Lichen Sclerosus
Natural Remedies

Natural Remedies for Lichen Sclerosus: Effective Treatments

The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
DMSO
Posted by mauisuzi (Sequim, WA) on 01/03/2023
★★★★☆

Lichen Sclerosus History

2000 - 23 yrs ago, first symptoms were itching across lower belly and groin. No diagnosis, was prescribed steroid gel which controlled itching. Symptoms went away after 3-4 years.

Life was very stressful. I had given up my home, furnishings and everything that didn't fit into 10 boxes, to live with my sister on Maui. After 6 weeks, we fought and she dumped me and I was challenged with finding a home and work and knowing only one person.

2005 - New symptoms begin, vaginal itching and burning just like a yeast infection. NP gave me an antibiotic cream and a steroid gel. No diagnosis. The gel controlled the mild itching.

Life Stress Bad as I was in a very toxic relationship that lasted 7 yrs.

2012 - Symptoms escalate. Doc diagnoses as LS and gives me instructions to use a steroid cream, heavily, briefly mentions skin thinning as side affect and warns against any straining during bowel movements.

2020 - I find Earth Clinic and begin experimenting with natural remedies and diet as I am determined not to continue using the poisonous steroid cream (which works well to control my symptoms). Symptoms are the worst ever and disturb my sleep. COVID stress times.

Natural Remedies I've tried:

  • ACV - no help
  • Aloe Vera Gel 99% - soothing, best symptom control, but far from perfect.
  • Baking Soda and Borax - no help.
  • Comfrey calendula healing salve (DIY) - soothing, minimal symptom control.
  • Castor Oil - soothing and better symptom control
  • Tallow Balm (DIY) - soothing, minimal symptom control.
  • Diet - no sugar, less wheat, minimal dairy. My efforts were hit and miss, no affect on symptoms.

DMSO

Day 1, this almost eliminates symptoms after 4 applications and sleep was good at last.

Application:

Put 1/2 tsp aloe Vera in palm of CLEAN hand with 3 or 4 drops of DMSO. Mix with fingers and feel it warming, then apply liberally on CLEAN affected area working it in gently. Let the area dry thoroughly before coming in contact with anything. About 10 - 15 minutes. DMSO is transdermal and will carry anything it touches into your body; toxins from soap or laundry detergent, fabric softeners, dryer sheet toxins, etc. If you are confident you have a toxic free home and laundry, you could put on clean panties after a few minutes and get dressed.

I will continue mixing the DMSO with aloe Vera but eventually, I will mix it with tallow because of tallow's healing qualities for our skin. I render my own tallow from 100% grass fed beef. Tallow balms are sold on Etsy.

References:

https://healingwithdmso.com/

https://herbalmana.com › collections › dmso

https://www.truemedicineuniversity.com/healing-with-dmso

https://bumblebeeapothecary.com/how-to-make-tallow-balm/

https://biogenicfoods.com/dmso-dimethyl-sulfoxide-pharmaceutical-grade-99-999-pure-undiluted-usa-produced/

Essential Oils
Posted by Patricia C. (Florida) on 10/21/2021
★★★★★

After years of spotty treatment with steroid cream, my Lichen kicked into high gear. It took a year to find a thread about Frankincense oil, Vitamin B, and Vitamin E. By then I even had Lichen inside vagina plus around my anus. The steroid was helping somewhat with hormone cream to thicken skin. Once I started using St. John's oil, Almond oil (Tbsp of each with 40 drops of Frankincense Sacred oil) even a few drops inside me I see a reversal of the condition. White skin turning pink,Vitamin E oil topically 1 x week and Vit. B12 topically daily. Some scaring seems to be going away too. Some skin is still fragile but it's been only a few months! I am amazed when I tried stopping steroid cream it all reversed, same thing happened when I ran out of Frankincense. I hope this post helps someone, there's so little information out there. Good luck in your search for help.


Dietary Changes
Posted by Robin (MI) on 04/25/2023

It is not a meat free diet but a plant free diet. If it grows on a plant, I don't eat it and if it grows on a tree, I don't eat it. Seafood is good, wild caught fish and all kinds of meat is good. Carnivore diet was a big learning curve for me. The LS disappeared within 3 days of starting. Eating organ meats is where a lot of the minerals and vitamins are. Beef liver, heart etc. I learned that ruminants are the best for me. Single stomach animals not so good and can't explain but did not feel the greatest after eating chicken or pork. I lost 50 lbs. in about 6 months without trying to lose weight. I feel the best I've felt in many years. This is not for everyone. We are all so different and some can handle the toxins plants produce better than others. I have an allergy to dairy which causes my nose to run. I have learned alot about myself and what my body can and does tolerate by eating this way. Best to You!


