Treatment
No treatment is usually required.
Oral antihistamines or topical steroids may be used to decrease itching. Steroids do provide relief from itching, and improve the appearance of the rash, but they also cause the new skin that forms (after the rash subsides) to take longer to match the surrounding skin color. While no scarring has been found to be associated with the rash, itching and scratching should be avoided. It's possible that scratching can make itching worse and an itch-scratch cycle may develop with regular scratching (that is, you itch more because you scratch, so you scratch more because you itch, and so on). Irritants such as soaps with fragrances, hot water, wool, and synthetic fabrics should be avoided; a soap containing moisturizers (such as goat's milk) may be used, however, and any generic moisturizer can help to manage over-dryness. Calamine lotion may be soothing to the skin and reduce itching. Emulsifiers should be used instead of soaps, as emulsifiers are gentler on the skin and include cleansers, eliminating the need for soap.
Direct sunlight makes the lesions resolve more quickly. According to this principle, medical treatment with ultraviolet light has been used to hasten resolution, though studies disagree whether it decreases itching or not. UV therapy is most beneficial in the first week of the eruption.
Read more about this topic: Pityriasis Rosea
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