Most people will have never heard of this and I had never heard of it either. But I had this for multiple years and it really really bothered me. I believe I got it when I was about 18 years old and I only got rid of it 3 years later. Not because it is so difficult to get rid of, but because I didn't go to the doctor.
The definiton: "Lichen simplex is a localised area of chronic, lichenified eczema/dermatitis. There may be a single or multiple plaques. It is also called neurodermatitis."
For me it was a very itchy feeling on my outer labia and around the opening of my vagina. I would scratch it on a daily base, mostly during the night, getting loose skin flakes all over my bed. I knew that if I would just stop scratching it would probably get better, but I simply couldn't stop myself. I had tried to put Vaseline on it, because it was starting to hurt. But nothing took away the itch. I told my mom about it after I had it for over a year. She said it may be an infection and I should just take some pills for it. I tried that, but that wasn't it. I started googling my symptoms and after searching for quite some time I finally found something that resembled what I was feeling. I was in a vicious circle of scratching and itch. I saw that you would have to see a doctor when you had it, so I finally made an appointment to have it checked. I told her my symptoms and when she inspected my vulva she confirmed that it was lichen simplex. She prescribed me a hormone cream with a strict schedule to apply it and slowly decrease the use by starting to alternate using that cream with a simple vaseline based cream. For the first time in years I had more than one night in a row where I didn't scratch, which was such a relief. My vulva started looking much healthier as well. I did start scratching again a couple of times, but it never got back to that point of having skin flakes come off, because I would just use a new cream for a while and it would pass.
I honestly wish I would've gone to the doctor much earlier. I understand why many people (younger me included) do not feel comfortable going to the doctor with vaginal problems, but please trust me when I say you should really really go. They see the weirdest stuff on a daily base, and there is no need to be ashamed of looking out for your own health.
