Healing Plan

Those simply wanting an action plan will find this section useful. It provides a [six] step process for recovering fully from BXO/LS using natural or over the counter treatments. It brings in sources from all over the web, as well as my own experience and those of readers of this blog. This recovery plan is specifically targeted at the male version of Lichen Sclerosus: BXO.

1. Confirm your Diagnosis

The first thing you will want to do is make sure what you are dealing with is indeed Lichen Sclerosus/BXO. If it is, there's nothing to fear. But you also want to ensure that it's not something else. 

This step is not absolutely essential, but I would highly recommend it, to make sure you're not barking up the wrong tree.

Before you go and see a doctor, however, you should prepare yourself mentally. It's your body, not the doctor's. In all aspects of life, most notably your health, you are the captain. There are times when you may not have the expertise or legal ability to diagnose or resolve something, in which case you call on specialists. But you should always see a doctor as just another information source.

Seeing a doctor about any ailment of the genitals can be embarrassing, particularly if it's your first time. Unzipping your pants in a civil setting, like a doctor's office, feels odd. But it's their job and they need to see you. Have your speech prepared in advance, if necessary. Just say as a matter of fact "I'd like to confirm a diagnosis of a skin condition on my penis". They will take your lead on that, and then the rest is up to them.

Assuming they confirm a diagnosis of LS/BXO, they will likely prescribe you with a steroid cream and recommend a circumcision if it doesn't resolve. That's fine. Prepare for that statement to be told to you. It's not a formal instruction; it's just words. Yes, they might have come from the mouth of a doctor, but the ultimate decision will be yours and yours alone to make.

It's very easy to think of a doctor as having more authority than anything we ourselves could dream of having. But in reality, three doctors might all come up with a different diagnosis and set of recommendations.

Remember, many men have healed themselves from BXO using only natural treatments. It's a slow process, but if you hold onto the thought "the moment before I start treating myself is the most severe it will be" it quickly puts your healing into perspective. 

Under no circumstances should you allow yourself to be coerced into a circumcision, unless you personally want one.

2. Set your expectations for recovery

Recovering from BXO is a very slow process, prepare yourself for that. There's very little you can do to speed things up. It's a slow disease to progress, and it's a slow disease to recede. Just know that your body knows how to heal itself if you create the right environment.

From one month the the next, you probably won't notice much change. Comparing on a quarterly basis is more likely to show improvements. All you need to be concerned about is seeing a good amount of peeling. This comes in surges. You might see none for a few days, then see a lot. Or, you might see constant peeling of tiny fragments, more evident at the end of the day. Either way, remember the golden rule:

Peeling is healing.

3. Set some basic ground rules

• Think Positive
• Always dry after urination and never hurry (how to urinate properly to prevent BXO)
• Never force peeling
• Keep sexual activity gentle

Think Positive
After spending decades of taking western medicine as the panacea of health, people in western civilisations are starting to open their minds to the possibility that the mind plays a significant role in health than first thought. There are a lot of talks, videos, and articles by highly experienced practitioners who discuss the role of factors like stress, negativity, anger, and depression play in health.

In drug trials, you often hear the phrase "it was found to be no more effective than a placebo". You have to ask why a placebo is more effective than nothing. Dr Lissa Rankin talks about this very point in her TED talk on the subject.

There is a growing body of evidence that mindset plays a significant role in healing disease. Or, as some call it: dis-ease. You want to make sure that you stay positive about your recovery. Rather than dwell on what you have lost, focus on what you will eventually get back. Enjoy the simplicity of healing your own body using treatments you select for yourself.

Always dry after urination and never hurry
BXO thrives in urine. It progresses in the presence of it, but recedes in the absence of it. The fact that you have developed BXO shows that urine under the foreskin has likely become a problem for you. So you need to get into the habit of drying yourself after urination, and continuing to do so until no more urine is produced. After a while, it becomes just like any other personal hygiene practice.

It takes a while to get rid of any trace of urine - longer than you might think. But you can't hurry it. Never allow yourself to hurry when finishing urination. If you have something you need to do very quickly afterward, deal with it but return to the toilet as soon as you can to dry yourself thoroughly. You may even want to rinse yourself with water. 

Never force peeling
As tempting as it might be to accelerate your healing by peeling off large fragments of skin that refuse to come away, do not fall for it. Always allow large skin fragments to come off on their own. You can force them using the pad of your finger, but never use anything like fingernails or tweezers to grab at edges. If you cut BXO skin for any reason, it is highly prone to infection.

It probably also goes without saying that, if you suspect you are dealing with an infection, you should always see your doctor. Just remember, this is for the antibiotic rather than for a "what else can I do about this condition?" talk. Treating BXO is all covered here.

4. Start with the easiest treatment

Before you  start, however, take photos. Make sure they are under controlled circumstances. Fully dry, and preferably under natural lighting on an overcast day. A video is even better, as it allows you to distinguish white BXO skin from reflections due to light. Just remember, however, that you should safeguard your photos. If you take them on a phone, then PLEASE remember to move them to a more secure medium smartly. You don't want to be showing a friend photos of your dog then have them swipe one photo too far, do you?


It's easy to overwhelm yourself when choosing a treatment. There are so many options, and so many different experiences, that you can become paralysed to making a decision, for fear of choosing 'the wrong one'. This is particularly so with BXO, which has such a devastating effect on us mentally. We never make good decisions when we're in a compromised emotional state.

That's why I suggest people start with the easiest treatment they can. Maybe you've got some Tea Tree Oil at home, or perhaps some Hydrogen Peroxide. Maybe there's an old container of talcum powder tucked away in a cupboard somewhere. Heck, if nothing else, just starting a strict regime of drying yourself after urination will get you started on the mend.

I'm not convinced that any one treatment is any better or worse than any other treatment. Just pick one and start using it.

Whatever you choose (apart from drying) don't go nuts. Just one treatment per day will be enough for starters. You're wanting to see how your body responds to treatment.

5. Observe after a couple of days

A plan for healing from BXO naturally

After applying a treatment for a couple of days, you should start noticing some peeling. You may need to be reasonably dry to see it, but pay close attention because the fragments can be very small. Remember not to force the peeling. Let it happen naturally.

Now is also a good time to take some more photos.

6. Be consistent with your treatment

Having chosen a treatment, you now need to stick to it, and to be consistent. Make sure you apply it in roughly the same way each day for several days. You should also ensure you build in a break during your weekly cycle. Be consistent with that as well.

7. At the end of each month, assess

Photograph yourself and compare against images from the previous month. Reflect on what has worked and what hasn't, and change as required.

When dealing with BXO, it's a marathon not a sprint. Everything will take time. It will take time for a treatment to have an effect, and it will take time before you notice much.

It's also a good idea to rotate your treatments. There seems to be a viewpoint that the body can stop responding to one treatment, so it pays to rotate. I ended up rotating treatments out of desperation to see a change, but it probably worked in my favour in the end.

Monitor the way your body responds, and always go with your gut instinct when it comes to treating yourself.