Vulva pain

[bluespreadsheet]

For almost a week now I've been feeling a lot of itching and pain in my vulva. If I touch it or sit down weird, it can be uncomfortable and cause spiking. Even if I'm not putting pressure on it it's constantly mildly annoying. I've taken showers and tried to clean down there and it's still been hurting. I'm not quite sure what could be causing it, or how to fix it.

[Heather]

Hey there.

If you don't mind answering a couple questions to see if I can't help you narrow this down:

1) Have you recently changed laundry soap or anything else that can come into contact with your vulva?
2) Any issues with your vagina, or just your vulva? Unusual discharge, a smell you're not used to, any pain or itching inside the vaginal canal?
3) Have you ever been diagnosed with a yeast infection? If so, does this feel like that at all or no?

[bluespreadsheet]

1) No, it's been normal. Just cotton underwear changed and washed normally
2) Kind of the third but it's mostly external
3) I haven't been diagnosed but when looking it up a lot of it sounded like it. I've had frequent UTIs in the past (they were diagnosed, also they've been gone for a while. like a year)
4) right before it happened I was having a lot of indigestion + diarrhea and I hear that yeast infections come from internal problems like with the intestines so that seems maybe connected?

I found something that's supposed to help with yeast infections but I saw it might be bad to use unless I've been diagnosed? I'm not sure I can get easily diagnosed right now because of how difficult getting to a doctor is. How bad would it be to use it anyways?

[Carly]

Hey crowcaw73 -- I'm personally don't think it's a good idea to take medication without a diagnosis, especially if it's advising not to without a diagnosis specifically. Can you say a little more about the difficulty seeing a doctor?

Also, I just want to confirm -- have you had any unusual discharge? No other symptoms beyond the itching?

[bluespreadsheet]

Difficulty seeing a doctor just having to do with money problems. We've had to spend a lot of money on other doctor visits so we don't had basically no money for holidays this year, and going to one without me being sure I have to go would stress them out more.

Are their problems with waiting for it to go away on its own? It seems to have basically stopped today. (Which is great!). And no there wasn't any usual discharged I noticed, just a lot of itching and discomfort for several days especially when I was trying to go to bed.

[Heather]

Hey there. Thanks for those answers, that's all really helpful.

For sure, you really want to avoid using a medication for something you not only aren't currently diagnosed with, but also haven't ever been diagnosed with to even have a sense of what that thing can be like in your body. That's particularly true for medications or other things meant to change the pH and bacterial balance of the vagina or vulva. Because if you don't have that kind of imbalance already, then adding the medication can throw off the balance present and THEN have it become imbalanced. And if what you have right now is more like a contact dermatitis of some kind, or a bacterial infection, or not about yeast overgrowth, what you really don't need is what you already have AND a yeast infection, you know?

I'd say doing that is most likely MORE problematic than waiting this out, if going to the doctor just isn't an option. (And if you would like it to be an option, we're always happy to help users find care they can access or a way to access it if needed.)

Since it sounds like you aren't having any vaginal symptoms just yet, I'm feeling like it might be irritation from something else, rather than a yeast infection anyway. But, to do what you can about what you DO have, and hopefully prevent full-blown yeast if that is what's happening, these are all over-the-counter (or no counter at all) things you can do that serve one or both of those goals:

1) Stop with all the washing. For now, just stick to warm water and your fingers, no soaps, including on your labia or mons. Soaps and other detergents create imbalances. We never need to clean inside the vagina (just in case you don't already know that), because that can be a straight shot to bacterial infections and irritation, and even the vulva often only needs to be rinsed, and doesn't need a detergent to get clean to the level of what's most healthy.

2) If you don't already, switch to a gentle laundry soap without fragrance or bleach, and don't use dryer sheets with your underpants.

3) If you don't already and can, take a good probiotic supplement for the next couple weeks and/or add foods to what you eat that have probiotics in them. This is a good overview of those: https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying- ... probiotics

4) Drink more water. That can help flush your system with the recent GI stuff and can also help right imbalances.

Lastly, you can use something to help with the irritation that is either benign -- like aloe gel right from the plant, not the stuff with additives -- or over-the-counter creams most pharmacies will have that are indicated for vulval itching.

How about you do that for now, and we see where you're at/how you're feeling in a day or two? Hold off on the yeast stuff?

[bluespreadsheet]

Alright. I will look into that.

Somewhat unrelated, I am really sensitive when it comes to discussing medical problems. I understand making sure I'm not taking something I shouldn't is important, but if you could be a little gentler I would really appreciate it. The current tone feels a little stern and makes me feel like I did something wrong in suggesting the idea. I know that wasn't your intent, I am just expressing how I feel! Ty for the advice

[Heather]

I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to be stern at all, and I'm sorry that it landed that way for you. I absolutely don't think that you did anything wrong in suggesting it. I also don't think using that OTC treatment itself would exactly be wrong, either, it just might not be in your best interest or could backfire.

Thank you for letting me know how this felt for you, and I'll be more careful next time!