Thursday, October 25, 2012

Unearthing The Distress Caused By Oral Lichen Planus

By Jordon Herris


There are two major reasons as to why patients with oral lichen planus tend to be very distressed. Before looking at those two major reasons though, it would make a lot of sense to get ourselves acquainted with the illness being talked about (lichen planus), at a general level. When formations that look a lot like the organisms known as lichens start appearing on the surface of the skin, one can be said to be experiencing oral lichen planus.

We come to learn that this condition can manifest in many parts of the body, with one of those being the oral zone. Naturally, any patient who starts manifesting these skin formations on their oral zone would feel more than a little distressed. What we want to unearth then, are the reasons behind this distress which is experienced by patients with lichen planus that manifests in the oral zone.

The fact that the oral zone is a particularly conspicuous place and lichen planus appearing on them is so obvious is the first source of distress for patients suffering this condition. Unless you decide not to open your mouth and stay silent for the duration of the illness, you would be having a difficult time trying to keep your condition hidden once it hits you on the mouth. People would definitely have a hard time missing it, and a stigma has already been attached to people suffering from this condition because most people immediately assume that it is a condition worse than it actually is.

The second reason as to why patients with oral lichen planus tend to be very distressed is something to do wit the fact that the condition (in that particular manifestation) can greatly interfere with people's lives. Speaking becomes such an ordeal for anyone who is afflicted with this specific condition. It becomes harder to simply just speak, and even eat and drink. Basically, anything involving the use of the mouth or tongue becomes a pain to do.

Given the high levels of distress experienced by patients with oral lichen planus, it is often necessary to counsel them adequately first, before making any attempt at (practically) treating them. They would have to be counseled and made aware of the fact that managing their oral lichen planus condition is entirely feasible. Do not lose hope simply because conventional medicine does not hold any sort of cure for oral lichen planus. Given the right medication, you could still control it. It is understandable how a lot of patients are concerned about their lives becoming messed up by this condition. What most patients don't know - and thus have to be counseled about - is that oral lichen planus is essentially transient. It could disappear after a while. There are so many alternative therapies that doctors could recommend to their patients. These would provide lasting relief, which is a good thing, seeing as there is no cure for this condition from conventional medicine.




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