Patient's question:
What to do about vaginal leukoplakia, can it be cured?Doctor's answer:
Vaginal leukoplakia refers to localized or diffuse white patches on the skin of the female genital area, which can spread to the inner thighs, perineum, and anus but rarely affect the urethral opening or vestibule. Symptoms include itching in the genital area, dry skin, thickening and whitening, loss of elasticity, and even atrophy and ulcers, accompanied by pain and burning sensation. Clinical pathological examination with atypical cell hyperplasia falls under the category of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) conditions such as "vaginal pruritus," "vaginal pain," and "vaginal soreness." It is often caused by damp-heat from the liver channel descending to invade the external genitalia, or due to blood deficiency with liver hyperactivity, yin deficiency of the liver and kidneys, or kidney yang deficiency, leading to insufficient nourishment of the external genitalia by essence and blood.Vaginal itching may sometimes be accompanied by a burning or painful sensation. Vaginal leukoplakia is also known as leukoplakia of the external genitalia, a chronic nutritional disease of the female genital area. It includes primary vaginal atrophy, atrophic lichen sclerosus, leukoplakia of the external genitalia, leukoplakic vaginitis, and vaginal xerosis. Clinicians typically categorize conditions where the skin and mucosa become white, thickened, and atrophic as leukoplakia of the external genitalia. In TCM, it is referred to as "vaginal lichen," "vaginal sore," "vaginal erosion," and "vaginal pain." This condition is considered a precancerous lesion. TCM treats it based on the specific characteristics of the lesion and clinical symptoms, categorizing it under "vaginal pruritus" and "vaginal sore."