Erythrasma

Erythrasma gets its name from the reddish glow of the lesions when conducting luminescent diagnostics.

Translated from Greek, the word means red color.

The disease occurs mainly in elderly people, more often in men than in women and is characterized by a long course without negative subjective sensations.

Erythrasma along with actinomycosis, pink lichen, ringworm, favus, epidermophytia and microsporia have long been considered fungal skin diseases.

This is due to the fact that microsporia flakes taken from erythrasma affected areas of the skin show the presence of curved thin filaments resembling the mycelium of mushrooms.< /p>

But in modern dermatology, the disease refers to pseudomycoses – diseases with a clinical picture similar to a fungal infection of the skin, but with a completely different etiology.

What are the symptoms?

The disease begins with the appearance on the surface of the skin of round, non-inflammatory spots of light brown color, brick-red, brown or yellowish-brown color.

The size of the spots can be small or up to several centimeters. The spots often have rounded ends, but may also be shell-shaped.

As the skin lesions increase in size, they begin to merge, forming a single large affected area that is clearly distinguishable from healthy skin.

It has a smooth surface and is covered with small exfoliating scales. Over time, brown pigmentation or discoloration develops in the central part of the affected skin area.

The characteristic localization of the lesions is the skin folds. In men, the groin area, the inner thighs and the skin around the anus are most often affected.

In women, the rash is usually located in the folds under the breasts, on the skin above the navel or under the arms.

In obese people, the lesions can also appear in the area of ​​the fold, which is formed when the abdomen is too large.

The disease is usually not accompanied by any subjective sensations. Only in some cases, patients may feel a slight itching.

Because of this, the clinical condition can remain unnoticed for a long time, without giving reason to consult a dermatologist.

Erythrasma lasts a long time without more pronounced clinical symptoms, more than 10 years, and is characterized by alternating periods of remission and exacerbations.

The disease usually manifests itself during the summer period when the warm weather promotes the faster reproduction of bacteria.

In patients with obesity, hyperhidrosis, diabetes mellitus, the disease may proceed with complications with the addition of symptoms of eczema, itching or secondary infections of the foci of the disease.

For the development of complications, friction, increased humidity and contamination of the affected area of ​​the skin also contribute.

Complications are characterized by burning, itching or pain in the affected area.

Treatment of erythrasma

Local treatment consists of rubbing erythromycin or sulfur-tar ointment into the affected area of ​​the skin. The procedure is carried out 2 times a day for a week.

After that, the spots characteristic of the disease persist for some time, and then fade and disappear.

When a secondary infection occurs and the appearance of inflammatory changes in the skin lesions, it is imperative to treat them with resorcinol alcohol or with aniline derivatives.

A excessive skin area affected by the disease is an indication for systemic antibiotic therapy.

The drying and disinfecting effect of soft ultraviolet rays favors the rapid healing of skin lesions and prevents the exacerbation of the disease.