Dietary Changes
Posted by Liam (Co Durham) on 03/12/2024

Cite any long term studies on carnivore please, or even the one you're talking about, I know that they don't exist and that some carnivore websites actually take the testimonies from raw-vegans and use them as their own.

If you start out making 100 mistakes and you take away 50 of those mistakes your results will improve in the short term. That doesn't mean you are doing something right, it's just means you are doing less wrong.

Keto and Carnivore are both highly restrictive diets which utilize fasting and calorie restriction, essentially people lose weight because they are starving themselves in the short term. This is why so many people fall off the diet. You can only starve yourself for so long before your body screams for sugar and since most people on these diets don't understand their natural diet they don't feed on fruits when the body cries for sugar, instead they go for cake and cookies. The other reason that people appear to lose weight is extreme dehydration. The dark circles and sunken face are another sign of the dehydration, as are the veins bulging from the skin. If you hit a certain point of dehydration your body can no longer create life saving edema so they lose water weight. Since most people on a SAD diet eat salt their bodies are full of edema water weight which sheds when they dehydrate their body on a high protein diet. As soon as they fall off the diet the weight comes back quickly because the body starts to hydrate again and needs to dilute all those acids. Usually they put even more weight back on then before they started the diet because they have put even more acids into the system that require even more dilution. You see this with every high protein diet. The person calorie restricts and dehydrates leading to short term weight loss, then they binge because you can't starve that long, then they regain all the weight plus some. The body has no choice but to respond this way because it was never designed to handle high protein.

You can look at the marketing or you can look at the science and how your cells function. Keto and carnivore diets have good marketing. The carnivore diet even takes testimonials of raw vegans from their own websites and posts them on the carnivore diet site as if these people ate meat to recover their health.

Looking at the science and you see the mortality rates for Keto, 54% increase in mortality in just one year on the diet with a pre existing condition and 25% increase in mortality for "healthy" population. Meaning better than half the people with chronic disease who try keto die within one year on the diet and one quarter of people without a chronic disease diagnosis also die. Those are not statistics I would want to play around with.

It's important we understand the difference between marketing/advertising and science.

As for the carnivore diet, I would not wish that on my worst enemy. I cannot even put into words adequately the pain that people suffer on that diet. I hear from people every day trying to recover their health and with the carnivore diet it's always the same, I felt great for the first 1-3 years, (usually 1 year) and then I felt like I was dying. The pain was everywhere in my body. You can see the disease in their swollen faces before the pain hits too. First they get the sunken face with dark under eyes, then they get the swollen face like Shaun Baker has now. That swelling is edema. The body uses edema to dilute acids. Acids damage the bodies cells so the body floods the area with water as a protective mechanism to deal with the excessive quantities of acids surrounding the cells. Some people get away with it longer than others because of their bodies ability to create more edema to dilute the acids. Others hit the pain very quickly. It depends how bad of shape their body was in to get started. This is why Carnivore heavily targets the very young with their marketing. They know that a young body can go much longer and create more edema then an older body.

As for why people “feel good” on keto and carnivore and why they have short term success you have two primary reasons.

1. Meat is a stimulant drug, so people eating meat are literally getting high, with the same damaging effects on the body as taking cocaine or any other drug which stimulates and damages the body.

2. Most people who fall for the keto or carnivore marketing are coming from eating a SAD diet which includes Meat, Dairy, Eggs, cooked foods, salt, refined sugar, processed foods, alcohol, food coloring and many other poisons. If you start out doing 100 things wrong and then you remove 50 of those wrong things your performance is going to improve in the short term. Disease is all about burden. The more you burden your cells the more disease conditions are created in your body. So if you are making a lot of mistakes and you cut down some of those mistakes you will see some short term improvement. But ultimately if you are not providing your body with the necessities of nutrition which your physiology demands (fruits and tender leafy greens) then ultimately your system will shut down.

Improved obesity- not got to ideal weight - any time you calorie restrict and starve the body some weight will come off. Any time you dehydrate the body you lose water weight.

Improve hypertension - lose some weight and some burden is lifted. Improved is not healed, it's just a better number where the disease still exists but the score is lower. That's not healing.

