What is lichen asbestos and why does it occur?

Asbestos-like lichen on the head photo
Asbestos-like or asbestos-like lichen is a disease around which debate among dermatologists is constantly ongoing. It affects the skin on the scalp and has several different medical names: keratosis pilaris, pityriasis asbestos. The disease is characterized by the development of serious inflammation, which can be caused by various reasons.

Causes of the disease

All the reasons for the appearance of lichen are completely unknown; sometimes patients are affected by pityriasis for no apparent reason. Doctors have found that asbestos disease occurs due to the following known root causes:

• decrease in the body's immune forces;
• stressful situations;
• instability of emotional calm;
• skin reaction to trauma;
• consequences of streptococcal infection;
• advanced seborrheic dermatitis;
• allergic reaction;
• psoriasis;
• eczema.

Complications and consequences in adults, children, pregnant women

Ringworm in an advanced form, or if the patient ignores treatment, is dangerous for the development of many complications:

In pregnant women and children, the body is in a weakened state, so it is more susceptible to infection with lichen and the development of complications. Additionally, this category is characterized by restrictions in the choice of medications due to side effects.

Feline ringworm

Ringworm is fungal in nature. It is transmitted through contact with a carrier of the pathogen (human or animal, often from cats) and through objects.

Ringworm can be treated with medication if diagnosed early. In advanced stages it can become chronic.

You can recognize skin lesions from lichen by the presence of the main signs of pathology:

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Symptoms

Itching of the scalp is characteristic of this disease.
Asbestos lichen affects the frontal and parietal lobes of the head, sometimes occurring near the neck at the back of the head. The disease causes the following symptoms:

• Gray lumps appear on the scalp; they stick to the skin and hair roots. It is difficult to separate these scales from the hairs; they often come out with the bulbs.
• The skin is inflamed, reddened, and the patient also suffers from constant itching.
• The skin becomes covered with a white crust, which is difficult to separate.
• Blood circulation worsens. Hair follicles do not receive the required amount of oxygen and vitamins due to asbestos disease, which results in excessive hair loss.
• Asbestos-like skin lesions have the ability to spread to nearby areas, for example, behind the ears.

Folk recipes

In alternative medicine, there are external treatments for lichen. Juice from the grapevine. It must be rubbed into the skin every day. Buckwheat decoction. You need to pour 1 glass of buckwheat, 500 ml of water and put on fire. When the water boils, you need to remove the buckwheat from the heat and drain the liquid into a separate container. The product is used by rubbing it into the skin daily. Compress made from raw yeast dough. It must be applied to the affected part of the skin for 2-3 hours, after which it must be washed thoroughly with soap. Repeat daily for 5 days. A mixture of chicken yolk and tar. You need to mix 200 g of tar and 2 chicken yolks. Add 150 g of cream to the composition. The product should be applied to the skin 2-3 times a day. You can prepare an ointment to treat lichen yourself. For the recipe you will need:

• 120 g lard;
• 60 g bone marrow;
• 3 mg salicylic acid.

All components must be brought to a liquid state in a water bath and mixed until smooth. When the ointment has cooled, it can be applied. For the best effect, you need the product to be absorbed into the skin: wrap your head in cellophane, foil, or use a rubber cap.

A popular remedy is calendula tincture with the addition of castor oil. Some people use a mixture of kerosene and fish oil in a 1:1 ratio for treatment.

You can also treat your skin with apple cider vinegar.

Products for internal use

The most popular folk medicine is a decoction of flaxseed. To prepare, you need to pour 1 tbsp. l. dry plant with boiling water. The product should infuse for 24 hours, after which the liquid must be filtered. You need to drink the tincture 3-4 times a day before meals. You can prepare an infusion from soapwort roots. They need to be cleaned and cut. The roots are poured with boiling water and allowed to brew for 10–12 hours. You need to drink 50 ml every 4 hours.

Treatment of the disease

Treatment of asbestos-like lichen includes a complex of methods, they consist of drug therapy, external effects on lichen, traditional medicine and proper nutrition.

