Hello,

I was recently diagnosed with Pityriasis Rosea and I absolutely hate it. While I know it is benign and will heal itself (and so in the grand scheme of health problems is minor), it simply consumes my day-to-day thoughts, not to mention I can hardly wear any of my clothes as the rash has taken over my stomach, back, chest, neck and even my chin area.

I have read everyone's replies with interest and have decided to try tanning and also to pursue alternative medicine. What are people's thoughts on this? Does acupuncture help, or simply dietary remedies? How long did it take for the rash to subside once this course of treatment was started?

I'm on my 7th week of PR. The rashes on my face, neck, chest, and back are gone. But it creeped to my legs and now are very irritatingly itchy.

I can't wear shorts. It's summer here in Manila and it's crazy not to wear shorts with our kind of heat.

I had several UV sessions. It helped clear up the spots on the chest and back. I still have a few on my arms but it's no longer that much raised.

My herald patch is gone but there are still tiny new ones that are popping out of my legs though. Those in my thighs are almost gone.

Gah! I want this over! I'm getting married and I wanna be a knock out on my wedding day!

Three weeks ago I was itching like crazy so I went to the doctor and the first thing out of his mouth was PR, but he later changed it to poison ivy. He gave me a cortisone shot and everything felt better. A week later it came back. I did some research and took a antihistamine at night. I finally week to the dermatologist and she recommended that I take Claritin or Loratadine (this works 24 hours) during the day. She also prescribed to me Clobex, a steriod spray to spray on the spots. They do carry this in a lotion and a shampoo. When I go to be I can take Benadryl. You can still take the Benadryl if you are taking the Loratdine. PR has to go away on it's on, but this makes your life so much easier. I am rarely scratching. On the first day, I have noticed that some bumps on my arm went away and some spots on my lower abdomen disappeared. For me, I am relieved. With PR I felt some what insecure. I wouldn't let my boyfriend touch me or see the markings. Clobex can be expensive, if you have insurance it is still a little high, $50, but it is worth it.

About two weeks ago I discovered small bumps all over my body which were red and I mistook them for razor bumps. Suddenly they began to spread turn red and inflamed. Today i went to the doctor and found out that it was PR. As i was researching it along the web I found out it was due to a medication I had taken called Metronidazole...Attached is a website which list the different medications who's side effects are PR...I hope this can help someone along with there doctor in finding a treatment..

i still have the scars.. it's not itchy anymore, just brown spots every whr. it's kinda depressing.. ): it's been more than a year & im still stuck.

I am a 23 year-old diagnosed with PR a little more than a week ago. The doctor opened her book and showed me some pretty scary pictures of PR patients. She prescibed me a stronger over-the-counter benadryl to help with itching. Fortunately, I am not itching that much yet.

I noticed the herald patch on my lower left abdomen and it spread like crazy in a few days. I went to the doctor and she told me it was pityriasis rosea and there was nothing I could do but let it run its course. I currently live at the beach and spent a lot of time in the winter in the tanning bed. Right now, I have spots on my stomach and chest, and it's spreading around my body to my back. Some of the spots have darker purple centers and have started to flake... they almost look more like blisters. I am going to start laying out and/or using a tanning bed to see if it helps. I guess I am lucky because I have oliveish skin and the spots aren't that noticeable. They are the most noticeable in the spots that don't get any sun, especially my armpits- an area that people really look at you funny if you're itching.

Anyway, I am going to start tanning and see how it goes. I will post an update later. I find hearing about others' stories and experiences with PR has really helped me understand the disease (I guess it's a disease, right?). I wish I could learn more about the stages of the disease but haven't found anything online. There really needs to be a website with more information available.

One thing I know about using a tanning bed- make sure you apply a good moisturizer after every session and a couple times a day.

I have PR now and tried several things, but not sure exactly what it was that helped, but I had it for 3 weeks and it is peeling away already.
I have been rubbing true lavendar oil on all my spots, tanning outside. Not sure if that's what did it, but those are the only 2 things that I have been doing.

Hello, I'm from Romania and my girlfriend had this awful illness, at this time it's starting to heal pretty well. At 1st she diagnosed it wrong, confusing it with something else she had gotten a while ago from a sick kitten, but after a while when it started not to resemble that condition at all and I, by chance almost, found Pr on a dermatological site, and a while later found this forum [ didn't look for one right away because webmd and any other site we visited said there was no cure, so I thought "what's the point?"]. But after having found this forum I, and she, feel blessed, not only because she saw that others had such horrible itches and couldn't sleep at night and felt digusted about their looks [she thought no one could possibly have it as bad as her], but because it gave us a cure! She had tried certain creams and such, steroids, but those just seemed to spread it [the steroids]. Finally she started going to the tanning saloon, after reading about it here.Some people here see a difference right away, others take longer to heal. In her case it was about...48 minutes worth or tanning. Having not gone before she started small: 1st day 3 minutes, the next up to 48 six minute sessions. She still has about 12 minute left, but by now they pretty much cleared up and the itching is gone. Also she dieted during this, cutting sugar out of her diet completely, and when she.. couldn't resist a bit of chocolate she noticed the itches would return [there is a whole post earlier about alkaline diet and such, it's very useful] She started this treatment about a month into the Pr since we only correctly diagnosed it then.

