Vulvar leukoplakia needs to be differentiated from various types of dermatitis

Vulvar leukoplakia is a common gynecological disease and needs to be differentiated from the following two inflammatory skin diseases.

Leukoplakia vulvae often involves the labia minora, the inner half of the labia majora, the clitoris and its foreskin, and sometimes the perineum, but generally not the vaginal wall, vaginal vestibule, and around the anus. Patients often feel vulvar itching in the early stages of the disease, and as the disease progresses, local redness and swelling will gradually appear, and the color of the lesions will slowly turn white, with a small amount of dandruff occasionally falling off. Until the late stage of the disease, the skin at the lesions is mostly pearly white parchment-like and appears symmetrically on both sides.

1. Differentiate from chronic dermatitis

Chronic dermatitis often has an acute inflammatory attack before the onset. Patients often experience itching, pain or redness and swelling of the vulva. It is mostly common in middle-aged and elderly women. The lesions often involve the labia minora, the inner half of the labia majora, the clitoris and the foreskin of the clitoris. The symptoms often appear symmetrically, and the skin at the lesions is mainly grayish white or yellowish white, with a significantly thickened epidermis, which is different from vulvar leukoplakia.

2. Differentiation from neurodermatitis

In addition to the genitals, neurodermatitis is also common in the neck and limbs. If it occurs in the vulva, the patient will feel itching in the pubic hair in addition to the itching of the vulva, and the lesions are mostly asymmetrical on both sides and are grayish white. As the disease progresses, it may gradually turn into lichenification, and the itching gradually worsens. Sometimes, small scales will appear on the surface of the lesions.