. A contagious rash brings both physical and emotional discomfort to a child. We understand what types of unpleasant rashes are in children and how to calculate lichen

Today, among diseases in children under 14 years of age, such a skin pathology as lichen is quite common. It is characterized by the formation of various types of spots on the skin. Unusual rashes are highly contagious, making sick children a potential threat to people they come into contact with. Therefore, parents need to be more attentive to all strange rashes, and when the first symptoms of the disease appear, refer the child to a doctor.

What is deprive

According to the frequency of diagnosis, lichen is among the top ten most common skin pathologies in children. The peak of the disease is usually recorded in the spring and summer, in warm and humid weather. Lichen is caused by viruses and fungi, in connection with which scientists attribute to it an infectious origin. Most often, the disease occurs on the skin with a large number of sweat glands, such as the back, face and chest of a child. Varieties of pathology are classified according to causes, course and manifestations that occur outside. With various forms of lichen, different types of rashes are formed, for example, dry or wet, pale pink or deep red.

What is lichen in children

Ringworm

The most common form of the disease. First of all, the disease manifests itself on the nails, skin and hair. At the same time, ringworm in children has an incubation period of one to six weeks, which slows down the healing process due to delayed diagnosis. You can notice the disease by reddish oval and round spots, which are covered with scales and a crust. Hair at the site of the formation of the focus may break off or even fall out. The patient develops severe peeling, itching and burning in the affected area. An increase in basal body temperature, a decrease in appetite, and an increase in lymph nodes are also common. Treatment methods for ringworm are determined by the doctor, after clarifying the type of fungus that provoked the disease. Treatment is usually carried out at home. (one)

Pityriasis rosea or Gibert’s disease

The manifestation of pink lichen is usually found on the body: on the abdomen, chest, shoulders, sides or back. As the first manifestation of the disease, you can notice a spot of bright pink color up to five centimeters in size. After one or two weeks, small oval-shaped rashes begin to spread from the spot in different directions. In the middle of the rash, the skin is prone to peeling, and a red outline appears along the edges. Most often, the lesion is localized in natural skin folds. There is a feeling of light and unpleasant itching. The rashes stay on the skin for about a month and a half, after which they disappear without a trace. It is important to prevent their injury, due to which an infection can enter the wound, causing complications.

Shingles

This is a form of the disease that occurs due to exposure to a viral infection, mainly in children who do not have immunity to it. This type of illness is most common among older teenagers who have previously had chickenpox. After the onset of recovery, the virus remains in the nerve cells in a latent form, due to which, during a decrease in immunity, an exacerbation of the disease occurs, accompanied by severe pain. This is the danger of shingles. Also, the disease can lead to such serious consequences as neuralgia, inflammation of the meninges, loss of sensitivity and vision. Even before the appearance of rashes, the patient develops weakness, drowsiness, and an increase in overall body temperature. Sometimes the first symptoms are confused with the flu or SARS. Pathology can be recognized by the formation of small rashes at the locations of the nerve endings. Visually, the rash with a disease is similar to chickenpox: small swollen blisters on the body. Often recovery comes on its own. However, in severe cases, the patient is placed in a hospital and prescribed painkillers and antiviral drugs.

Lichen planus

Today, lichen planus is extremely rare in children. A characteristic feature of this form of the disease is its location in the places of folds and on the abdomen. Eruptions of lichen planus can be distinguished by watery spots of bright red or dark brown color. The affected skin of the patient is very itchy and itchy, which leads to irritability and tearfulness of the child. Over time, after recovery, persistent pigment spots may form at the site of the rash. (2)

Pityriasis versicolor or versicolor

Pityriasis versicolor is not infectious, it is caused by pathogenic microorganisms that live in every person. This is a rare form of lichen that affects only the upper stratum corneum of the skin and is not transmitted by contact. In places of localization of the disease – on the back, abdomen and shoulders – a rash appears in the form of pink or yellow-brown spots covered with skin scales. After the spots can grow, forming foci with blurry edges. During the course of the disease, the rash may change color, becoming dark brown or dark brown, which led to the name of this form of the disease. (3)

The provoking factors

A child’s fragile body often cannot withstand the threats of the outside world. The main reason for the appearance of lichen is considered to be the penetration of a viral or fungal infection into the body of a child. Different forms of lichen have their own causes. For example, pink lichen received an infectious-allergic nature of development, herpes zoster is formed due to the virus entering the child’s body, and ringworm and pityriasis due to fungi.