In addition to drug treatment, it is necessary to comb out the scales of lichen from the hair.
The course of treatment is long and takes several months. In addition to using medications and folk remedies, the patient needs to get rid of silvery lumps; to do this, they are softened and then combed out of the hair with a thin comb. It is impossible to comb out dried scales without harming the skin; they stick to the skin and hair like a crust. To soothe irritated skin, herbs and ointments are used, patients also refuse soaps and shampoos with a chemical composition, and use baby shampoo.

Medication

To eliminate painful symptoms, the patient is prescribed the following medications:

Traditional methods

A decoction of flax seeds is taken for two weeks.
To overcome asbestos-like lichen on the head, the following folk methods are used:

• Grape seed oil. The product is rubbed into the affected part of the body several times a day for 30 days.
• Tar and sulfur. Mixed products eliminate itching and redness. These components are mixed in equal proportions and applied to the lichen.
• Apple vinegar. Pure, undiluted apple cider vinegar is used to treat lichen once a week, for 5 weeks in a row.
• Fish oil and kerosene. These products are used to make medicinal lotions. The components are taken in unequal proportions; 2 tablespoons of fat are used per spoon of kerosene. Lotions soften dried lumps and help remove them from the scalp.
• Calendula and castor oil. Infused calendula is mixed with castor oil in equal proportions, the mixture is applied to the head, and after 1 hour it is washed off with warm water.
• Sea buckthorn oil. Patients are recommended to consume a tablespoon of sea buckthorn oil every morning.
• Flax seeds. Pour a tablespoon of flaxseeds into a glass of water and cook until boiling, drink the broth 3 times a day for 2 weeks.

Lichen asbestos symptoms

Lichen asbestos on the head
Lichen asbestiforms received its unusual name for the characteristic peeling of the damaged area of ​​the head. It resembles in appearance the white fibers of the chemical asbestos.

In addition, the main symptoms are:

• localization in the forehead and crown, much less often on the back of the patient’s head;
• peeling has a slight grayish or silvery tint;
• scales cover not only the inflamed skin, but also the hair itself;
• the hairs do not break off, but look lifeless and dull;
• there is constant itching.

The lesions do not have a clearly defined shape, resembling blurry spots. The scalp in this area is almost always inflamed and slightly swollen. With this type of disease, keratinized scales strongly adhere to the hair and skin surface, creating a thin white film. They disrupt the normal blood supply and nutrition of the hair follicles, which may result in the onset of an inflammatory process. Removing this plaque may reveal damaged, bright pink skin.

Lichen asbestos on the head is a disease that is often chronic and manifests itself with a sharp decrease in immunity, against the background of stress or inflammatory processes in the patient’s body. Hair can actively fall out in the area where lichen forms, and if not treated correctly, it develops into real psoriasis. At a later stage, the histological picture can be supplemented by:

• dystrophic changes in hair roots and sebaceous glands that secrete subcutaneous fat;
• slight infiltration in places where lichen forms, which is expressed in purulent translucent discharge.

Asbestos-like lichen on a child's head
When it appears in girls, the disease can spread from the hairline to the thin skin behind the ears. This is fraught with the formation of cracks and microtraumas that can release liquid. In adult women, lichen asbestos is often a reaction to long-term drug treatment for various chronic diseases. In this case, the head is covered with a large number of small lesions that do not have a specific localization.

One of the unpleasant symptoms is itching. Considering that the majority of those affected are children, some parents mistakenly mistake asbestos-like lichen for lice, and flaking for dying nits. Sometimes the itching sensations are so severe that entire wounds that patients inflict on themselves have to be treated.

Consequences of the disease

Absestosis lichen - a chronic disease, weakened immunity and other reasons can provoke its secondary appearance. Therefore, you need to monitor your health, not succumb to stressful situations and adhere to the rules of hygiene. A completed course of treatment will help you get rid of painful, discomforting symptoms. After an illness, the patient may be left with bald patches or abrasions; various methods are used to restore hair; they can be prescribed by a trichologist.

