Lichen Planus

Hi there... well I havent had it on my feet ""yet"" but I bet I will get it...LOL...I did have one very dry foot last year and the skin started to peel off.. but its wasn't itchy....It was when that cleared up I got LP...

Fingers XXX my LP has almost cleared up... but i keep waiting for it to start on my head or other places....I think once you have this ""rash"" it never leaves you and keeps rearing its ugly head in different parts of your body now and again..... Hope you get this Itch sroted out.....

PS is your skin pealing off your foot...have you got the spots....???

Best wishes.....

Hi Barbara

Good to hear from you. The skin isn't peeling, nor are there any spots to see! Last night, I soaked it in oatmeal and baking soda then slathered emu oil (which is quite oily) and aloe vera (really cooling) over it and wore a light trainer sock to bed! So far, it hasn't itched today - fingers crossed, but it's often in the evening before it starts up. Glad you are better at the moment, such a strange thing to have - I have one very persistant scaly looking spot on the back of my hand that never seems to go down and that is the only one I've had which does not itch. I'm only get a few new ones now and again and not had much bother with them, but the LS is still annoying me a bit just now. Hopefully, it will calm down soon. x

Hi Itchy.... About the scaly spot on your hand.... I also have a small scaly spot on my arm but when I use the Double Base Gel it goes, I use the mousterising Gel every day now just to make my skin stop looking dry.. but on my face I still use Simple Cream and ""polyfiller""...LOL..

.I am thinking my LP "rash" was caused with stress and my Immune system was low after an operation In January.....But i don't think we will ever get to the bottom what causes this thing called Lichen Planus.....

Off for a cuppa now..

Best wishes..

I too have been told that I have LP on my legs coming on my arms and also the tops of my feet , can anyone tell me if the sun is ok ?

I have had this for almost twenty years off and on, the worst when it covered my entire body except my face after a bikini sunburn and lasted maybe a six months. My hair did get thin but grew back in full. Skin damage,such as a scrape or sunburn made it worst. The only thing I have found helpful was Biotin, which I had to order online, as well as Glucosamine Sulfate from the drugstore, was most helpful, but both affected digestion, so I try and take as small amounts as possible. It seems to be an inflammatory reaction that goes dormant, is triggered by something and then runs a course of six to eighteen months and then just stops again. I was free for years and then got a couple of flea bites on my legs and then got a breakout only on my legs that is there one year later . Antibiotics, vitamin c, antihistamines and codeine make it worst or trigger it for me. It is more of a nuisance and controlling it is the key.

Hi girls

I find that when I first sit in the sun each year my skin can get very itchy so I try to build up gradually - I do usually feel that as the weather gets better and I can wear fewer layers that helps me. I go on a summer hol each year to somewhere hot and do sometimes get what I thought was prickly heat - maybe a LP reaction though? Someone told me that taking Beta Carotene for a month before you go and while away along with a zinc tablet helps and I have found it to be of benefit to me then, but I don't take it at any other time as Beta Carotene can be harmful if taken for too long at a time.

The scaly spot on my hand is still a problem as it has thickened and won't go away with anything, I pick the scaly bits off sometimes in the hope that I can peel layers of it away - but to no avail. I've been having to use dermovate more often again for the LS after a flare up a few weeks ago, seem to be going through a cycle of it again.

Hi ladies, I have just been reading your messages. I have lichen sclerosis and lichen planus and don't really know the difference to be completely honest. I saw my dermatologist last week and she told me that I have LS and LP in the vulva area and that the LP has flared up, causing sores. She called it "kiss" something or other, because the sores were between the two lips! Too much information perhaps? Anyway, thanks for all your remarks as they are helping me to get a grasp on this horrible disease. Best wishes, HORSES

Hello. I'm writing from the U.S. This is my second go-around w/ Lichen Planus, and this time it's worse. Spots on my feet, legs, arms, back, stomach, and chest. Except for the ones on the soles of my feet they fortunately do not itch. I'm using Halopetasol (sp?) ointment twice a day and am not seeing that much of an improvement. The sun doesn't seem to make too much of a difference. I'm thinking of asking my derm. about PUVB light therapy. Oral steroids are not an option. Sometimes I use lavender oil mixed w/ skin lotion, and that may take some of the redness away, but it comes back. Does anyone have any suggestions? Thank you for sharing your stories.

Jeepers. I didn't think about getting the LP more than once ( except in the vulval region of course where it seems to bed in permanently).

Can you think of what triggered the new outbreak,Ihate, something in common with the first lot you had? I'm always looking for causes.

I had LP first and it led on to LS.

Why not just leave the non-itchy spots till they go away and use small amounts of dermovate cream or ointment on the horriblest-itchy- oh Jesusgod -will somebody ple-e-e-ase just make it stop, - itchiest areas, those ones ?