Improved diabetes - this one is so ridiculous. If you are not eating sugar in the moment you will not have blood sugar spikes. But diabetes is a fat issue, it's never been a sugar issue. Fat blocks the absorption of sugar into the cell. When the body has excess fat coating the cells the cells are unable to push sugar into the cells so the sugar remains in the bloodstream. If you eat a keto or carnivore diet you are putting more fat in and making the situation far worse long term but you are hiding the damage being done short term because you are not putting in the warning indicator, the sugar. As soon as a person comes off the unsustainable carnivore diet and binges on sugar their diabetes shows that it was never gone in the first place.

Improved gastro symptoms- most gastro symptoms are a result of mixing foods which constipate and digest very slowly with natural foods which digest at normal speeds. If you put fruit into a system that is constipated from cooked foods and proteins then the sugars will ferment. If you remove the constipating and dehydrating substances from the diet then fruits digest as designed and there is no fermentation. If you put in only meat the body becomes highly constipated, hence the reason keto and carnivore diet followers poison their body with coffee, because coffee creates diarrhea as the body tries to rapidly flush out the poison, further dehydrating the body.

Improved psychiatric symptoms- most mental health issues are digestive issues. See above. Less digestive distress leads to less mental symptoms due to not combining foods which digest at different speeds. Lauren Whiteman


Ozonated Olive Oil
Posted by Gertie (Ontario) on 09/14/2015
★★★★★

Ozonated olive oil has reversed my LS symptoms. I applied it to the labia area and it unfused the labia. I have applied a small amount 3 times daily for three weeks now.

I bought a small jar from a British Columbia company and when you receive it, keep it stored in the fridge. It's okay to ship via unrefrigerated mail though. It looks like solid vaseline. Reasonably priced.

There are many topical uses for this product, from acne to cuts and bruises.


Clobetasol
Posted by Madeleine (Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada) on 10/10/2014
★★★★☆

WORKED TEMPORARILY

I have had LS for 10 years and was prescribed Clobatesol. It did help in the beginning with the white patches and the itch but still got flare-ups that are excrutiating. I have never been able to stop using it for any lenght of time and would have flare-ups that lasted for weeks. This creme has done absolutely nothing for my LS for the past 4 months, I don't know if the area is now immune to it. I'm willing to change my diet but do not have a clue where to start. Are there certain foods that I should stay away from? I don't eat processed food or junk food, I eat lots of fruits and vegetables, I eat poultry and some fish. I thank you for any advice you can give me.

Honey
Posted by Arobi (Australia) on 08/16/2015
★★★★☆

I find strong Manuka honey fantastic for instantly taking away and keeping away the itch and soreness of vulval LS. I apply it topically morning and night. Have also tried paw paw ointment and calendula ointment which help a little but the honey is best. Manuka honey is well known for healing leg ulcers so I'm hoping it might also heal my LS but have only been using it for a week so don't know yet whether it will be a wonder cure.


Vitamin E, Lavender Oil
Posted by Lg (Sacramento, Ca) on 08/14/2015
★★★★★

Thank you for sharing, I was skeptical that this would help. It has more than helped it has almost completely healed. I have dealt with this for over 20 years and I am amazed at the results. I use cotton rounds with a few drops of lavender and dilute with water 3 times a day. I also purchased some Frankincense as someone else suggested on here and plan on using it as well just as a precautionary.It is a little pricey, but we'll worth it and it's not a steroid! Thank you again for sharing! I hope this information will be helpful to others as well.


Vitamin E, Lavender Oil
Posted by Freda (Lancaster, Tx) on 03/05/2016
★★★★★

I can't begin to thank you enough!!! I've had LS for 11 years and I can deal with the pain and bleeding and all that but the itching!!!!!!! The kind where you want to take a knife and cut it out or the relief from scratching is better than sex. Anyway, I was having one of those episodes last night... It is always at night... And so came searching once again and found this. I use essential oils and have a bottle of lavender mixed with cedarwood, mineral water and witch hazel that I use on my pillows and thought maybe this would work. I added a few more drops of lavender and many drops of frankincense and all I can say is I was in heaven from the instant relief! I usually have itching in the morning also right after my shower and I used the spray again and what joy! THANK YOU THANK THANK YOU


