I think that PN is a result of an autoimmune condition involving the nervous system and the immune system being compromised. When I was diagnosed with PN, my rheumatologist was not surprised and said to me: "add another autoimmune conditions to your list.".

Every person in my family pretty much has eczema but my mother couple years before she passed at the age of 92 she developed Lichin Planus. I really could not imagine everything burning my mouth until I developed PN and if I'm having any symptoms of a flare up I can't even have tomato paste or ketchup without it burning out the inside of my mouth. It's just crazy to me. But now I understand what she was talking about when she would say I can't eat that it burns my mouth. Now this isn't an all the time thing it's just when a flare up is occurring and sometimes I don't even know a flare up is occurring unless I eat some normal food that I eat all the time and it burns my mouth. I knew I was having a flare up this week but I decided I'd try eating sloppy joes anyway and normally it's not even spicy but this week I could not eat it it burned my mouth like Texas pete. This is the craziest illness I have ever encountered. So I guess to sum it up two things triggered my PN, first my mom had lichen planus and eczema and a topic dermatitis so obviously that is where I inherited it from. Secondly I developed a sinus infection that lasted 6 months and I did not know that if you continuously take antibiotics it will literally crash your immune system. I assumed my doctor would know this but he never said anything to me, and well you know what happened my immune system got crashed in poof suddenly I'm speckled like a leopard. I'm not real happy about that but he's a good doctor and after all they call it medical "practice" probably for a reason. Take very good care of your immune system! God bless you all!

I believe that's the truth thank you for responding to my message hugs to you God bless you 🫂🫶🏻🙏🏻🌹🪽💯

The exact cause of PN is unknown. Mine was likely triggered by chemotherapy. IMHO, the cause is less important to we patients than dealing with the disease. I don't need to assign blame at this point, I need relief.

Hi Krystyn! I'm so sorry that your sleep is affected. My dermatologist recommended N-Acetyl-Cysteine (NAC 600 mg twice per day) supplement to decrease the itching. It has been a godsend! I ordered it through Amazon although I've seen it at Walmart. I ordered the Nutracost brand because it is vegan. I really don't itch anymore.