Lichen Sclerosus alternative treatments

The best information source on Lichen Sclerosus is the Lichen Sclerosus forum on groups.io.

You can search their posts for any treatment you're interested in, and find users writing about their experiences with it over the years.

Based on my reading, these are my currently recommended treatments.

I. Diet & Supplements:

1. Collagen with Hyaluronic Acid
1. Studies find taking Collagen improves skin repair. [Source]
2. Studies find taking Hyaluronic Acid also improves skin repair. [Source] 
3. These reduce the rate of skin-aging, so they're a good idea anyway.
2. MSM
1. Studies find taking MSM aids repair and reduces inflammation (as well as apparently reducing rates of cancer).[Source] 
3. Garlic and Cinnamon reduce inflammation.[Source]  But use less than half a teaspoon of cinnamon, or it can have side effects. [Source] 

II. Topicals:

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1. Lisepten

Contains ingredients that have been shown in studies to aid skin repair.

Example ingredient studies:

1. Comfrey:

            a.    "Application of comfrey cream led to a quicker regeneration of skin cells" [Source]

            b.     This patient claims they were cured by comfrey cream. [Source]

2. Lavender: "Proves the effectiveness of [Lavender against] psoriasis like skin inflammation and provides the scientific evidence for topical use of lavender oil."[Source]

3. Witch hazel: 

    a.     "Elastic fibers became functional and aggregates of unfunctional fibers decreased."                         [Source]

    b.     "Exhibits powerful antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and anti-cancer activities." [Source]         

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2. Alternating anti-inflammatory topicals:

Clob damage:  After an initial period of intensive use of Clob (clobatesol), doctors recommend to reduce frequency of application, which gives the skin a rest period to heal from the mild damage corticosteroids do (thinning skin).

An example of a Clob dosage schedule:

1x per day for 1 month.

Alternating days for 1 month.

2x per week for 1 month.

[Source]

Other anti-inflammatories:  Using other anti-inflammatory topicals can sometimes allow patients to reduce Clob usage earlier without an increased risk of relapse.

Stacking effects:  Anti-inflammatories often work by different biological pathways, so even if some treatments have a less powerful anti-inflammatory effect, their effects might stack if patients apply a different anti-inflammatory in the morning, afternoon, and night.

Minimize side effects:  Each topical can have different side-effects that build up, so alternating them seems likely to be beneficial.

Corticosteroids impede repair:  The corticosteroids that are prescribed (including Clob) impair skin regeneration, so reducing usage of corticosteroids when possible seems like a good goal.

"Anti-inflammatory corticosteroids significantly impair wound healing... [Corticosteroids] delay the appearance of inflammatory cells, fibroblasts, the deposition of ground substance, collagen, regenerating capillaries, [wound] contraction, and epithelial migration." [Source]

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3. Tacrolimus:

This prescription immunosuppressant topical has been found in studies of LS to have less of an anti-inflammatory effect than Clob, but it seems like a good addition to the topicals a patient alternates through each day or every other day when trying to reduce applications of Clob.

III. Other recommended sources:

1. EarthClinic Patients discussing what treatments they had success with.
2. Healthline.com collects studies on many supplements and topicals.
3. PubMed can be searched for studies. (Rank results by date.)
4. DrAxe.com collects studies on Essential Oils.