Hello Community.

I've been a little dormant with my participation here as of late, but seeking advice from the collective wisdom here. Please don't read further if you get grossed out by health conditions, because this one is a little graphic.

My six year old daughter was just diagnosed with vulvar lichen sclerosus, an autoimmune disorder which affects the skin around her vagina. [dermnetnz.org] (for more info)

So, she was perscribed a steriod ointment to controll the symptoms. What I want to do is support her immune system as much as possible. Looking onto acupuncture.
How else can I do this? Should I be juicing for her everyday?

Any advice is appreciated. I have been so sick with worry not knowing what is was, and now knowing her diagnosis is actually very frightening for me. Thanks for your support.

The first thing I wondered was whether your daughter had been taking antibiotics for something else. The other thing which came to mind was what her diet is like. Is it clean? Is it full of raw fruits and veggies? Or is it highly processed?

Taking a steroid cream seems to be a band-aid approach at best. I am not blaming her; I imagine she wants to just get rid of it but I wonder what the game plan is. Once the steroid cream "gets rid" of the issue, will it go away for good if nothing else is changed?

Auto-immune dis-eases seem to be related to possible digestive issues, at least in some cases. Does she seem to have problems in that area, as well? I wonder if she eats meat and possibly is not combining foods properly or breaking down the meat.

Just my two cents. Good luck.

Hi meganbubbs
Your idea of looking into acupuncture would be worth following up.
Im currently studying an acupuncture degree and have my end of second year exams next week.

I have just spent the weekend revising and recognise what you are describing. Chinese medicine recognises it as a set of symptoms that create a syndrome that can be treated by acupuncture.

Meanwhile, cleaning up the diet by juicing and raw foods alongside dealing with any stressful issues that may be present would support healing

I hope your daughter feels better soon. She is very young and it must be difficult for both of you to deal with.
FFx



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/17/2012 07:39PM by The Fruit Faery.

For some reason, I just had the flash: gluten intolerance. I Googled the terms 'autoimmune disease' and 'gluten' and got this: [www.glutenfreesociety.org]

Thanks, looking into the gluten intolerance.

For the most part, she eats healthy, but she does eat bread, she is not 100% veggie.
Thinking maybe should try the process of identifying what alergies she might have, the elimanation method or whatever it's called. Making her an appt with in a childrens acupuncture clinic. I'm not too thrilled about the steriod cream either, but since that is what the dermatologist recommended, I will be following her orders. I would be horrified if not applying the cream would cause more scarring to her vagina and an actual loss of tissue. Right now, this is day one, so I'm just trying to breathe and not freak out about it.

Dr. Joel Fuhrman, MD has a nutritional protocol for autoimmune conditions, including skin conditions like psoriasis. [www.diseaseproof.com] [www.alternativeratreatments.com] I don't know if it is applicable to all autoimmune conditions. However, it might be a useful adjunct. It also described in more detail in his book Eat to Live. Best.

Kref



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/18/2012 03:00AM by Krefcenz.

meganbubbs,

I am so sorry this is happening to your girl, and I hope she recovers fully and soon. Like everyone else, I am thinking food/environemental allergies. Autoimmune disorders are on the rise and amongst the most idiopathic; the prescribing of steroid cream, which works to allay symptoms but not to effect cure, suggests the doctor may have no idea what's causing the disorder. The cream is just a stop-gap measure, so cleaning up your little one's diet and making it as pure as possible can only help. It is something concrete that will make both of you feel more in control of the situation, and that can make a world of difference!

Thanks Kref, looked into Fuhrman, and ordered his book and a few others about autioimmune stuff from the library. Thanks Tamukha. Yes, the steriod is just treating the symptom, not the cause. Good point about having your diet make you feel more in controll.

Giving her a childrens Omega 3,6,9 supplement, and a prebiotic/probiotic that you mix with water. I think the acupuncture, even if its pedraitic, without any needles will do worlds of good to support her immune system, and chinese herbs should help too. Thinking stress might effect it, so trying to look at it from that angle too.

She uses the steriod 2x day for one month and then 1x day for a month, and then we have another appointment with the dermatologist. Hopefully after that she will only need it 1x month or less.
My hope it that within the next two months, through her diet, acupuncture, supplements, etc. we can turn her immune system around and maybe even have it clear alltogether...hopefully

Megan,

I'm sorry about your daughter. It sounds like a lot of the options as steroid alternatives that have been mentioned by prior posters are good ones. I did a quick check on google and wasn't able anything with a lot of weight. But, I did find some things that might be worth trying. I found one site that has a list of alternative therapies for LS. [www.earthclinic.com] The low oxalate diet looks promising as something to try. And even though there is no proof per se that specific foods cause or exacerbate LS, that's probably because the studies haven't been done.

My wife has lupus. And we bought a book by Jill Harrington for a natural approach to lupus and other autoimmune disease. An elimination diet mentioned in the book looks really interesting. And we are trying that for my wife once she gets off prednisone. [www.lupusrecoverydiet.com][www.amazon.com] And while I realize lupus isn't LS, both are autoimmune diseases. I also agree with Krefcenz that Fuhrman's autoimmune protocol is worth trying. Oh, and Harrington's book is a vegan diet, just to be clear.

My hope for a speedy recovery for your daughter.

Paul

wow, that sucks! BUT it sounds totally curable! The previous ideas of gluten and dairy are very likely accurate. Yes, juicing and green smoothies everyday are crucial for micro nutrient intake for her healing, but also removing the cause factor is key as well. It is VERY VERY likely gonna be caused by wheat or animal products. She MUST quit eating dairy and casein(milk protein). Good luck! there are lots of yummy gluten free products out there now a days.