About this guide

Who created the LS guide?

To create this guide, we brought together a team of people with vulval lichen sclerosus (LS), and doctors and researchers:

• Dr Sophie Rees, Research Fellow, University of Bristol
• Dr Caroline Owen, Consultant Dermatologist, East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust
• Clare Baumhauer, Patient Advocate and founder of LS and Vulval Cancer Awareness UK
• Zoe Breem, Patient Advocate
• Dr Lisa Kirby, Consultant Dermatologist, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust
• Jaclyn Lanthier, Patient Advocate and founder of Lost Labia Chronicles
• Dr Rosalind Simpson, Associate Professor and Consultant Dermatologist, University of Nottingham and Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust

We’ve shared our expertise and real-life experiences to produce a practical, straight-talking resource that we hope is genuinely helpful and empowering to anyone with the condition.

Additional support was provided by:

• Dr Jo Burgin, General Practitioner and Honorary Research Fellow, University of Bristol
• Neelam Heera-Shergill, Patient Advocate and founder of Cysters
• Dr Sarah Hillman, General Practitioner and Clinical Associate Professor in Women’s Health and Primary Care, University of Birmingham
• Sally Hooper, Women’s Health Physiotherapist, East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust
• Rheanne Leatherland, Research Assistant, University of Nottingham
• Carole Roberts, Psychosexual Psychotherapist, Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
• Ms Vanitha Sivalingam, Consultant Gynaecological Oncologist, Liverpool Women’s Hospital NHS Trust

Design and animations by Turbine Creative, copywriting by Carrie Coleman, Two Copywriters, and website build by Jez Butler.

What is the guide for?

The guide is here to give you the information you need to get a diagnosis, treatment and support for your LS, as well as to manage your symptoms and make everyday life easier.

Who is the guide for?

The LS guide focuses on adult vulval lichen sclerosus (LS), which can affect anyone who has a vulva. We recognise that not everyone who has vulval LS will identify as a woman. It’s a condition that can affect anyone assigned female at birth, including those who are non-binary, gender non-conforming, or trans.

We’ve included information for partners and carers, so they can provide the emotional and physical support their loved ones or clients with vulval LS need. We also hope that health professionals will find the guide a useful resource for growing, consolidating, or refreshing their understanding of LS.

Who isn’t it for?

While LS can affect different parts of the body, our focus in this guide is on supporting adults with vulval LS, so we don’t currently provide specific information about children’s LS (also known as juvenile or paediatric LS), or penile LS.

Other types of LS

Note: links open in new tab.

• Male or penile lichen sclerosus 
• Lichen sclerosus in female children
• Lichen sclerosus in male children

Tell us what you think

We want the LS guide to be a genuinely valuable resource for people with LS, their families, carers and healthcare providers. That’s why we’re asking for your feedback.

Fill in our short survey