Lichen sclerosus

Lichen scle­ro­sus is a chro­nic inflamm­a­to­ry skin con­di­ti­on that pre­do­mi­nant­ly affects the geni­tal and anal area. It leads to whitish, har­den­ed are­as of skin and can lea­ve per­ma­nent chan­ges if unt­rea­ted. Women are affec­ted more often than men, and any age group can be involved.

Cau­ses

An auto­im­mu­ne pro­cess on the basis of a gene­tic pre­dis­po­si­ti­on is assu­med. Other auto­im­mu­ne con­di­ti­ons, par­ti­cu­lar­ly of the thy­ro­id, are fre­quent­ly pre­sent. Hor­mo­n­al influen­ces, chro­nic irri­ta­ti­on and mois­tu­re can adver­se­ly affect the cour­se; the con­di­ti­on is not contagious.

Sym­ptoms

Distres­sing itching, bur­ning and soreness domi­na­te. The skin appears parch­ment-like white, thin and fra­gi­le, and pain­ful fis­su­res occur. In advan­ced dise­a­se, adhe­si­ons and loss of ana­to­mic­al struc­tures can deve­lop, in men a nar­ro­wing of the foreskin.

Tre­at­ment

The stan­dard is con­sis­tent the­ra­py with potent cor­ti­cos­te­ro­id oint­ments accor­ding to a medi­cal regi­men, sup­ple­men­ted by rich emol­li­ent care and avo­id­ance of irri­ta­ting pro­ducts. This usual­ly con­trols sym­ptoms and pro­gres­si­on well. Regu­lar check-ups are important, as long-stan­ding lesi­ons increase the risk of skin can­cer in this area.