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Q: 

how do I know when pityriasis rosea is healing?

By Anonymous May 21, 2010 - 6:21am
 
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I was diagnosed with pityriasis rosea almost 6 weeks ago. Apparently it takes 6-8 weeks to disappear, but I keep finding new spots every time I shower, new red spots seem to pop up. The first ones I got seem to keep changing. Does anyone know what these spots are meant to look like before they just disappear?

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(reply to BlazingBlueBert)

My PR cleared up a couple months ago.

I think it's interesting that your healing process (with the help of a tanning bed) was a bit different than mine. I've wondered if PR is different from person to person? And the more I've thought about it, the more I wondered if mine was stress-induced. Does this sound possible?

January 23, 2015 - 11:48pm
(reply to greenbean12)

Sorry for the late reply to this particular comment. Yes, I do indeed think it is stress related. In my internet browsing on the topic of PR I have noticed a great deal of similarities between people with PR.

1. Stress
2. Diet (Open for debate)
3. Daily sun exposure (I honestly think this could be the leading cause)
4. Heat management (Lukewarm showers, loose fitting clothing, and different materials)

I can't stress it enough, direct sunlight HAS been probably the single biggest impact on PR sufferers road to recovery. BUT PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE! Be aware of the risks of sun tanning and precautions to take while sun tanning.

I AM NOT a doctor, so PLEASE take everything I say with a grain of salt. Do some research, ask a physician if you need to, and decide what you think is best people! It's your body, and as such you need to decide what is best for YOU.

To address the points I have made:

1. Stress - Difficult as it may be to manage stress, find what works for you.
2. Diet - While open for debate, some PR sufferers have claimed that gluten free diets cured it (Too many variables to rule this as the single reason for a clear up of PR patches). Others have introduced more veggies and fruits, likewise not enough research to substantiate this claim.
3. Daily sunlight exposure - I think you all get my point by now, overwhelmingly people with PR swear by tanning.
4. Heat Management - As with other skin conditions, managing your skin temperature through use of loose fitting clothes, not taking hot showers, and different fabrics of the clothing you wear all affect how hot your skin becomes. Now if you're like me and have a physically demanding job, then this isn't a perfectly viable option.

Hope my answer to your question on stress relation to PR gives you some insight into the ailment greenbean12.

Just wanted to throw out my two cents once more for possibly new people visiting the page with questions.

February 12, 2015 - 7:18am
EmpowHER Guest
Anonymous

Things that helped me:
Weleda rash relief cream which is a zinc oxide cream with calendula and Welede calendula nappy cream for my back and torso, Julique rescue redness cream for my neck and sun baking for 5 mins in Australian sun. It got worse before it got
better, and was gone in 3 weeks

December 22, 2014 - 4:39am

Mine started out bright red, then pinkish, scaly and slightly itchy. After that they disappeared . I really think the zinc oxide cream helped to heal them.

December 2, 2014 - 7:36pm
EmpowHER Guest
Anonymous

Pityriasis Rosea nearly almost gone in about 3 weeks! Use head and shoulders extra strength to wash with instead of soap. I didn't use a cloth, just used my hands because my rash was scabbing and i didn't want to irritate it by using cloths. I used regular soap in the places where i didn't have the rash of course. After AIR DRYING i applied chlotrimazole, then a thin layer of hydrocortisone extra strength all over my body. I applied to hydrocortisone a couple times a day to stop the itching. I tried to expose my skin to sunlight as much as possible because sunlight apparently helps. It is december so that was a little hard to do. But this is my 3rd week with the rash and its clearing up really fast and the spots are starting to diminish. Goodluck!

December 1, 2014 - 12:35pm
EmpowHER Guest
Anonymous

I'm a 57 y/ o female recently diagnosed with PR. Dermo
didn't give me any treatment plan. It's been about 6 weeks and I'm almost clear. Here is what worked for me: good quality multi-vitamin and keifer to boost immune system, and zinc oxide cream applied to skin to help soothe the itchy dry feeling (really helps I used Boudreaux's).

November 27, 2014 - 9:39pm
EmpowHER Guest
Anonymous

I have this pityriasis rosea for about 4 months now.. It's not as worse as the first weeks but still from time to time i experience this severe itching by night then go away by morning.. Many of the spots are gone but one to three spots appear every now and then. What is happening?? Pls answer. :( huhu

November 24, 2014 - 5:52pm
(reply to Anonymous)

This is a late reply, but in case you're still wondering - this just sounds like it's taking a while to heal. When 90% of my PR spots were healing, the other 10% were in earlier stages and not yet healing. It sounds pretty normal to me.

January 6, 2015 - 5:26pm
EmpowHER Guest
Anonymous (reply to greenbean12)

Still, thank you for the reply. So how long did you have this PR? I'm on my 6 month now.. :/

January 11, 2015 - 3:17am
(reply to Anonymous)

About a month total. After two weeks, it started to go away. I was pretty aggressive with the "home remedies" because I was so desperate to get rid of it. After two weeks, I was completely covered from the neck down. Is your rash still spreading?

January 15, 2015 - 1:53pm
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