Brief overview
- What is rose lichen? Reddish, scaly rash, preferably on the trunk of the body, upper arms and thighs. Mostly young people between 10 and 35 years get it, and mainly in spring and autumn.
- Symptoms and course: First, single reddish spot with scaly border (primary medallion). Later, the rest of the florosebaceous rash develops with smaller patches. Sometimes symptoms such as fatigue, nausea, headache, fever exist before the rash.
- Causes: Unclear. It is possible that certain herpes viruses are behind it. There have also been some cases of erysipelas or an erysipelas-like rash after corona infection and – sporadically – after corona vaccination (mRNA vaccine).
- Diagnosis: The symptoms and their course usually clearly point to Röschenflechte. In unclear cases, skin biopsy.
- Rose lichen in pregnancy: the risk of miscarriage or premature birth is increased, especially in the first 15 weeks of pregnancy.
What is rosacea?
Erysipelas (Pityriasis rosea) is a disease of the skin characterized by a reddish, scaly rash. It occurs spontaneously – usually in spring and fall – and heals on its own after a few weeks. Rose lichen is not contagious.
Röschenflechte mainly affects young people between the ages of 10 and 35. Women get it about twice as often as men. Only rarely does rosacea occur in a younger child or baby.
Erysipelas: Caution during pregnancy!
If you are pregnant and think you have erysipelas, you should see your gynecologist immediately. He or she will be able to detect any complications in time and counteract them.
How can erysipelas be treated?
Since rose lichen heals on its own, treatment is usually not necessary. With some tips you can get through the period of the disease well, for example:
- Itching and drying of the skin can be relieved with a moisturizing skin care cream. If itching is severe, a light cortisone ointment or, if necessary, taking an allergy medication (antihistamine) can help.
- Sweating can aggravate the florose lichen. Therefore, sauna sessions, sunbathing, and excessive exercise should be avoided during the disease.
- Tight-fitting clothing can additionally irritate the skin. During the disease, it is therefore recommended to wear loose-fitting tops and bottoms.
If rose lichen occurs during pregnancy, additional check-ups by the gynecologist are indicated.
Erysipelas: home remedies & alternative medicine
Some affected persons would like to resort to home remedies or alternative healing methods for the treatment of rose rash. For example, aromatherapy uses diluted tea tree oil to treat itching of the skin, which can occur in cases of erysipelas.
Coconut oil – unlike tea tree oil not an essential but a fatty oil – can also have an itch-relieving effect.
If you want to try homeopathy for rose rash, you can take the homeopathic remedy sulfur, for example. It is generally recommended by homeopaths for skin rashes and other skin diseases.
Rose lichen: course and symptoms
Typically, the course of rose lichen includes two stages or phases:
- After a few days or weeks, the disease enters the 2nd phase: rosacea becomes worse and worse – additional smaller, scaly patches of skin form. Mostly they extend over the trunk, sometimes also over the areas of arms and legs close to the trunk. As a rule, however, rosacea does not affect the face. The skin patches are usually not itchy or only mildly itchy.
The floretsciasis is usually short-lived. After about eight weeks, the rash disappears.
The floret lichen rash is sometimes preceded by symptoms such as fatigue, headache, nausea, and fever. However, once the rash is there, the patient’s general condition is usually unaffected.
What are the causes behind rose lichen?
Cases of erysipelas or a rash resembling erysipelas and corona have also been observed: some people developed typical symptoms of erysipelas after acute corona infection. Isolated cases of flushing or a rash resembling flushing also occurred after Covid 19 vaccinations with mRNA vaccines.
How is erysipelas diagnosed?
If the rash is unclear, the (skin) doctor will first ask some questions about the history of the disease (anamnesis). For example, he will ask how long the rash has existed, how it has developed and whether there are any other complaints.
A close examination of the skin is usually sufficient for the doctor to suspect erysipelas: symptoms and course are generally so typical that the diagnosis can be made easily.
In unclear cases, the doctor can take a tissue sample of the skin (biopsy) for more precise analysis.
