Oral lichen planus - not getting any relief after 2 years

I stopped researching this about 10 years ago.  but my recent outbreak had not subsided in the least. I had my primary care doctor speaking with my oral surgeon and my dermatologist. nothing was working. 

I do have a prescription mouthwash called magic mouth wash.  it is for pain relief only.  it tastes awful.

I have done a few things in the last few weeks that have made a difference i have cut out processed sugars from my diet. and am eating foods to reduce inflamation. I have also made a rinse using natural apple cider vinigar with (mothers) in it. baking soda and borax.  I mixed this up like a paste.  I brush my teeth with this and my tounge. 

Its very gritty its like salt.  when done i put some on my finger and put it on the ulcers in my mouth and on my private areas. I have to tell you that I am feeling some remarkable results. the ulcer in my privates has calmed down and is 1/2 its original size as well as the ones in my mouth. the inflamation on my gums is starting to come down. I did some research on borax.  its nothing more than a mineral just like salt.  You should do some research on this.  you will be amazed. 

hopefully it works for you. Good luck. 

Hi there, I'm sure that they have asked you this, but are you on any long term medications? Sometimes medication triggers OLP.  Usually medics become suspicious if you can't get relief from any of the steroid treatments - this is because it is the underlying medication that a person is taking which is causing the OLP and keeping it going? As an aside, milk of magnesia can help - so if you haven't tried that, maybe give a go! Hoping you feel better soon! 

Hello Edina, so sorry to hear this. I also have had Olp in mouth and on my body for 8 yrs.  My mouth is the most bothersome and yes definitely no spice or acidic food or drink helps. Also I tried CBD oil and it definitely helps with the pain. I would recommend a brand called Hemp Bomz which can be ordered on line. I recently had an outbreak of oral herpes on my lip and it helped greatly also. Wish we could figure out why we have this and get to the root of the problem but no one seems to know?? Also functional medicine doctors are very good at trying to find the root cause! Good luck on this journey and keep us posted on progress please!

Read through all our suggestions I got no relief from steroids so I hold coconut oil in mouth for as long as possible which soothes it also rinse with water after each meal. I went vegan and cut out caffeine and sugar Google diet for olp. I also take remedies from a homeopath which is helping it's a flipping nasty disease but you have to try to keep positive coz stress makes olp worse !! Keep smiling you're not alone xx

I found the steroid mouthwash helped a lot but did not take it away. I take betnesol 2x 0.5mg, and now just crunch them in my mouth but keep it in for at least 10 minutes twice a day (if bad I keep in longer or use 3x a day). It is important to use a steroid with good tissue binding like betnesol, otherwise it just gets washed away or into the blood stream. I suspect if you just use it as a brief mouthwash it won't have time to bind to cell-surface receptors which grab it and then transport it to the nuclei of the cells where it does its job.

It is difficult to tell if there is additional infection with thrush so, now and again, use daktarin oral gel ( available over the counter) for few days if you have whitish ulcers which are not healing.

I also find Holland & Barrett green tea tablets very useful. To see if these help you, choose an ulcer you want to heal and hold a tablet against it till it is disintegrating twice a day for 3-4 days. I use them like this, in my mouth wash and also swallow some daily.

Try 1000 mg of L-Lysine a day for a while.  I've had OLP for months and heard basically "too bad for you".  The steriod rinse just seemed to burn and didn't help much.  I found the L-lysene keeps me at about 90% better.  I'll take the 90% and L-lysine is at Walmart for under $10.00 !!

curious....has anyone in the lichen planus world, ever tried taking an antacid once a day, such as Tagamet, or even just plain Omeprozol? Reason I ask is because it was recommended to me when I had a plantars wart, and again when my daughter was getting random hives....and by neutralizing the acid in the body, it seemed to work in both cases. I know this is an auto immune disease, but I can't help but wonder if that might help to ease the condition. My mother has lichen planus, both oral and vaginal, and it's awful, and I'm constantly looking for ways to help her.