Lichen Sclerosis

What is LS?

Lichen sclerosis (LS) is a painful skin condition that typically affects the vulva (or penis) and anus. In women, LS falls under the general category of vulvodynia (chronic vulvar pain). It is not a contagious condition.

What Are the Symptoms of LS?

The symptoms of LS are thinning skin, white patches of skin, itching and/or burning, painful sexual intercourse, and sores or lesions resulting from scratching. All of these symptoms may not be present. Some women may not experience itching but will have pain. If left untreated, LS can result in fusing of skin, atrophy, and narrowing of the vagina.

Who Can Get LS?

The most common sufferers of LS are post-menopausal women, although the disease can strike women of any age including young girls. In addition, there are many known cases of men and boys diagnosed with LS.

Possible Causes of LS

The medical community does not yet understand the exact nature or cause of LS, although there is some general agreement on what does NOT cause LS, including a virus, bacteria, or fungus.

Professionals seem to agree that the condition is exacerbated by excessive heat and moisture. There is also the possibility that some people may be genetically predisposed towards LS, as seen in a few cases where more than one family member has LS. The medical community is studying other possibilities, such as the autoimmune theory, in which the system's own antibodies attack skin and tissue, causing damage. What triggers the antibodies varies from patient to patient.

Generally, a biopsy from the affected area can help determine whether your condition is indeed LS. Unfortunately, some sufferers have gone as long as twenty years without proper diagnosis. Currently, doctors can only treat the symptoms of LS, rather than provide a cure.

Treatment

With flare-up use a prescription of Temovate ointment (clobetasol) to area 2x a day for 2 weeks, then once a day for 1 week, then just as needed.
For maintenance use a prescription of Aristocort cream 0.1% (triamcinolone acetonide) to area as needed 1or 2x a day.

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