Hayashi.DNP710.First Blog

First Blog: Lichen Sclerosis

        The article I would like to share with everyone is on “Lichen Sclerosis (LS)”.  According to the authors “few health care providers are knowledgeable about LS and those who are often focus on women’s sexual functioning with little consideration of impact on participation and overall quality of life” (Wehbe-Alamah, Kornblau, Haderer, & Erickson, 2012, p. 504).  LS not only affects women but men and children as well.  It is amazing that even a 6 month old child can be affected by this horrible chronic disease.  Often when a child is diagnosed with the condition it can be mistaken for child abuse due to signs of vulva soreness and anal fissures.  Also the women with LS suffer from tremendous psychological effects like depression, despair, guilt, worry, and embarrassment. 

        Women with LS in this study used the Internet (e.g. blog) to express their frustration, seek help, encourage each other, support each other, and basically meet their social needs regarding similar experiences.   The women jointly agreed that health care providers should listen, be empathetic to their needs, and most of all assist them in finding a cure.  Unfortunately at this time there is no cure for LS but they can be offered symptom relief, which is clobetasol propionate 0.05% applied once or twice daily for three to six months.
        It is evident that women with LS are silent no more regarding this chronic disease.  As Nurse Practitioners (NPs) it is truly our ethical and moral responsibility to hear their voices and serve as their advocates.  One way we can become more knowledgeable is to familiarize ourselves with the LS guidelines that can be retrieved from:
(http://inquestsoft.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/BADLSGuidelines.pdf).  Another way we can assist these patients is by becoming familiar with literature pertaining to LS regarding timely diagnosis, emotional support, and care. 
        As NPs we can move into a new frontier and utilize social media like blogs, Twitter, Face book and other sites in order to improve patient outcomes relating to LS.  Finally, “these expanding opportunities through current and future social media networks provide NPs, in their varied roles as clinicians, educators, researchers, and policy makers, with the tools needed to address the social injustices associated with LS” (Wehbe-Alamah, Kornblau, Haderer, & Erickson, 2012, p. 504).

Reference:

Wehbe-Allamah, H., Kornblau, B. L., Haderer, J., & Erickson, J. (2012).  Silent no more!  The

        lived experiences of women with lichen sclerosis.  Journal of the American Academy of

       Nurse Practitioners 24, 499-505.  doi: 10.1111/j.1745-7599.2012.00715.x