White patches and steroid cream

[Guest Posts]

Q How many people have LS on the rest of the body?

Q If the skin has white patches but not scarred thicker skin in that area, will steroid ointment return the skin to normal state or are white patches too late once at that stage?

Many thanks and kind regards

[Dr Rosalind Simpson]

Lichen sclerosus of the extragenital skin (skin on the rest of the body) is rare and has been reported in about 6% (6 in 100) of all affected women.


White patches without changes to the texture of the skin often represent old areas of LS that are no longer active. These areas would not be symptomatic. These may slowly improve with time, provided the LS remains controlled, but they may not change. White patches with texture change (thickening of the skin with waxy/firm change, roughness of the surface of the skin) is suggestive of active LS and should be treated with topical steroid. The appearance of this type of whitening should improve with treatment.

Please note: if you are unsure about the areas that you are seeing, especially rough warty thickening, please see your doctor for assessment.