What Is The Best Treatment For Lichen Planus? We are the global specialist in lichen planus treatment with natural remedies for the last 12 years and have treated more than 15000 patients of lichen planus in the last one year alone. Lichen planus needs a genetic constitutional medicines, as we call it in Homeopathy. It is a deep acting medicine, chalked out according to your health history and works to cure Lichen Planus completely.
The Homeopathy treatment for Lichen planus involves a detailed pre-treatment history by our specialist and an evaluation to check what can be the best Homeopathy medicines for lichen planus for you. Visit a Welling Clinic or chat with our online advisor to know what is the best treatment for lichen planus?
What is Lichen Planus?
Lichen planus (LP) is a rare, chronic, inflammatory autoimmune skin and mucous membrane disease. LP most commonly presents as itchy, shiny, reddish-purple spots (lesions) on the skin (cutaneous LP) or as white-gray lesions in the mouth or on the lips (oral LP). Lichen planus is a relatively common disorder, estimated to effect 0.5% to 2.0%of the general population. It is a chronic inflammatory disease affecting mucosal and cutanous tissue. Oral lichen planus occurs more frequently than the cutanous form and tends to be more resistant to any treatment.
Less commonly, LP may also involve the genitals (penile or vulvar LP), scalp (lichen planopilaris), ears (otic LP), nails, eyes, and esophagus. Similar to lichen found growing on trees and rocks in forests, the skin lesions are often flat-topped and can be somewhat scaly, hence the name “lichen” planus.
What Are Symptoms of Lichen Planus?
Some of the most common symptoms of lichen planus include the following:
- purplish-colored lesions or bumps with flat tops on your skin or genitals
- lesions that develop and spread over the body over the course of several weeks or a few months
- itching at the site of the rash
- lacy-white lesions in the mouth, which may be painful or cause a burning sensation
- blisters, which burst and become scabby
- thin white lines over the rash
The most common type of lichen planus affects the skin. Over the course of several weeks, lesions appear and spread. The condition usually clears up within 6 to 16 months.
Less commonly, the lesions can occur in areas besides the skin or genitals. These may include:
- mucous membranes
- nails
- the scalp
What Are The Causes Of Lichen Planus?
The cause of lichen planus is unknown. In certain locales, patients with extensive lichen planus seem to be more likely to have a hepatitis C virus infection of the liver. However, it seems unlikely that the virus is the cause of lichen planus in such situations.
Some drugs, such as those containing arsenic, bismuth, or gold, can produce an eruption which appears identical to lichen planus. Exposure to certain chemicals used in the development of color photographs can also produce a similar rash. The long-term use of the drugs quinacrine or quinidine (Quinidine Gluconate, Quinidine Sulfate), may produce hypertrophic lichen planus of the lower legs. Lichenoid eruptions can occur in graft-versus-host disease in people who have received bone marrow transplants. Tissue examination by a pathologist (biopsy) is frequently necessary to distinguish such lichenoid drug eruptions from classical lichen planus. Of course, stopping the offending drug is associated with resolution of the eruption.
What Does Lichen Planus Look Like?
The appearance of lichen planus depends on whether the skin or the lining (mucous membranes) inside the mouth or vagina are affected:
- Skin involvement: The usual skin involvement with lichen planus consists of flat-topped lilac or violet to brown spots a few millimeters in diameter on the skin. These spots tend to be located on the inner wrists, forearms, the lower legs just above the ankles, and the lower part of the back.
- A variant of this disease is called hypertrophic lichen planus. This condition appears as thick, reddish-brown lesions that are covered with scales. These spots tend to be on the shins, but they can occur anywhere on the body. This is an especially itchy and persistent (chronic) variant of lichen planus.
- Atrophic lichen planus produces slightly depressed lesions that otherwise resemble typical lichen planus.
- Mucous membranes: Lichen planus of the mucous membranes of the mouth and genitals is common. It appears as a white, lacy rash on the inside of the cheeks or the vagina and may not cause symptoms. The oral rash often occurs prior to any skin involvement. More troublesome, although rare, is erosive lichen planus, which can be quite sore and uncomfortable. This erosive form typically causes the patient to complain of the shallow and often quite painful, recurrent ulcers in the mouth or genitals. Lichen planus of the female genitalia can involve the external vulvar mucosa and the internal vaginal mucosa. There is an association with cancer in these areas, so both the oral and vaginal tissues need to be monitored by a medical professional.
- Nail malformation may be produced by lichen planus.
- Lichen planus may involve the scalp, producing a permanent, scarring type of balding.
What Is The Best Treatment For Lichen Planus?
In mild cases, symptoms may be minimal or absent and no therapy may be needed.
Conventionally, first line therapy is usually a topical corticosteroid medication. These are available in many strengths and formulations including cream, ointment, gels, solutions, oral rinses and others. If topical corticosteroids are not effective or cause side effects, a non-steroid topical medication called tacrolimus or pimecrolimus may be prescribed. Each has lot of side-effects and at Welling, we don’t recommend any of them.
We advise a genetic Homeopathic remedy for you. The Homeopathy medicine that has been customised individually for you. The age-old Homeopathy treatment has been re-engineered at Welling Clinic, to offer a faster and complete cure, naturally. Call +91 80 80 850 950 to know more about the Best Treatment For Lichen Planus.