I'm going to college in about three weeks and just today I was diagnosed with PR. You have no idea how pissed I was at the doctor - she told me two weeks earlier that it was ringworm and I went crazy cleaning my house so that my siblings wouldn't catch it.

But now I think I'd rather have ringworm than PR just because there's quick medication for it. 4-6 weeks of this?! Or more?! I can't imagine going to my first day of school with this crap on my face and body. I don't mean to be shallow, but I'm used to being a "pretty" girl.

I'm definitely going to start going to tanning salons this week, and though I don't know about the cutting sugar and all of those crazy probiotic things, I'm definitely going to eat healthier and drink more water.

I have one patch on the side of my face, a small line on my eye bags, and another patch by my mouth. I have so much more on my back and chest, a couple on my stomach, and a few stray ones on my neck. My scalp itches as well (It's not dandruff or lice) and my ears have been itching as well. This is a complete fml moment, I swear...

Praying that this will go away in three weeks!

ohme ohmy, my girlfriend was itching so bad it kept her up at night, it messes you up mentally like nothing else. I suggest you stop eating sugar for a while just in case. If how you look is a problem now, just wait until full scale itching comes along.. I obviously hope that doesn't happen. Best of luck to you.

Pr_Survivor, did cutting sugar really help? I can't imagine life without some sweet. It's been itching like crazy at night, I suppose that could be it? Thank you for your concern, I really do appreciate it.

Haileynicole, I was just diagnosed with PR two weeks ago and I honestly feel you on this. I have it on my face, behind my ears, my arms, and...you know. How did you deal with this? I'm calling my doctor tomorrow to ask for ANYTHING. Please answer back soon!

Most doctors will only give you steroids, which do little if nothing, or may even spread it. Those who actually know about this stuff will send u to the tanning saloon.It's even in the medicine books. And yes, stopping sugar helps a lot with itching.

I am 45 and was diagnosed about 2 weeks ago. I had noticed the herald patch about 5 weeks ago but didn't pay any attention to it. I am seeing a Chinese acupuncturist and herbalist - this seems to have helped. I was first diagnosed by my dermatologist. The dermatologist gave me a cortisone gel - I wanted the gel instead of a lotion since I can break out with acne on my back and chest with oily lotions. I also use a fresh aloe gel that is kept in the refrigerator.

But the main thing is that I do a lot of vigorous exercise. I noticed that things became MUCH worse after exercise (like hiking for hours in the hot sun) - and it is not recommended. Therefore, I would pay attention to this! Please don't exercise no matter how badly you think you "need" to. I also noticed that not only the rash was worse after exercise, but also I felt terrible for a few days with the swollen glands and extreme exhaustion, mental fuzziness, etc.

Now my rash is going away. I'm also going to the tanning bed (first time in my life) since UV light has helped according to some. But I'm very careful since I know that getting even a mild sunburn will make the symptoms much worse. I think the slight tan only helps to camouflage the spots - but I'm not sure that it's actually making the rash go away as some have said. My sister also had this when she was 16 - she said she feels she lost the entire summer due to fatigue and the embarrassment over the red spots. I think the most important thing is to take it easy - stay at home and don't wear yourself out. Let your body heal itself. Stress of any kind is probably the worst thing in healing from PR.

I was really mad when I found out I had this rash since I consider myself to be fairly healthy. But note that most people are very healthy when they get it - they are usually under 35 years old. So look on the positive side - this rash means you are Healthy! And also I do have to admit that even at my age this ugly rash impacted my self esteem at first. I couldn't stand to look at these horrible raised, scaly bumps on my skin. But I quickly stopped feeling sorry for myself and decided to focus on the positive. We are healthy! It's not the end of the world, really - for most people it just goes away on its own. Good luck to everyone in their healing journey!

Over a year ago I got a spot on my abdominals, what i later thought was the herald patch. With time the spots started spreading around my midsection. I even had a large discolored area around my groin! In the last month it started worrying me more because I started getting spots on my upper back and above my shirt collar line on my neck. It freaked me out because it was no longer something i could hide. For about a week the stress was horrible. I thought my life was over! I started searching the net and decided that I probably had PR. From the pictures I had found my instance looked exactly like it. Only mine had lasted a lot longer than it was supposed to. I was about to try tanning but I thought I'd better suck it up and see a skin doctor first. I was so freakin nervous waiting in the clinic to here what they thought and I kinda half figured they would give me the wrong prognosis, considering the range of skin conditions and rashes out there. The doctor said I had Tinea Versicolor and told me to use Selson Blue or Head n' Shoulders(blue bottle). He also gave me a couple of pills which I havn't tried yet. I put on the shampoo over the affected area and let it sit for a few minutes before I shower or if I don't have as much time I just take a shower and use it like body wash. I've been using it for about 5 days and my spots are almost all gone. You still see the area's on my neck just because they are white compared to the rest of my tanned skin. After it is gone I'm going to continue using the medicated shampoo every few days to prevent it from coming back. The moral of the story is to see a doctor! It could be something that is easily fixed. Also if you're still not sure what you have and don't have time for a doctor visit then try the Head n' Shoulders(Blue Bottle). Don't go straight to the tanning salon because you could do more harm then good. Check out Tinea Versicolor as it can look a lot like PR. Hopefully this post will help someone avoid all the stress and harm that I went through.

