What are the early symptoms of vulvar leukoplakia?

Vulvar leukoplakia is mainly manifested by the appearance of white thickened to infiltrative plaques on the vulva. Some people may have small areas of erosion and ulceration. Therefore, once these symptoms are found, you should take effective treatment measures to keep the vulva clean and hygienic.

1. Symptoms

Leukoplakia vulvae manifests as white, thickened, infiltrative plaques with clear borders. Some may have cracks, small pieces of erosion, and ulcers. The lesions are prone to occur in the vaginal mucosa, urethral mucosa, clitoris, inner and outer sides of the labia minora, and the inner side of the labia majora. They are single or several irregular white patches or patches with a milky white luster, slightly raised mucosal surface, and clear borders. A few may not be raised and have unclear borders. The surface is keratinized, rough, and feels hard and tough to the touch. If the white keratinized mucosa on the surface is scraped off, the base is prone to bleeding. There is usually a sensation of itching, which is sometimes severe. Scratching and friction may cause flushing, edema, erosion, or lichenification.

2. Western medicine treatment of vulvar leukoplakia

Appropriate treatment of mucosal leukoplakia can prevent further deterioration in 97% of cases.

1. Actively treat concomitant diseases

Control blood sugar, correct endocrine disorders and malnutrition, supplement vitamins, etc.

2. Local treatment

Keep the vulva clean and dry, and avoid excessive scrubbing with soap. The local area can be washed externally with Chinese medicine that clears heat, detoxifies and dries dampness. When itching is obvious, topical corticosteroids such as hydrocortisone ointment and hydrocortisone butyrate cream can be applied topically. When the itching is particularly severe, you can apply halometasone (sicorten) cream or ointment and clobetasol (Temeifu) cream or ointment externally, which has a good effect. Keratotic hyperplastic lesions can be treated topically with 0.025% to 0.05% retinoic acid ointment or 2.5% fluorouracil ointment. It can block the conversion of uracil deoxynucleoside to thymidine deoxynucleoside, inhibit DNA synthesis, and prevent the proliferation, division and differentiation of tumor cells. Therefore, fluorouracil ointment is applied topically to treat precancerous lesions of the skin and malignant lesions of the skin.

3. Surgical Resection

In fact, mild atypical hyperplasia of vulvar leukoplakia can be completely cured and alleviated through the combination of Chinese and Western medicine, and it does not necessarily develop into squamous cell carcinoma. Therefore, we must first determine the degree of atypical lesions of vulvar leukoplakia. Usually, it is necessary to combine Chinese and Western medicine treatment with regular follow-up observation. For those who do not recover for a long time, surgery is only a definite indication for vulvar leukoplakia when the epidermal keratinocytes show obvious atypicality and tend to develop into carcinoma in situ.