Lichen Sclerosus

Makyra was diagnosed with lichen sclerosus. We went to the dermatologist yesterday up at OHSU and they took one look at her and said, yup, we don't even need a biopsy. Now she has a very strong topical steroid cream to use for the next month to see if it helps. Then it's back up to the 16th story of OHSU for a recheck.

So what is lichen sclerosus you might ask. Well, it's an autoimmune skin condition where the lower layers of the skin become very inflamed and the upper layers of the skin become very thin. There can be random splitting of the skin and bruising. It is usually very itchy and painful. Makyra has this in her diaper area.

She's had it for a very long time and at times this has caused a lot of problems. She has a hard time potty training, especially number 2, constipation is a common side effect, and pain is incredibly common. At one point of her skin splitting open someone was concerned and called CSD. CSD jumped all over it and instead of coming out themselves called law enforcement. This happened when Abby was 9 days old, we all had fevers and our house was a complete disaster. Two police officers came to our door and did an investigation which, of course, never went anywhere.

After this is when I began taking her to the DR more frequently with the constant assurance that it was just sensitive skin. We hoped that when she was out of diapers it would go away and not be a problem. It hasn't and that has led us to OHSU.

Regarding our difficulties potty training; we tried to get an MRI but that was denied by insurance. We now have an OK for an X-ray to see how bad her constipation is. I hope we can get help with potty training because it causes a lot of hidden stress for Dan and me.

If you would like to read more about lichen sclerosus you can find more information here: www.dermnetnz.org/immune/lichen-sclerosus.html