Advanced asbestos-like disease will subsequently lead to the development of seborrheic dermatitis.

Traditional methods of treating asbestos lichen

The main rule is to never delay visiting qualified specialists, as this will help minimize the spread of the disease. Usually in such cases treatment is carried out in several directions at once. First of all, you need to relieve the itching. For this purpose, medications are prescribed that can prevent or reduce signs of allergies (antihistamines), and general strengthening vitamin complexes. Particular attention is paid to taking vitamins B6 and B12. At the same time, 2% sulfur-salicylic ointment is prescribed. Purified sulfur taken internally also has a good effect. If there are skin lesions, antiseptics are prescribed. Various antifungal ointments are also used. All preparations should be applied to previously cleansed areas of the skin. To do this, apply salicylic oil to the scales, apply a wrap, and after 24 hours, carefully comb everything out. In most cases, treatment takes at least three months.

It is worth noting that with this disease, self-medication is strictly contraindicated, as it leads to aggravation of the situation and the transition of the disease to the chronic stage.

Secondly, in most cases there is unbearable itching. If you give in to the temptation and scratch the affected area, there is a risk of compromising the integrity of the skin. Since mainly children and young people are susceptible to the disease, this is what happens in most cases. You have to treat not only asbestos lichen, but also the wounds inflicted by the sick person on himself.

Prevention methods and forecasting

If the root cause of the development of asbestos disease is established, prevention will be aimed at curing the cause. It is important to maintain good personal hygiene and use natural soaps and sulfate-free shampoos. Diet is an important part of the course of treatment and prevention of lichen. Refusal of harmful foods will increase the body's immune strength, improve the condition of the skin, nails and hair. It is possible to cure asbestos-type lichen so that it does not return again; to do this, you should adhere to the course of treatment, avoid stressful situations, eat right and not drink alcohol. Cured lichen will restore self-confidence to the victim and get rid of unpleasant scales, which are the ones that cause the main discomfort.

Diagnostics

The clinical picture of the disease is clearly visible, but the problem arises in identifying the disease or the causes that led to lichen asbestos. Dystrophic disorders occur in the sebaceous glands. The scales themselves look like asbestos fibers; there is itching and flaking around them. Differentiation is made with microsporia and psoriasis.

Recipes for ringworm with garlic

A few cloves of garlic are grated and mixed with natural honey until smooth. The resulting mixture is distributed over areas of the skin with lichen plaques, which promotes their disappearance. The course of treatment is two to three weeks.

A similar recipe, but without honey in the composition - crushed garlic is rubbed into the affected areas, after which the skin should not be wetted for several hours.

Garlic compresses on areas of skin with lichen allow it to return to its previous appearance in a few days. Crushed garlic is wrapped in gauze and applied to areas with lichen rashes for 10-15 minutes.

For lichen lesions that are difficult to treat with antibiotics, the following recipe works effectively: grated garlic and lemon are applied to the skin, and the compress is left for two hours. Three procedures are enough, and the causative agent of the disease is destroyed, and the skin is restored after lesions.

For ringworm contracted from pets, a compress of fresh lemon slices helps - keep it on the skin for a few seconds, and repeat the procedure after three hours. The acid contained in lemon inhibits fungus, which promotes recovery. You need to continue treatment for 3-4 days to consolidate the results.

Unusual methods

Salt. An unconventional method of treating lichen using your own saliva and table salt. The middle finger of the hand is moistened with saliva and grains of salt are collected with it, the resulting mixture is applied to the affected areas. This unusual method of treating lichen gives results even after a single use. After using it, skin rashes and lichen spots disappear.

Condensation method (when the windows in the house sweat). An ancient folk recipe for treating lichen: smear the affected areas with condensed moisture from the window glass. To collect drops of condensation, you need to breathe hot air onto the window. The rash caused by lichen goes away after three days of using this method.

Iodine with vodka for lichen.
Another popular recipe for a mixture for external use: ordinary iodine, which can be purchased at a pharmacy, is mixed with vodka in a one-to-one ratio and applied to the affected areas of the skin. [youtube.player]