Swollen, burning, red, inflammed vulva & clitoris/hood -

Hello...I have white bumps inside my clitoris and it is white and swollen on the inside of the labia. There is also what resembles a slit/cut on the right inside of the labia that is very sore and burns. What happened with your issues? What did the Dr. say and to use? Thanks!

I'm having a burning in my clitoral region it feels like your feet after you've been walking in tight shoes for miles on the part were it blisters you know the back ,my lips burn too. I'm thirty three my sister told me its my hormones from you get in your thirtys. I need some of those pads they give you in the hospital after you have a baby the ones that are ice pacs. Its excruseating.I thought you were suppose to get horrney at thirty not punished. I'll try that lube thing though. mabe my doctor will give me some numbing cream It hurts so bad .I try to sleep off the pain.I wish they had some cooling cream for the vagina. It would also be good for people who have alot of sex or don't have enough natural lubracation or just want a new sensation. heather shamblin

PUT SAVLON ON IT.... I get all the above symptoms quite frequently, and when I do i smother my labia in savlon (sounds horrible, im sorry) and sleep on it and in the morning it feels fine! Putting a thick little layer of vaseline on there also does the trick for me.

I had the same problems, starting 6 months ago when I also started a sexual relationship with a new man. He was clean for STD's, and so was I, and since he had had a vasectomy, we didn't use condoms.

Look up Interstitial Cystitis.  I am 20 years old and have had this problem since I was 15.  Right before I went to college, I was diagnosed.  By changing my diet and going in for instillations, I have managed to keep it somewhat under control.  I still get flare up if I am not careful with my diet of low acidic foods.  An OBGYN should have more information with this disease.  I was lucky enough to get it caught pretty fast.  For some women, it takes decades! Good luck!

I too have a vulvar problem that began about a year and a half ago.

I am a 65 post menapausal woman who is to say the least, frustrated.!

I went to my OBGYN<>she gave me a Pap Smear, and took two culture.Everything came back negative.

I just dont know what I can do.

I read the article about some toilet papers with bleach, and other things that irritate can be a culprit.

The only thing that relieves this condition, is the topical maximum strength Vagisil. I have to reapply the cream several times per day, when I have this, just like now.

Anyone who can be of help that has gone through this, please email me.?To those ladies who suffer this condition, I feel so bad for you, and myself..

Vulval Vestibulitis probably.....

Try Nizoral tablets, only thing that helped me. Need to get a script from your Dr.

Get an OTC Zinc Oxide cream (usually in the Baby Section of Pharmacy in UK - Boots).. Take internally From UK Holland & Barratt Herbalist Cranberry Capsuals after food, 6 per day. I use a sanitary pad to stop the cream marking my pants. Use a hairdryer on COOL setting to cool down. Turn the heating down and sleep on the side which allows your bottom to get the cool air, it sounds odd/strange but lift nighty up and leave air to freeze you, I sleep like that big mound of duvet to learn on and just a sheet over top half to keep warm. I've suffered this for 2 months, but it seems to be supsiding with these new creams. Ive got it at the back passage too, this apparently is due to Bile from my gallbladder. It all came through Stress and alchohol to relieve the stress!!! Will have to try St. Johns Wort instead.

Bartholin Glands will Sometimes say "Hello"

As stated before, most women go their entire lives without ever realizing that there are two little glands in that area. However the Bartholin Gland can rear its ugly face and make its presence well known. Although unusual, the Bartholin Gland can become irritated or infected, causing extreme swelling and discomfort. Typically if the gland(s) become inflamed and form a cyst, the cyst is not painful, only uncomfortable and more of an annoyance, but often time a cyst leads to infection and the area will become even more inflamed, the surrounding areas will be tender, warm and may throb any firm pressure applied is sure to add to ones discomfort making almost impossible for one to sit down. When this happens, the gland is then referred to as a Bartholin Cyst that has abscessed.

Bartholin Abscess: a Painful experience

If you have ever had the unfortunate chance to experience one of these buggers, then you know all to well just how bothersome and debilitating they can be. In most cases, only one gland is affected at a time, and for some unknown reason can bounce back and forth between glands (For example, the left one is abscessed then heals, a little while later the right one forms a cyst and abscesses). The way Bartholin Cysts form are when for some reason the duct exiting the gland become blocked causing fluid to accumulate, swell and form a cyst. A Bartholin Cyst can lead to an abscess when a formed cyst becomes infected. An infection can occur for multiple reasons such as : bacterial infections, sexually transmitted diseases such as Chlamydia and gonorrhea, and even some bacteria's found in the intestines like E. Coli and it is very common for these abscesses to have one or more of these causing factors.