Cyclosporine
Posted by Art (California) on 07/24/2023 2507 posts

Steve,

Given the known side effects of cyclosporine :

https://www.drugs.com/mtm/cyclosporine.html#side-effects

It might be worth viewing ECs page on LS here and decide what you think would be most appropriate for you:

https://www.earthclinic.com/cures/lichen-sclerosus.html

Art


Clobetasol
Posted by Janice (Florida) on 09/24/2015
★★★★☆

I have had LS for 4 years. The clobetasol worked for the itch but I still and very sensitive there and cannot have relations with my husband I'm afraid the skin is too thin and It may tear. This is a problem! I recently got a book the autoimmune solution by Dr. Amy Meyers and yes a change in diet which she goes over in detail. I started 16 days ago and have been caffeine, sugar, wheat, dairy, and gluten free ever since and I am losing weight, and strengthening my gut. I have hypothyroid and want OFF of the medicine which in 30 days she can have you well on your way The recipes are easy clean and so nourishing that I am NEVER hungry I recommend the auto immune paleo cookbook. Made several recipes and I LOVE it


Frankincense Oil
Posted by Gentlestrength (Globe, Az) on 01/27/2014
★★★★★

Frankincense Oil completely healed my painful LS very quickly! To think that I had suffered with this for over 4 years. At first I was embarrassed thinking that it was a painful VD but because of the itching thought it was a candida fungal problem. I tried EVERYTHING... with various results but it kept returning and was excruciatingly painful. Rosewater sprayed on the area would stop the itching though. Yes, I even tried Oregano oil diluted, white iodine with DMSO, baking soda baths. All would help for a day or so but would not heal it.

Then I read that this was a precancerous condition and very closely tied to emotional issues. So I immediately started using pure Frankincense oil and within two days could tell it was healing. No pain, no itching and the lesions were disappearing. I used two drops in the am and in the pm for three weeks. Now it is GONE! I'm so thankful for this healing and am staying off sugar and starting to eliminate wheat! I can sit without wincing and walk without that pain! Thank you EC for your awesome website to help us all!

Cold Water, Evening Primrose Oil
Posted by Ann (Kennesaw, Ga) on 05/18/2013
★★★★★

Have had LS for last six years. Severe pain and itching. Some days could hardly walk. I starting using cold water in a sitz bath every day what a relief. Every time I urinated poured cold water from tap overVJ. Also take evening primrose oil two or three a day. At night open a gel cap of the oil put on VJ. I am 90% better. I have tried everything. Cold Water is working for me.

Essiac Tea, Homeopathy
Posted by Kate (Auckland, New Zealand) on 03/02/2013
★★★★★

Last year I had my first flare up of Lichen Sclerosis, I didn't know that's what it was till I got it back this year in early February. I'm not interested in using steroid creams so I researched alternative treatments and came across Essiac Tea. I followed the instructions, it is now early March and it is almost gone. I also used homeopathic remedies to ease the itch, inflammation and splitting. Homeopathic Graphites, Urtica-urens, Nit-ac and Apis, each in a 30c potency. Am also taking homeopathic Kreosotum and Petroleum and they are taking away the last of the splits and itching. Hope this helps anyone suffering this awful affliction, feel free to message me. Xx

Low Oxalates Diet
Posted by Jane (England) on 11/01/2015
★★★★★

I READ YOUR INFO AND WENT ON A GLUTEN AND LOW OXALATE DIET. I was told I had Lichen S.Thank you to everyone that shared their advice about going on a low Oxalate diet and gluten free. It works, I no longer suffer with this condition.

I did use a steroid cream for several weeks. But I am all clear, skin is normal color now, my gp advice is to continue doing what I am doing.


Wheatgrass
Posted by Colleen (New Brunswick, NJ) on 03/29/2009
★★★★★

Wheatgrass Cure for Lichen Scelrosis.

I have had this for 2 years. and found Wheatgrass works wonders after using the topical steroids and it getting worse. I stopped using what the doctor prescribed and used WG and she was amazed and wanted to take pictures and everything. I tried many natural remedies and this is what I have found to work. I had about 6 months that was excruciating and painful sex but now and basically symptom free besides having a small patch of white spots that never real go all the way for good.

Wheatgrass pulp as a compress for 15-45 mins. Make sure it is juicy this is a little messy but very clean and has been proven as a remedy for many problems including yeast infections. Just holding the compress on for 30 mins made my white spots disappear and the skin that appeared was pink and healthy. Juice it and grow it yourself and use 1-2 times a week or get a wheatgrass shot at a heathfood store and ask for some of the pulp. I do this -you can tell them it is to treat a burn or infected cut b/c it is used for that too. You just bundle up the pulp and hold it on press it to your skin firmly. I sit and watch TV on the couch or in bed on top of a towel with paper towels on top. The chlorophyl is very rich and can stain clothing/sheets. Wheat Grass contains many minerals and chlorophyl so maybe this is why it works so well.

