What is lichen planus?
Lichen planus is a disease that can make the skin, hair, nails, and mucous membranes soar and damaged. On the skin, it usually looks like dry purple bumps that irritate the skin and form over a few weeks. It shows up as white patches with sometimes painful sores in the mouth, vagina, and other places with a mucous membrane.
Lichen planus usually cause due to:
- Allergens
- Stress
- Genetics
Most people can treat mild cases of lichen planus at home, without going to the doctor. If the condition hurts or causes a lot of itching, you may need to consult the doctor and take the medication. Mainly, it does not spread.
Lichen Planus Symptoms
The most common sign of lichen planus is serious itching, which is also called pruritus. Itching can vary from mild to very severe for different people. The subsequent sores are flat and range in colour from purple to violaceous. Depending on where it is, there are different types of lichen planus.
1. Lichen planus mostly on skin:
Lichen planus can happen on the skin if it is rubbed, cut, or burned. Sores show up on the legs, the torso, the inside of the wrists, or the genital area. They look shiny or like they have a scaly appearance and are a dark violet colour. They can be on their alone or in groups.
Ulcers can grow from sores on the skin. Stable lesions (those that stay the same over time and don’t spread) usually leave behind very deep pigmentation that takes many years to fade. The bumps on the skin are then replaced by dark brown patches that typically go away after a few months.
2. Lichen planus of the mouth
In lichen planus of the mouth, it causes ulcers that can be very painful. Ulcers in the mouth are affected and can be found on the sides of the tongue, on the gums, or on the inside of the cheek. They look like bluish-white pimples and are linked together in a lacy structure. These ulcers get bigger over time.
3. The hair does have lichen planus
On the scalp, there is permanent patchy hair loss called cicatricial alopecia. It causes small bumps, redness, and irritation on the scalp of people who have it. Most people will also recognise that the skin on their palms or hands is getting rough and thicker.
4. The nails are impacted by lichen planus
When it gets under the nails, it makes them weak and ridged.
5. Lichen planus in the genitalia
When a woman has genital lichen planus, the vagina or vulva has bright red sores or patches. Most of the time, there are no symptoms of genital lichenoid keratoses, but the sores are very painful.
How Lichen Planus Causes
In lichen planus, the body’s immune system attacks cells on the skin or in the mucus membranes. Because of this, it’s not clear why this immune response is different from what it should be.
Mainly it can be triggered in such ways like:
- There is a virus called Hepatitis C that can cause a person to get lichen planus.
- To protect against the flu, you must have the vaccine.
- Some pigments, chemicals, and metals can make your skin look bad, so you should avoid them.
- Pain relievers, like ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, and others)
- Some medicines can help with heart disease, high blood pressure, or arthritis that can cause lichen planus.
Lichen Planus Treatment
When the lichen planus isn’t very bad and usually goes away in a few weeks or months, you may not need any treatment. The doctor can give you medicine if the symptoms are too painful or severe for you to deal with on your own.
There is no cure for lichen planus, but medications treat the symptoms. Which can help, and some may even be able to look for a possible cause that isn’t clear. Medicines that are often prescribed include the following:
- The retinoids relate to vitamin A.
- Medicines like corticosteroids reduce inflammation. They can apply to the skin, or you can have an injection to reduce pain.
- Inflammation reduces by taking antihistamines. If your rash is an allergen, antihistamines are even more helpful.
- Creams that aren’t steroid-based apply to your skin. They can make your immune system less active and help clear up your rash.
- Light therapy uses ultraviolet light to treat, and it works.
Top 6 Home Remedies for Treat Lichen Planus
There are several home remedies that can help stop your rash from itching and help you to recover from lichen planus.
Home Remedies to treat lichen planus are:
- Turmeric
- Vitamin A
- Epsom salt baths
- Tea tree oil
- Coconut oil
- Oats
1. Turmeric
Some people who have oral lichen planus might enjoy using turmeric cream on their gums. There is a lot of evidence that turmeric can help people who have a lot of inflammation and pain. When taking a supplement, be sure to choose one with turmeric. Because it boosts the absorption of turmeric.
A turmeric paste can help you get rid of the itching and discomfort on your skin. A turmeric drink may help to heal and ease pain and discomfort.
2. Treat lichen planus from vitamin A
Vitamin A also helps keep skin and mucous membranes healthy. Because it affects these two systems, you might want to eat more vitamin A to get better.
Beef liver from grass-fed cows, raw carrots and sweet potatoes, kale, and spinach. You can also drink vitamin A-rich orange juice to treat it. Vitamin A boosts the immune system as well as fights inflammation and treats the rash.
3. Epsom salt baths
Lichen planus home treatment is with Epsom salt which is used for a long time to help people with sore muscles and to clean their bodies. It relieves stress, gets rid of toxins, and lessens pain and inflammation. It can also help if you add some of your favourite essential oils to treat it.
4. Tea tree oil
Many people already know that tea tree oil can help them. When you have lichenoid keratoses, on your scalp. For itchy scalp, shampoo may help relieve some of the pain. It turns out that the main ingredients of tea tree oil, coconut oil, have antiviral properties. Also, they help to ease the itching condition.
If you have oral lichenoid keratoses, a tea tree oil-based mouthwash may help it to heal. Some people, however, may find that it makes their mouths more irritated and hurts more.
5. Coconut oil
Coconut pulling twice a day may help people with oral Lichenoid keratoses. The process helps to clean your mouth by sucking out the toxins. Killing bad breath, easing dry mouth, cutting inflammation, and improving the immune system.
The itching, burning, and pain caused by lichen planus reduce by applying coconut oil to the parts of the body that are itchy, burning, and painful. Apply a few times a day, or as often as you like.
6. Oats
Oats are often used in natural beauty treatments as a gentle exfoliator and to soothe dry, flaky skin. It can help relieve the itching and make the lesions and blisters look better. Mix one part oats with one part raw yoghurt and let it stand at room temperature for about 20 minutes. Then, mix in a quarter part of raw honey and stir it all together. Then spread it all over the areas where it has been caused.
If home remedies don’t work on your lichen planus so as soon as possible consult the doctor and take medications which have been recommended by a doctor.
Tests for Lichen Planus
Your doctor may perform certain tests to confirm lichen planus:
- Allergy Test: To determine if an allergy is causing the flare-up.
- Biopsy: A small skin sample is collected using a scalpel or punch tool and examined in a laboratory.
- Blood tests: Your doctor may take a blood sample to confirm if lichen planus is related to hepatitis C.
How is Lichen Planus Diagnosed?
Your doctor or dentist may diagnose lichen planus, by assessing physical symptoms on the skin and mouth. They may look for the “six Ps” characteristic of lichen planus:
- Pruritic: The lesions are itchy.
- Polygonal: The rash has many sharp angles.
- Planar: The surface of the lesions is flat.
- Purple: The bumps are purplish in color.
- Papules: Small, raised bumps.
- Plaques: Larger, raised, discolored patches.
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