Pityriasis Rosea - things that help

I found the testimonials on this site to be super helpful when I was first given my diagnosis of pityriasis rosea. I felt that I wanted to share my successes and let downs as well with the hopes that someone else may benefit.

I am 28 years old. My rash began as a few of the scaly herald spots. I originally did not really think much of them as I am prone to dry skin, and i assumed them to be such. Next a few itchy hives popped up. Again I did not think much of it. My mom has chronic hives (uticaria) so I just assumed I did as well, and started using her remedies. As I grew itchier, and started to read up on that condition, the more I realized that my bumps did not match. Chronic hives come and go and move around the body. My itchy bumps had not moved for weeks, and had that weird scaly dry circle in the middle. So at that point I went to my Dr. He diagnosed Pityriasis rosea right away, and told me I just had to wait it out, and antihistamines would help with the itch. As I read up on the condition, i became aware that I had had a sore throat for the preceding weeks that did not really ever materialize into a cold.

I quickly discovered that antihistamines did NOT help. My itches were so powerful that they often felt like they were burning or throbbing. 3 benadryl could not even knock me out and put me to sleep. At its worst point, Ice was the only thing that gave me relief. I read up on some of these discussions, and here are the things that I tried and found to be helpful.

Helpful:

Ice - putting an ice pack or a frozen washcloth on my itchy sites calmed them down when they were burning or throbbing. It helped take away the compulsive desire to scratch.

Aveeno oatmeal baths - at first i was afraid that the heat would make the spots worse. It did not. The oatmeal bath was glorious. I would put half the pack in the tub, and then spend the next half hour making the rest of the pack into a paste and massaging it into my worst spots.

Oil of Oregano - i learned of this a bit later in the game. Oil of oregano is supposed to be a natural antiviral, anti fungal and antihistamine. It smells super potent - I tried it on half my body first - one arm and half my chest, waited an hour and compared. the results were UNBELIEVABLE. my oregano half was remarkably less itchy and less inflamed. I have been putting it on the spots and taking it orally for the past three days. I am still itchy, but the oregano TOOK AWAY THE BURNING AND THROBBING ITCH. It seems to me that while everything else on my list treats the symptoms, I truly believe that this improves the condition and fights the virus. This was recommended to me by a naturopathic doctor. I read up on it, and I am going to continue seeing what it can do for my seasonal allergies and asthma.

Aveeno and Avene products - while the names are similar, these products are in no way affiliated. Aveeno products all use oatmeal and are marketed as anti itch, sensitive skin products. The body lotion is good, and the more clinical strength anti itch cream works wonders. Avene is a somewhat more upscale skincare product. I think that they advertise their products to be made with some magical french spring water... who knows. The bottom line is that they are unbelievable. They make a body water mist, and i would spritz it on my burning itchy skin in the middle of the day at work in order to get instant relief to make it through my appointments. They also have a product called cicalfate that essentially clears up most skin concerns - zits, burns, dry skin, infection irritation... you name it, it fixes it. I put it on my more scaly bumps to encourage healing.

Tanning beds - I am unsure if this is helping or not. I think that it is, because while i sit on the bed i am not itchy... however I think that the beds may be burning me slightly, which is bad, and i have not been using any tanning creams as I am afraid of it irritating my skin.

Music - A weird one to have on here, but nonetheless, it made a huge difference. When the itching was so strong, I would put my headphones on to sleep. It gave me something to focus on that was not the itch

Fleece blankets - My bedsheets were to rough for my sensitive skin! I feel like the princess and the pea. but wrapping up in the soft fleece blankets is such a relief to my skin after wearing rough clothing.

Loose clothing - I have been bra-less for 7 days. my itch gets irritated anywhere that clothing rubs against, so i'm doing my best to balance wearing loose clothing, and exposing my skin. this is hard to do considering I also want to wear scarves and sleeves so people do not notice the sores.

Things that have NOT been helpful

1. benadryl and other antihistamines, and allergy medications or sleeping medications - I did not find these helpful at reducing the itch, or in helping me sleep. I wish you good luck with them, but they did not help me.

2. Calamine lotion - on its own, it is very drying. I found this made my skin more irritated and itchy. The aveeno cream mentioned above combines calamine lotion with oatmeal so it is hydrating at the same time.

I think (hope!) that I am now on the upswing. Up to the point I am at now, every day was worse than the last. The past two days have each shown improvements. My large herald spots, and bigger scaly spots are no longer itchy and are starting to fade. I now have collections of small red bumps that seem to cluster. They are itchy, but not debilitating like the other ones were.

I wish everybody with this good luck.

At the end of Nov last year my 9yo daughter was covered in a horrible rash. I started putting on some natural ointment for rashes but it wasn’t working. Took her to the Dr and was told it was Pityriasis Rosea and that it could last up to four months, that there was nothing we could do about it, but to keep it moisturised to avoid it drying out and the itch to become worse. He said it was aggravated by heat and to come back if it got worse or the symptoms harder for her to deal with. 

We were heading on holiday to Australia where it was much hotter in two weeks and she didn’t want to be covered in the rash our entire holiday, I didn’t want that for her either. 

I’d never heard of it but started researching frantically, I read of many cases where people have struggled with this for years. My heart really goes out to them 😞 I was on a mission to beat this and wasn’t prepared to do nothing. 

I know that anything showing up on the outside is a symptom of something going on inside. So I got straight to my usual cure-all - lemon and baking soda! You need spray-free lemons from a tree, if you have only got access to store ones, wash well in baking soda and water. It’s not just lemon juice - I blend up an entire lemon (skin, seeds and all), just quarter it and chuck it in a blender with a couple of tablespoons of water to make a paste. Store the paste in a sealed jar in the fridge and give one tablespoon of lemon paste in a glass of water with quarter of a teaspoon of baking soda. I gave her this three times a day as her natural antibiotic. I also sprayed her entire body three times a day with colloidal silver spray. 

Within days her body was clear! This worked and there was no sign of any rash by the time we went on holiday. 

Thought I’d post here in case it can help anyone else. No way were we settling for four months of this arsey pityriasis rosea!!

I have progress photos as well, but I don’t know how to upload them. I hope this helps someone.