Skin Lichen Planus and St. Johns Wort

Hi brenda23819,

I know you've asked the question to MsParis, and waited for her to answer you. Since a few days have passed, I'm going to assume she has been busy - we all are at most times of our lives, but I'm not, courtesy of my broken leg. So I'm going to answer you, since I've had experience with SJW.

The pills (also known as dry SJW extract), are available in a variety of shapes and sizes, depending on which brand you select; you might want to consult a few commercial sites, or visit your pharmacist to find a format you will be comfortable with. But if you are like I used to be - I feared choking when swallowing pills for the greater part of my life - there are some good news: SJW is also available as a "wet extract", also known as a tincture. A tincture is the entire extract from the plant dissolved in some grain alcohol (usually vodka). All you need to do to take a dose of SJW is to put the number of drops recommended in a glass of water, smoothie or whatever may be your favorite drink and enjoy it! You probably won't even notice the taste of the tincture in your own drink as it will be considerably diluted. For info, I make my own SJW tincture at home for personal consumption, because I also grow the plant in my backyard. The pure undiluted tincture is reminiscent of a good old Cognac; so not unpleasant at all, if you appreciate an occasional drink!

All the best,

Greg.

Thanks for answering Greg 😃 I didn't get the email notification lol...figures The ones I take 300 mg aren't big, medium and easy for me to swallow and I have a hard time with pills.

I wasn't able to try phototherapy sorry 😦 I wanted to but my insurance wouldn't cover and also going 3 days a week was going to be too much for me. I hear it does help with some people!

Phototherapy can work, but I doubt that it can cure the disease permanently : when I still had LP+LSC, and way before discovering SJW, tropical vacations with plenty of skin exposure and lots of bathing in the ocean, sometimes brought the diseases into remission for a few months. But they always came back year after year.

What I believe is happening here is that the UV's from the sun along with some nutrients in the seawater (iodine, salt?) combat partially the invading pathogens on the skin surface who are the likely culprits, or aggravators of these diseases.

However, once you go home and no longer have the strong sun, and go back to bathing in artificially chlorinated water, those pathogens are just too happy to multiply freely, reinvade your skin and cause havoc within the immune system. For as long as some of these pathogens survive, they always have an opportunity to come back with a vengeance. That's why I believe phototherapy can only bring temporary relief for most people.

Greg.

I agree, it doesn't seem like a permanent solution 😦 I'm still at a standstill myself. One day I see improvement, then the next back to the same. Trying to stay positive though 😃 I know it won't happen overnight. Thanks for your wonderful feedback 😃

A pleasure... and I honestly hope that my encouraging words will not be vain in the long run!

An interesting research article I read suggested that the beneficial bioflavonoids from SJW tend to accumulate slowly inside the cells, as we consume the plant material day after day. The scientists were speculating that this was the reason why patients should expect a relatively slow response against depression. If their analysis is correct, it therefore makes sense to expect that any other health benefits provided by SJW, would also require such slow accumulation of bioflavonoids, to produce concrete and measurable effects against any disease.

Once the cells are saturated with "natural goodness", then it's really a question of how well our body can do the rest of the work against the likely pathogens and restore skin integrity and impermeability. Wish it was possible to forecast all this stuff in advance, but I'm afraid each person's response and overall situation is unique.

Have a great day!

Greg.

Hi Greg,

so is it right to say you had, Lichen planus, Lichen Sclerosis and as you mention in another post also Excema! is that right? and all was cured with SJW extract? did tou use it topicaly too?

Hi Hart,

Not quite. The final diagnostic from the last dermatologist I saw about a decade ago, was a combination of Lichen Planus (LP) and Lichen Simplex Chronicus (LSC). LSC is considered by many as an aggressive variety of eczema, but should not be confused with Lichen Sclerosus (LS), for which I was NOT diagnosed.

I did not try topical St. John's Wort (SJW) at the time, because I was not even aware of the benefits the plant may have for my skin. I was taking Oral SJW to deal with a temporary stress condition, not knowing it would eventually help completely cure my skin diseases. So this was a "happy accident", if you will, and I only found out about SJW's claimed skin benefits in science, much later.

Cheers,

Greg.

Please be careful, one lady on one of the Facebook forums said she got skin cancer from it

You're right Stazstaz... According to scientists, exposing ourselves to UVs (from the sun or an artificial source) may cause skin cancer through oxydative stress; yet, some also claim that a lack of sun exposure and its UVs may also cause some vitamin deficiencies that have several impacts on health in general.

This might be called a case of "damned if you do, damned if you don't": Go swimming and you may drown! Don't go swimming and you may suffer the consequences of a lack of exercise!

Overall, there are risks associated with just about any therapy (including trying out St. John's Wort, which experts claim is generally considered safe when taken alone).

Incidentally, they do not recommend doing phototherapy at the same time as taking St. John's Wort, because some people might become photosensitive and develop a rash. And strangely enough, I have taken St. John's Wort, and spent considerable time in the sun, without suffering any visible negative consequences. Each person is unique, and no one can forecast an outcome of their own actions in advance.

I think it's ultimately up to Brenda to decide if she wants to take the risk of trying phototherapy for a potential relief of her itching and maybe more. As I mentioned, I believe because of my own experience, that there is a reasonable chance it may help; and her dermatologist also knows through experience that some patients respond favorably to the treatment. There just isn't a guarantee of positive or negative results for anyone.

Greg.

thanks Greg right now anything worth a try when every place on your body has lichen . its not a nit fun at all. but when i go im only in the light box 10 minutes at a time.so we will see what happens.

There were times I probably felt just like yourself, when the itching was close to being relentless, and when the plaques were so oozy, that I looked like someone who had a bad infectious disease.

I felt quite happy coming back from the sun, hoping I might finally be cured. It wasn't the case in the end, but it sure felt good experiencing some relief for a few months!

I hope your experience with phototherapy will be even better than mine, and feel free to keep us posted on your results!

Greg.