Can birth control pills cause vaginal itching/burning?

Oh my gosh. This thread is sent straight from the heavens! I've been suffering from severe itching, been to two gynos who both suggested biopsies (they BOTH used the word "cancer" more than once... it was just itching and swelling!!!) I was just 20 at the time. Seriously, after a month of Microgestin fe 1/20 I had TERRIBLE itching. I suffered through it for a whole year before I decided to stop. It hit me at church and I almost couldn't even walk out of the building... lol. They originally suggested yeast infection, treated that multiple times (which of course didn't work bc it wasn't that), tested for every STD on the planet, eventually got the biopsy done, and the results were "an allergic reaction to something ingested." While the doctor denies the possibility of a birth control allergy, I've been off the pill for 3 months to the day now - lo and behold, 75-80% of itching and swelling is totally gone. I don't carry creams in my purse anymore. THE DOWNSIDE -- I never had much acne until quitting the pill. The itching is GONE but the acne is SO BAD. I have terrible cysts all over my cheeks. It's making me question if the itching may be worth it to get rid of this pizza face :( I'm thinking I may try a new brand to try to alleviate acne and avoid itching.

Have the same thing since starting the pill

This is me exactly...so thankful to lnow what it is!!

I too am on lo loestrin and having the same exact problem for about 4 months. I am so excited to have found this post becuz I thought of so many worse causes!!! Thank you so much for posting your situations...this is extremely helpful. Not taking this pill anymore...

I totally agree! Started birth control and started this same problem as well

Well i personally think its the progetrin in the pills. This has been going on with me for 2 or 3 years off and on. The higher the progetrin gets each week the worse the itch and burning become. The older i get(46) the worse this has gotten. i have been on the same pill for over 25 years with no issues until 3 years ago but now its happening every month.

Did it ever go away for you? I've switched pills in hopes that the itching will go away, but I'm still waiting.

omg thank god im not the only one. My itching started towards the middle of March but it was a very slight itch.. at some point i ended up scratching it and i guess that irritated the skin everywhere. It was like that up until my period and then it slowly went away mid cycle. I was fine for about 2 weeks maybe? Then ALL of a sudden it appeared again T_T. I'm supposed to start my period this upcoming thursday... and im sure itll go away and then come back again next month. Its so unbearable i start getting irritated and then i have to scratch it. Now the skin is raw and sore :/ Might be TMI but my discharge is also kind of yellowish? and someone mentioned small paper like little blobs? Kind of like when you suck on a lollipop for too long and the paper starts getting all nasty. That's exactly what i have! At first i thought it was paper that just got left over and then merged with my discharge but now i dont think so. Another thing.. paper gets stuck very easily :/ never had it be like that before. Its so frustrating T_T My doctor prescribed Fluconazole? Im gonna try that and see if it helps. but i'm starting to think based on these replies that it is infact my BC. I'm on Sprintec and have been on it since January of this year so only a few months. I luckily have Levora prescribed to me so I may try switching to that one. I really enjoy the benefits of having clearer skin and lighter periods but its almost not worth it with all this itching. Ive had a yeast infection before but that always cleared up on its own within a week. Only thing im worried about is switching BC and having even worse side effects. Im just surprised that it took until the 3rd month for my body to react like this to the hormones. it was fine in january and february.. just spotting ... T_T ugh.

I know this is a year old, but I am on lo loestrin, and having the same issues!! I just started 2 weeks ago, and after 3 days I had an itch like no other, and gyno ruled out everything. They should include this side effect!

I don't know if anyone else has explained this, but this is most likely the reason for vaginal itching, sensitivity and dryness, etc. if you are taking a "low dose" pill, i.e. 20 mcg of estrogen or less. When you take BC, the hormones in the pill signal your body's own hormone production (estrogen and progestin) to stop. The hormones in the pill REPLACE your body's hormones. When the amount of estrogen in the pill is low (ESPECIALLY a superlow one like lo loestrin), that is basically the estrogen level in your body, and you get symptoms of lowered estrogen levels, similar to some of the ones women get in perimenopause, such as vaginal dryness, thinning of vaginal tissue and "atrophy" (i know, eek) and sometimes other symptoms like low libido, night sweats etc. It doesn't mean you're actually going through peri menopause, it just means that some of the symptoms of the low estrogen levels that happen at that time might be caused in younger women by the BC pill. Your doctor should know this. If you are plagued by any symptoms of low estrogen, you might want to try a slightly higher dose pill (esp if you are on lo lo) though those have their own risks and too much estrogen can cause side fx too, or even just a different pill. Hope that makes sense.

I am experiencing the EXACT same thing right now! No infections, weird/smelly discharge. It all happened when I switched my birth control to Junel FE 1/20. It is the absolute worst! My hubby and I have been sexually active for over 10 years and are both clean. I'm thinking once these pills are done, I have another set of birth control pills, but not Junel, it's a different brand; Gildess. It never gave me this issue, so I can't wait til this round of pills is done so I can stop with this horrible itching! The only thing that seems to help is Hydrocortisone and Vaseline for moisture. I guess we're all the 3-5% of women who experience vaginal dryness from birth control! What luck! You're not alone! This sucks! =[

Hi there Anon123.. I know this is an older post my issue seems to be a reflection of what yours was. Are your symptoms still gone? I'm on Juleber and have run into constant UTIs, I had BV, etc. since starting this birth control. Now that I'm infection free I burn like crazy on and off everyday and get excessive discharge. I'm wondering g if I should take the route you did and stop my bc.

I'm on marvelon and had itching,burning and swelling for a year now. Iv Been on many meds,antibiotics,creams etc also been to a dermatologist. Lastly I decided to go to a homeopath and stopped the pill. Its two wks now and I already feel a difference. According to the homeopath it could be a hormonal imbalance but imbalance feel it's the pill.

I'm on minastrin too and I have problems itching! I've been to my gyno I twice had 2 std checks neg, tested neg For yeast & BV. And I still itch. Considering switching bc too

I’m on sprintec right now with the same issues and symptoms! May I ask what pill your doctor switched you to?