Nevertheless, to date, scientists have not precisely determined why not all children (even those who fall into the risk group list) can become infected with lichen. There are main provoking factors that increase the risk of getting sick:

excessive emotional and physical stress;
stress and emotional overstrain;
decrease in the overall level of immunity;
avitaminosis;
the occurrence of infectious inflammatory processes;
allergic reactions;
endocrine diseases – obesity, diabetes, thyroid problems;
damage to the skin;
neglect of the rules of personal hygiene and the emergence of favorable conditions for the formation of pathological microflora on the skin;
a sharp change in climatic conditions or thermoregulation – heat, cold, high humidity, increased sweating;
hereditary predisposition.

Most often, children become infected in crowded places, for example, in a kindergarten, summer camp, school or public pool. Also often, as the main cause of infection, doctors cite contact with pets or street animals, after which the rules of personal hygiene were not observed. (four)

Symptoms of lichen in children

The shape, color and nature of the rashes may vary. Only a doctor can accurately diagnose and distinguish the disease from ordinary dermatitis, therefore, at the first signs of a pathology, it is necessary to consult a specialist. The treatment of lichen in children is carried out by such doctors as a pediatrician, a dermatologist and an infectious disease specialist. Clinical signs of diagnosis of different types of lichen in children are different. Despite this, common symptoms have been identified for all types of lichen, in the event of which an urgent need to consult a doctor.

Rashes in the form of spots

Depending on the form of lichen, the rash may look different. With herpes zoster and lichen planus, small vesicles with serous-hemorrhagic contents form on the skin. With multi-colored lichen, spots form in various sizes and types. And with pink lichen, a papule appears (a flat tissue growth that rises above healthy epithelium). Papules can connect with each other and become covered with scales. The color of the rash can vary from pale pink and white to purplish red and brownish yellow.

Itching and burning

In places of defeat, an unpleasant sensation of burning and itching often occurs. Different forms entail different intensity of sensations, but in any case they will cause irritation and discomfort to the child, which will affect his quality of life.

Hair loss

Quite often, a large focus of baldness occurs in the affected areas, along the edges of which the hair breaks off at a length of one centimeter from the skin. Multiple small lesions may appear next to the main formation.

Sometimes during an exacerbation of the disease, the general condition of the child may worsen – the temperature rises, weakness, vomiting, headaches or joint pain occur.

How to treat lichen in children at home

Regardless of the form, lichen requires a timely start of the treatment procedure. Advanced cases are amenable only to complex and lengthy therapy, so you should not self-medicate, but you should immediately consult a doctor. Lichen treatment should be prescribed by a doctor after examination and diagnosis. After the interview, the specialist must examine the site of the lesion visually and with the help of a mercury-quartz magnifying lamp, under which various forms of lichen acquire different shades of the brown-yellow spectrum. To determine the type of pathogen, the doctor may prescribe a microscopic examination of the scraping of the affected area of the skin, the Balzer iodine test, or a test for Besnier’s symptoms. Also, if necessary, they may recommend taking a biochemical blood test and a general urine test. After diagnostic data are obtained and a complete clinical picture of the disease is formed, the specialist will be able to choose the most effective treatment tactics.

However, at home, you can alleviate the condition of the child before visiting the doctor. Before a visit to a specialist, the affected area should not be smeared with various ointments and creams that can modify the rash, as this will complicate the diagnostic process. To prevent germs from multiplying, the child should be bathed regularly and his underwear should be changed. When choosing clothes, it is recommended to give preference to natural lightweight and breathable fabrics. Wash your baby in the shower to reduce the possibility of the rash spreading. It is necessary to exclude sweet and fatty foods from the diet, replacing them with vegetables and sour-milk products.

Before visiting the specialist’s office, you need to limit the possibility of contact with other people. During the treatment of contagious forms of lichen, protective gloves should be worn during treatments, and the child should be provided with separate dishes and hygiene items.

And yet, lichen is easier to prevent than to cure, so it is important to take preventive measures, which consist in observing the rules of hygiene and reducing contact with street animals. Lichen develops only when immunity is weakened, which will be strengthened by frequent walks, sports, a balanced diet and sleep patterns.