Diseases of Genital Skin in the Elderly
September 1998
in “
Journal of The European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology
”
TLDR Older people often have untreated genital skin diseases due to embarrassment and lack of medical attention, which can lead to discomfort and even cancer risk.
In the document from 25 years ago, genital skin disease in the elderly was highlighted as common but often poorly managed due to patient embarrassment and lack of recognition by specialists. Conditions such as seborrhoeic eczema, contact irritant and allergic dermatitis could cause prolonged discomfort, while lichen sclerosus and erosive lichen planus were noted for their pre-malignant potential. Immuno-bullous disorders like cicatricial pemphigoid, pemphigus vulgaris, and pemphigus vegetans were mentioned as preferentially involving genital skin, and pain syndromes like dysaesthetic vulvodynia were identified as significantly morbid in the elderly. The document emphasized that proper recognition and management of these diseases could greatly improve the quality of life for the elderly and potentially reduce the risk of scarring and malignant changes.
