Ultraviolet Light Treatment For Lichen Sclerosus

Uv rays usually uvb are most commonly used.

Ultraviolet light treatment for lichen sclerosus.

The condition mostly affects adult women. Treatment for lichen sclerosus. Corticosteroid ointments or creams are commonly prescribed for lichen sclerosus. After 3 months of narrowband uv b therapy.

Some physicians recommend the use of ultraviolet light treatment to relieve the symptoms of lichen sclerosus. This is done if other treatments fail. Tacrolimus protopic and pimecrolimus elidel a class of drugs called calcineurin inhibitors are other options to treat lichen sclerosus that occurs on the vulva. This treatment is not used in the genital area so it is only an option for lichen sclerosus that occurs in other areas of the body.

Lichen sclerosus is a rare skin condition that usually shows up on your genital or anal areas. Patients will typically enter a machine that shines uvb light onto the area. Initially you ll generally have to use cortisone creams or ointments on the affected skin twice a day. The most common phototherapy for lichen planus uses ultraviolet b uvb light which penetrates only the upper layer of skin epidermis.

For men removing the foreskin circumcision is often a successful treatment. Light therapy phototherapy may help clear up lichen planus affecting the skin. In cases of mild lichen sclerosus especially when the genital regions are not affected you may not actually require treatment. That s because lichen sclerosus often comes back.

It can and often does clear up on its own. Light therapy usually requires two to three treatments a week for several weeks. After several weeks your doctor will likely recommend that you only use these medications twice a week to prevent a recurrence. Other alternatives are retinoid treatments such as isotretinoin ultraviolet light for treating skin not near the genital area and photodynamic therapy a treatment that uses special drugs and light.

However if you are experiencing symptoms and the lichen sclerosus presents on the vulva or the penis your doctor is likely to recommend. Regarding genital lichen sclerosus a rct comparing the efficacy of home administered medium dose ultraviolet uv a 1 was given 4 times a week with once daily application of clobetasol ointment in. Near resolution of the lichen sclerosus on the abdomen.