This is a case of a 13 yr old boy (Patient Pin No: L-6990) who complained of for the past 2 years.

The first appearance of Lichen Planus was in October 2004. The eruptions were located on both his legs, few spots on his thighs, severe lesions below the knees down to the ankles, around the lower back, as well as the stomach. He had very few eruptions around the neck. The eruptions were about the size of mustard seeds on his lower arms. He had severe itching initially which disappeared once the eruptions flatten out in a week's time.

The eruptions after healing left behind a black spot. He also had a burning sensation when the new eruptions appeared. The itching was more at night when exposed to the sun when he was tensed. He had very dry skin all over his body.

Associated complaints: He used to have headaches, traveling sickness whilst traveling in a car, and nosebleeds.

His personality: He was a boy with a cheerful personality. He was obese by the constitution. Had a whitish complexion. At school when he was not chosen for the football team he was very angry.

He loved to eat paneer a lot. He even liked cheese and chicken as well. He disliked green vegetables, especially beans and peas. He loved to eat chocolates, chicken, chips, pizza, salad, sweet corn, and ice creams. He used to have sound sleep but used to often talk in sleep. He dreamt sometimes when upset or when feeling a bit down. He dreamt of close people dying.

His mental symptoms: He was very cheerful. He was very mature for his age. He studied in Class 8. He used to worry about his mother a lot. His mother had vitiligo and she used to be depressed about her appearance. The boy used to often comfort his mother by saying that look I too have some form of skin ailment and I am getting better and so will you. He was very positive and could face other kids in his class very confidently even when someone enquired about his skin ailment.

His family set up: He lived with his mother (who worked in the aware shop as a supervisor) and his father (who was the director of his company).

Her family history: His mother had extensive vitiligo. His maternal uncle had a Cancer tongue.

His Past medical treatment: His Lichen Planus did not appear for 3 months after local doctors had prescribed 3 wks course of steroids. He was given Prednisolone 5 mg (oral steroids) as well as local steroids on recurrence of the eruptions.

Current medication: He was not using anything at the moment except for the moisturizing cream because his skin was very dry.

Follow-up details: The patient had started with his treatment for LP on 17.11.05 wherein he was given medicines for 4 months.

On 20.02.06 his mother reported to us by e-mail that he is over 70% better. Only complained of minimal itching especially on his legs.

On 10.04.06: He reported to the clinic personally with his mother. He was over 80% better. There were barely any active eruptions on his body. What he had was majorly the hyperpigmented spots post the healing of the lichen planus eruptions. He was though getting a few new tiny eruptions on both his legs for a couple of days now. His mother added that he generally came with few eruptions on his body if he happened to eat cheese, paneer as well as chicken. He is advised to continue treatment to see further significant improvement in this case.

Remarks: This young boy's family was so impressed with this form of medication that it had changed his life entirely. He was no longer embarrassed with his skin condition and developed a positive approach towards life. We can, therefore, conclude that Homoeopathy can not only change diseased conditions but can also change lives