Happy to say that my spots are now completely gone! I still haven't had to use the pills. I now just use the shampoo a couple of times a week to keep them from coming back.

Arg! I've had this PR "virus" for about 3 months now and I'm starting to lose it (lose it mentally, not lose the PR). I'm a 30 year old, frustrated male. I've just recently started getting the patches in my scalp and one on my neck. My back, chest, and stomach are covered with patches along with a few miscellaneous ones on my legs. I have to say though, it is nice to see that I am not the only dealing with this and sharing their experiences on here. I've only been able to make it twice to use UV lighting (at my dermatologist's office) and it did seem to help a little. I don't know if my tanning just helped conceal the patches or if it really is helping but I plan to keep going. I will post back after a few more visits. Hopefully this crap with go away. Everyone take comfort in knowing that there are others dealing with this....I know I do.

Just was diagnosed with PR too. I guess I'm one of the lucky ones with non-itchy PR. I'm a med student, and I've been searching med texts on this, and really there isn't much that can be done for it. Just let it resolve on its own. If it is itchy, erythromycin seems to be the best cure for the itch... this makes me think that the spots are getting itchy due to bacterial infection in the specific spots from scratching, and the underlying cause is more likely from a viral infection. Viral and bacterial infections are very different, and they don't know what PR really is. I'm hoping my condition won't get itchy, but its still spreading so who knows. I'm worried about scarring though... I have enough scars from acne to worry about...

I just wanted to give an update now that I've been to a few uv light treatments. I have now been just 4 times (twice a week for two weeks) and I'm very happy to report that my pr is about 95% better already. I plan to keep going a few more times after I see the last of my pr just to be safe. If you have not tried uv light treatment, I highly recommend it. I know a few people on here have mentioned tanning beds, but the treatment I'm getting is actually through the dermatologist. I believe the "band" of uv lighting my derma is using is different than that of tanning beds. The reason I say this is because I only stand in the light machine for maybe 1 1/2 - 2 minutes tops and I'm red like I've been in a tanning bed for 15 min. Please don't hesitate to find a dermatologist who offers this treatment. This is the ONLY thing that has worked for my pr which I've had now for about 4 months on my back, chest, neck, face, and scalp. Before my treatment began, my Dr said that he usually starts seeing dramatic results after the 5th treatment, so apparently this is the norm for this kind of treatment. Good luck everyone, I know it's tough but you're not alone.

I was diagnosed this past week with PR. I am a 48 yr. old male and have had bouts with this since my early twenties. I currently have spots/lesions that cover my entire torso, and upper arms. I can also feel them in my scalp and around my hairline especially on the back of my neck. The itching is intense where my clothes rub e.g. neckline and sleeve openings and on the upper center of my chest.

PR seems to attack me when I gain weight, eat a lot sugar, have higher than usual stress and when I don't get enough sleep. I have been able to keep it under control by maintaining my weight and really reducing the amount of sugar. Soda pop, even diet soda, seems to make it worse. I suspect also caffeine plays a significant role. I notice an almost immediate increase in itching and inflammation when I eat anything that is high in sugar. I love chocolate and honey (assorted candy bars, doughnuts, pastries -baklava, PB&H sandwiches etc.)

I am presently using a steroid cream to reduce the itching and the spots but this is temporary. I have also used zyrtec (antihistimine) but I use the smallest dose I can because it makes me drowsy. I get the most benefit from cutting a 10 mg tablet in half and using it just before bed as this helps reduce the itching and keep me asleep.

Zinc soaps, coal tar shampoos and products like selsun blue seem to inflame this condition and I don't recommend them. In the past, I have let PR run it's course. This time, it is too severe and I am ready to try almost anything as the itching is driving me crazy and after I shower the spots are more noticeable and I look and feel like a defective human being. Hot showers/baths only inflame PR. I am also taking an acidophilus/pro-biotic, and an herbal anti-viral/anti-fungal. I don't drink alcohol or smoke. From past bouts with PR, I think the best medication however is to avoid sugar and caffeine while strengthening my immune system.

As soon as I can get to a tanning bed I will give that a try. Several people have had positive results and I suspect it will be very helpful as the spots tend not be be as prevalent where my skin comes in contact with light. Fall and winter are the worst times for me. I will provide follow-up over the next few weeks