Dr. Rajdeep Mysore | Appointment booking number: 9110865951
Consultant Dermatologist & Dermatosurgeon | Charma Chirag Hospital, Bangalore
Lichen Planus is a skin condition, which we describe as an allergy in simple terms. It is an autoimmune reaction. It is a reaction by the body’s own immunity towards the skin. So this produces a bluish purplish patches on the skin. Sometimes it may be dark coloured. There are different variants of Lichen Planus and classically we describe them as flat topped papules. So there are multiple violet or bluish coloured patches on the skin, which are extremely itchy. Usually it can occur on the hands and legs. Most common areas are the forearms and part of the limb below the knee. Sometimes there may be very thick patches called as hypertrophic Lichen Planus, which normally does not respond to regular creams. In these cases you might need to inject medicines into those patches. The treatment for Lichen Planus varies a lot. The most common treatment we give is steroid containing creams or ointments. Steroids may have their own side effects and hence they are given or a short period usually less than a month sometimes they are continued on and off therapy, where we give steroids for 4 to 5 days every month when Lichen Planus continues for a very long time. In very severe cases, we can also add certain immunosuppressant medicines like cyclosporine. Cyclosporine is a very effective medicine for Lichen Planus. There are also conditions were Lichen Planus is spreading at a very fast rate. So when it is in the active stage, we even add oral steroids or steroid tablets for a period of 20 to 30 days. So treatment can also be simple ointments like tacrolimus or pimecrolimus which don’t contain steroids. These are used at a later date to maintain the disease. Another treatment that we use is phototherapy. Phototherapy is also a maintenance treatment that is used for long term maintenance of the disease. Typically Lichen Planus lasts for anywhere between 6 months to several years. So it depends on your luck and kind of treatment in the earlier stage of your disease. Starting your treatment much early gives a much better response than starting after 6 months.
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