Signs and Symptoms
Women are more commonly affected than men (10 to 1 ratio), particularly around and after menopause, but younger women or girls may also develop the disease. The condition most commonly occurs on the vulva and around the anus with ivory-white elevations that may be flat and glistening. There may be marked itching or the condition may be without any symptoms. There may also be thinning and shrinkage of the genital area that may make coitus, urination and defecation painful.
In males, the disease may take the form of whitish thickening of the foreskin, which cannot be retracted easily (phimosis). In contrast to women, there is no perianal involvement. In men, this genital involvement has traditionally been known as balanitis xerotica obliterans (BXO).
On the non-genital skin, the disease may manifest as porcelain-white spots with small visible plugs inside the orifices of hair follicles or sweat glands on the surface. Thinning of the skin may also occur.
Read more about this topic: Lichen Sclerosus
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