Oral lichen Planus: What home remedies or medications help you?
Anyone in the group suffer from Oral Lichen Planus. I am at my wits end with all these erosive sores in my mouth. I've had two biopsies , one in the inside cheek and one under the side of my tongue. The spot under the tongue is extremely sore to touch and has been for over a year. It scares me because the soreness never goes away, sometimes it isn't as sore but nothing helps. Any home remedies for this dreadful condition?
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I wondered if it was ok to use bonjela after betamethasone mouthwash ?
@spondee I am not on any beta blockers, and I have had lichen planus for years. Of all the treatments, Lyderm gel is the only thing that has worked for me.
I had oral Lichen Planus for many years. When I found out that I had Celiac Disease several years ago, I stopped eating gluten. Shortly after that, my Lichen Planus disappeared & has not come back. My dentist confirmed that it was gone. Every time I'd gone in she had seen the thick white LP inside my cheeks.
I had Lichen Planus for many years. When I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease several years ago, I stopped eating gluten. Shortly after that, my LP went away and has not returned. My dentist confirmed that it was gone. Previously, she had always seen the thick white LP inside my cheeks.
So, consider that gluten could be a trigger for others too.
I only meant that beta blockers may be a single trigger of OLP for those who take it, though a lack of TGF-β1 may occur for other reasons. A lot of foodstuffs act as natural beta blockers: potassium, the L-arginine that protein foods provide, garlic, etc. I think it's an interesting area for further research. In the meantime, yes, the corticosteroids appear to be the only reliable way to get relief.
I have Esophageal Lichen Planus which has gone into my mouth, lesions on my legs and body etc.... My mouth is raw every day and some worse than others. I've lost over 30lbs. in the past 7 months. I was prescribed Dexamethasone oral rinse also. This can only be used for 10 days in a row occasionally. I also have oral lidocaine rinse which is useless. It's a topical anesthetic which lasts about 4 minutes. I feel for you!
I have had OLP since 2015. Seen all the top "specialists," with no improvement. Basically there is no treatment. One of these docs told me to increase my social life! It got much worse after the covid vax, which deeply I regret taking. At this point my OLP has become permanent. Current status is-- my lips, tongue and cheeks are swollen, so much so that it interferes with clear speech. It hampers my work as a music director, and just makes it difficult to be understood in general. Also, I have a non-stop pain in the sides of my nose, which is described in scientific articles on line as OLP spreading. But again, nothing can be done. After many years, it is extremely discouraging.
Has anyone had these symptoms? Thanks J.
Mine also flared after the Covid vax but it flared even worse after contracting actual Covid! The disease affects the mucus membranes. You have a terrible case of this and I'm very sorry to hear it. The verdict here is that only corticosteroid keeps OLP in check.
@spondee thank you.
The thing people aren't realizing is if the inflammation from the vaccine makes pain in your body worse, the inflammation from covid is 100 times that. So skipping the vaccine but getting the illness is not the smartest idea. I'm glad you got the vaccine. I ended up with the long covid and an autoimmune pain condition I have called CRPS spread up to my hips. I was vaccinated thank gof as I had a mild case but I still ended up on cortisone for months. Suddenly I realized my OLP wasn't hurting. I had no sores. As soon as I went off of it they came right back of course but so did my CRPS nightmare. I decided the wean was too fast. So she put me back on five for a month and eventually down to two for a month and I didn't experience the discontinued cortisone flare. Its good to read about the gluten. I've been cutting down for pain reasons not really thinking about the fact that the OLP would improve. Duh. I just noticed I have no sores today. When in pain all the time and then it's gone for a day or 2, i kind of forget to notice. Chronic pain is odd.
I was trying to reply to someone going through a lot with oral lichen planus. Then I had to sign in and now can't find this person's message. This seems common on the internet, while all the time it just keeps getting more and more over-engineered and complicated.
With oral lichen planus, I generally eat only soft food, like oatmeal instead of dry breakfast cereal, rice, cooked vegetables, etc.
I lived most of my life in northern Labrador, but when living in southern Canada for a time, I came across White Oak Bark in a health store. It is produced by Nature's Sunshine Products, Inc., Spanish Fork, Utah, USA. My guess this cure comes from Native American healers. I was told L-Lysine is also good. It is generally used to reduce the recurrence of Herpes Simplex infection.
Another strategy might be to write down all the things you normally eat for say the last 20 years. Evaluate each one for it irritation of the gums. Then try to avoid the ones that consistently are in your diet when you have oral Lichen planus. I switched using sugar to eating honey. It seems to make a difference. Honey calms the nerves, and it seems nervousness is a factor in oral lichen planus.
@spruceriver