| Lichen Striatus: Causes, Symptoms and Treatment
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Lichen Striatus: Causes, Symptoms and Treatment
Lichen Striatus is a kind of skin disorder. It is not a common one and at the same time, it is not contagious; it does not spread from one person to another. It is quite a peculiar disorder where there is no itching or you will not find any particular symptoms. What you will find is small bumps called papules as in lichen planus. There are non-symptomatic rashes. As there is no itching felt in rashes, person is not tempted to scratch the skin. This disorder does not create any discomfort to the person.
This disorder can affect any part of the body but the most commonly affected are legs and arms. Young children of age group between five to ten years are the most affected group. Adults rarely contract this disorder as children have quite low immunity. Between the both sexes, women are nearly three times more vulnerable to this disorder. The best part of this disorder is that it does not have any complications associated with it. Anybody suffering with it fully recovers after sometime.
Lichen striatus is a self-limiting kind of skin rash, mainly observed in children. But as the times pass, these bumps converted into long bands of affected skin. Tiny pink raised spots collect together to make one or many linear bands. These bands are dull red in color and scaly in texture. Girls have more tendency to these rashes than boys; nearly double. Papules or bumps are discrete, flat-topped, and red or flesh colored. These are thick with scales. They erupt suddenly and papules from many areas join to form a linear band. These bands may appear from trunk to extremity.
Symptoms of Lichen Striatus
Symptoms of lichen striatus start with that of lichen planus. IT stars with small raised bumps but gradually these bumps take the shape of long bands. Lesions appeared from lichen striatus do not show any symtoms like irritation but sometimes severe itching is felt. You can see linear bands, in some cases, from leg to buttock or abdomen. In many people, oral lichen striatus develop who have this disorder on outer skin. Painless, white streaks appear on the mucous membrane in this disorder.
Causes of Lichen Striatus
There is no ascertained cause of lichen striatus. It may be genetic or environmental factor may be responsible for this disorder. There is no known cause of lichen stratus. Also it is not an infection caused by some microorganism, so it is not contagious. Spring and summer are the seasons when this disorder is most evident and active. It takes the shape of endemic in these weather conditions. Hereditary factors also play major role for appearance of this disorder. It may be also be caused by auto-immune factor.
Treatment of Lichen Striatus
As many skin disorders, lichen striatus is also non-curable. Also there is no specific treatment is prescribed for it. Patients are generally prescribed cortisone creams and ointments to get rid of itching and rashes. These creams help to speed up the recovery process. If these creams do not show any result, patients has to wait till it disappears itself. It is a self-limiting skin disorder which disappears itself within six months to one year. Due to this reason, no treatment is required for lichen striatus. After disappearance of rashes, there is discoloration of affected skin as pale or dark brown marks left there, called hypopigmentation or hyperpigmentation.
Patient should be assured of its resolution and its self limiting character. Lichen striatus in nails take longer time to heal. It may take about 30 months to clear up without leaving any mark or deformity.
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