Modern Medicine for Lichen Planus – Beauty or Beast ?

Isn’t it strange – there are some drugs from Modern medicine that improve lichen planus – and some that aggravate the condition!

How do we know what causes and what calms the storm?

Can a Beast not be tamed?
Let us first have an Insight on:

What is Lichen Planus:

Lichen planus is a purple colored rash-like condition of various forms with intense itching. It involves skin mainly, but can also affect inner lining of the mouth, genitals, hair and nails.

Common sites of affection are wrists, forearms, legs, ankles, feet, thighs, waist, lips, genitals. Young adults of both sexes are common victims.

Lichen planus occurs when our immune system attacks our own cells of mucous membranes or skin mistakenly. Why the immune system responds in this manner, is not really known. One can’t “catch” lichen planus like one catches a flu nor can one pass it on to another person via contact or air.

Lichen Planus is often triggered by certain drugs from Modern Medicine:

Most common culprits that are known to trigger Lichen Planus include heavy metals like gold, anti-malarial,  anti-tubercular drugs, some diuretics (medicine that helps remove excess water from body) , certain anti-hypertensives (medicine to control blood pressure), non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (drugs to control inflammation-not steroids) such as Ibuprofen and Naproxen, some medicines for gout and arthritis.

These above drugs are definitely a bane for patients of Lichen Planus and should be avoided by patients of Lichen Planus as far as possible.

Let us look at another aspect as far as modern medicine and Lichen Planus is concerned. When it comes to treatment, modern medicine options for lichen planus include oral antihistaminics (medicine to relieve itching), steroids (tablets and ointments), and some vitamin A based ointments.

The Beauty and the Beast aspect of these modern medicines are such that:

• Anti-histaminics relieves itching.
• Steroids are safe when taken directly for a short course of time, but when taken for a longer time may increase blood pressure, blood glucose levels and affects bones and joints. When applied on the skin, steroids may cause side effects like thinning of skin, burning and reddening of skin.

• Certain vitamin A based ointments are also used, but may irritate the skin causing dryness, redness and peeling of skin.

The question here is- Are modern medicines for lichen planus really a Boon or a Bane?

The above modern medicines are often successful in giving instant relief to the patients of Lichen Planus. However, when it comes to treating the disease from the root without any side-effects, Homoeopathy holds the key. Homoeopathic medicines for lichen planus are safe and offer healing at a much deeper level. At Lifeforce Homoeopathy, we believe that one should make right use of both the treatment modalities.

Like hundreds others, you too can benefit from Dr Shah’s research based medicines for lichen planus. To know how homoeopathic medicines can help your lichen planus, do get in touch with us at Lifeforce Homoeopathy today.