But, I recently got wheatgrass cream form an Australian doctor who makes it. it is sold on his website Dr. Wheatgrass. I find if I put this on a few nights a week the white spots disappear too and the skin heals. This stuff is amazing you can heal cuts and burns very quickly with it with generally no scarring. I also found that salt water baths help and Aloe Vera gel helps soothe, and tea tree oil ointment takes away itchiness.

I used the Nuva Ring birth control vaginal ring for 2 years and that is when my problems with LS started. Now I use a pill and generally have a little bit of white spots but no irritation at all anymore and the white spots always go away every month when I get my period. I feel maybe if I did not use hormonal birth control at all this would go away completely but am not at a point in my life where I can justify it as there is not as reliable of a natural method Hope this helps some people with LS b/c it is really awful to have this condition.

Vitamin E
Posted by Terri (Wisconsin) on 03/30/2021
★★★★★

I have found that the burning sensation I get from Lichen Sclerosus (biopsy diagnosed) is alleviated by Vitamin E oil! I just apply to my “hot” area as often as needed. Amazing relief. I have a steroid prescription too, but I'm concerned about using a product that tells you to use as little as possible. 😳


Ozonated Olive Oil
Posted by Elle (United States) on 05/12/2020
★★★★★

Hi All, First: thank you for all the help and advice, you are lifesavers. Second: the best thing I have found for LS is ozonated olive oil. I use it every other night and have NO symptoms and my red skin has turned a shockingly normal pink. I left my ozonated olive oil in the frig for about a month, scared to try it. It does burn at first, for about 10 minutes. It gets better each usage after because it is healing your sensitive skin! Good luck and good health to you all.

Dietary Changes
Posted by Carol (Canada) on 02/06/2020
★★★★★

I have found diet extremely important for lichens healing. I eat a vegan diet with salmon, no sugar, alcohol or night shade vegetables, I also use apple cider vinegar and water sprayed on after urinating. I bath in baking soda every second night and I use only natural products for cleaning. Don't scratch. I am healing more everyday and have no itch.

Oregano + Coconut Oils
Posted by Jill (Chicago) on 08/21/2019
★★★★★

Hello, 10 plus years with LS. I have done all the known therapies. I have found much relief with the essential oil of oregano mixed with coconut oil. 2 tsp of coconut oil to 30 drops of oil. Apply as often as you can, oil of oregano is a HOT oil meaning DO NOT APPLY DIRECTLY TO THE SKIN IT WILL BURN always use a carrier oil like coconut, took care of itch white spots and atrophy.

Lyme Disease Connection
Posted by Lisa (New York ) on 08/19/2018
★★★★★

My acupuncturist has seen a connection between Lichens Sclerosus and latent undiagnosed Lyme disease.

Manuka Honey
Posted by Luckylucy (Nh) on 08/04/2017
★★★★☆

I have had LS for many years and tried Protopic, steroids and none of that really helped. Seroviral HGH made it fade quite a bit. I recently tried sandlewood oil and royal jelly which faded it about 80 percent.

I have for 3 days been using manuka honey and am trying 10+ umf on one side of my chest and 18+ on the other side to see if one works better. LS is now 95 percent flat and nearly all the white is gone. I am keeping my fingers crossed that this finally does the trick. None of the doctors have been particularly useful over the years in finding a useful remedy (but at least they could diagnose it) not even those at the best Boston hospitals... Does it seem that they have far more interest in Lyme disease than helping us women with this sometimes embarrassing ailment?


Niacin with Aspirin
Posted by Laura (Akron) on 11/25/2016
★★★★★

Editor's Choice

Niacin for Lichen Sclerosus

Niacin caused burning so the pharmacy told me to take it with aspirin to remove the burning and it worked 100%.


Coconut Oil, Homeopathy
Posted by Pan (Holland) on 05/28/2015

I read about a 60 year old woman, here on EarthClinic, who has been healed by UVB light treatment (eximer laser). Her symptoms have been completely reversed. I wish she could tell us who gave her the treatment. And how comes this is not world news?

I will ask (again) for some Dutch doctors here and will let you know. In the meantime I sit in the sun, in lotus... now and then.


Vitamin E, Lavender Oil
Posted by Elyse (Ri) on 04/29/2016

Thanks for posting! How did you go about mixing these together?



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