Sympathy to you Horses as the sores are horrible. I've found it best for me just to use alternate bathing(and drying) and Vaseline for several days when that happens. It seems to help me avoid the old urine torture I used to get, sitting on the lav with gritted teeth muttering " On no I don't want to do this it's going to hurt but I have to do it I can't not here goes don't scream just do it aaaargh omg what did I do to deserve this?... for me the secret is to get the plan into action at the first signs before it gets too bad.

I knew of a woman who said she let her young daughter who had LS sit in a sitz bath to do it when it was sore.

Hi Itchy - sorry you're back on more frequent dermovate. I used to feel disappointed as if I'd gone into reverse when that happened but of course it's just the nature of the beast. Better times will be ahead.

Have a nice Summer all in spite of it. Take care..

Hi ladies,

For "I hate", you obviously have a very bad case of LP. Mine is mainly in he vulva area, although I have markings on my arms and legs, one particularly on my left leg which itches like the devil. The dermo told me to put dermovate on, but I suppose it gets rubbed off when wearing trousers, however loose they are. My worry is using the cream, which I seem to have to use all the time. Sometimes I have a few days relief, but then it flares up in a very violent way and sometimes feels more painful than itchy. I have always had freckles, so they disguise the LP markings. As I have LS as well, I don't really know which is which!! I have a lot of hard scaly spots on my arms, which I try to ignore in the hope that they will disappear!! Some hope!! I am not really looking forward to summer, as my husband always seems to work in hot countries, which doesn't help either disease.

Thank you Joodie for your sympathy. I am using dermovate all the time at present, just waiting for things to ease off a bit. Havent had sex for AGES and probably won't, it is just too painful.

Good luck to you all , Horses xxxxx

Hi again. I tried the zinc for maybe a month and didn't notice any difference unfortunately. I am back to glucosamine sulfate (not the vegetarian kind, that didn't work) and it's really the best thing that helps, that and biotin. Prescription stuff seems to make it worse now. Aloe vera straight from the plant is helpful. I've been diagnosed with allergies to virtually everything they can test for, and it seems when this breaks out, the stuff that I'm most allergic to makes it much worst. I have never gotten one or two spots but get a lot, and when I had the worst outbreak, I had thousands. I wore clothes from my neck down for six months and you could still see it on my hands. I worked with two small children and nobody at work ever noticed. My face has never been affected which has made me wonder why not and if the answer lies there.

Hello friends. I feel better knowing I am not alone with this. Thank you for your comments. Yes, that's a good idea, using the ointment for the the bad ones, but I am hoping to intercept 'em before they get bad, but will stop for now. What's this about aloe? I may try it. Cannot think of any triggers: no more stress than usual, no new foods, etc. So frustrating.....I'm thinking of going to an allergist; have an appt for blood work w/ my primary care this week. Maybe eliminating gluten? Take care, and I hope everyone has a quiet week.

Hi s001. Your remarks about being covered with spots except for the face is very interesting. Most women use face creams daily, is it possible that if we slathered cream all over our bodies too, we wouldn't be so afflicted now? Anyway, I suppose it is too late to wonder why! Hi ihate, aloe vera didn't work for me, although it is gloriously cooling. I have just bought some zinc tablets and am hoping they may get rid of the fissures I have developed behind!! It is all a question of trial and error. Good luck to you all.

Hi all,

I was interested too in the fact that we don't seem to get LP on our faces. I wondered if it was because it is the most regularly exposed part of our bodies but then hands are too when we are not wearing gloves or have them in our pockets, and wedo get it on hands.

I wonder if women who cover their faces when they go out as part of their social customs get it on their faces? That would be interesting to know.

Just a thought Ihate - you could try treating half the non itchy spots and leaving the other (nearby) half for a while and see if it makes any difference?

Hello fellow sufferers!! I have lived with lichen sclerosis for about 7 years, mostly I manage to keep it under control by not wearing tight trousers, CETRABEN moisturiser that I also use as an emollient. I never use toilet tissue but rinsed out ( in tap water) baby wipes.... So far I've not had a flair up for 3 years.

Then a year ago I developed a nasty itchy rash on my feet. I saw 3 different doctors but none of them really knew what is was. It got really sore, the itching drove me mad and woke me up several times a night. I tried all the creams, lotions and potions the doctors gave me but nothing worked. It just got worse and worse, I could hardly walk and my left foot (the worst one) was swollen. Saw another doctor and she put me on predisnolone ( steroids). I didn't even give it a thought as I was by now desperate. I took these for 7 weeks and the rash has disappeared. In the meantime my dentist has told me I have lichen planus in my mouth (great,!!!!!)..... I'm now thinking this must be LP on my feet. Fingers crossed it stays away whatever it is!!!!