Symptoms Simplified (Cyst):

·         Swelling of Labia and surrounding tissue

·         Not very much pain associated with it (unless it is large)

Symptoms Simplified (Abscess):

·         Significant pain near labia and vaginal opening

·         Tender to the touch

·         Swollen

·         Reddish skin covering affected area

·         Inability to find any comfy spot

Is it time for the Doctor?

If at any point, you feel that the gland is continuing to swell and grow, and shows no sign of improvement within 3-4 days, then it’s time to go see your doctor or gynecologist. If a lump developed and begins to be painful, this is indicative of an abscess and chances are it will NOT go away on its own, it is infection-infections get worse without medical intervention and the lump needs to be drained. Especially if you are experiences other symptoms as well such as: fever, vomiting, abnormally colored vaginal discharge or abdominal pain (the latter is not a normal symptom) it time to go to the doctor or ER. If you are experiencing extreme pain, and cannot sit down or wear your normal pants get to the doctor immediately.

At Home Prevention:

Yes you can help prevent these nasty buggers from coming back. My experience has shown me that when one comes, several follow in a row, generally sticking to one side, or occasionally bouncing back and forth between the right and left sides. As mentioned before, regular use of a warm bath will help break up any blockage that may exist or be forming. Occasional addition of Epson salt to a bath increases your ability to prevent a blockage from forming, but be careful that you not over do it with the Epsom salt as it has the ability to cause dryness, which will lead to chaffing in the genital area. Keep strong cleansers and body washes away, instead opt for fragrance and dye free soaps that boast gentle cleaning such as Very Private (brand) Body wash available online. If you feel some swelling coming on, get to a hot bath immediately if you can, and if possible create a current by moving your hands to help move water around the affected area. Repeat this up to 5 times a day (each bath lasting 10 minutes). Wear loose fitting pants and non constricting underwear, during sleep wear a simple a t-shirt to bed or very loose bottoms. Make use of heating pads to sooth and bring comfort as well and encourage the gland to expel the buildup of fluids. Drink a lot of water and fruit juices, stay away from dairy products (dairy increases mucus production) to help flush your system. Get plenty of rest to help you body fight the imbalance. If you smoke, try to cut down during this period as it could aggravate the area by increasing the blood flow. Avoid applying pressure to the area, this increases the swelling. For at home pain management, a cold pack (NOT ICE PACK in this region of your body solid ice can act very quickly, damaging the tissues by freezing them), stick to gel packs, or in a desperate pinch take a spoon and place it in the freezer for 15 min, remove, wrap with a paper towel and apply to the surface of the swollen gland until spoon is no longer cold or you have achieved some relief. But be warned to not over do it with the cold treatments, which cause tissue to contract--the opposite of what you want it to do. Heat is your very best friend! Avoid crossing your legs if swelling is severe, and consider sitting on a pillow instead of harder surfaces such as kitchen chairs which can be aggravating.

Yeast Infection symptoms are non-specific to that and could mean something worse like Gonorrhoea...

I have been having this problem since I was 14, randomly one side of my lips will get swollen and it itches/burns when touched. I know it is not an std I have since had a baby and I have been tested for everything and the results were negative. I do not know what causes it all I know is it just randomly happens than goes away. It almost feels like it has been cut but there is no sign of anything like that it just gets swollen. I am now 25 and no I have not went to the doctor I because I have no insurance and the way people have been talking you have to go to numerous doctors to even get a diagnosis that makes since, just wondering if anyone has any insite on what could be the casue.

Hi Ladies, i've just had to diagnose myself and wanted to share my story - i'll be posting this on as many popular boards as I can find, since these types of boards/forums always help me tremendously.  The strange burning, itching irritation started about 4 months ago, I ignored it assuming it would pass on it's own since I had been tested recently and knew it wasn't an STD and I wasn't sleeping with anyone during that period.  The duration and intensity of burning gradually got worse and I started to scratch - only very recently when it became really tough to bear and terrible at night, did I start trying to figure out what was going on.  I figured it out and within 7 days, the symptoms have gone and the skin is visibly healing.  Here's what I recommend:

1) get a mirror and small reading light immediately, become familiar with your vulva (how many of us would not be able to be able to pick our vulvas and clitoris out of a line up?? these are Our private parts, we need to Own them and Know them), we need to own our bodies to be able to take care of them

2) think back on any life changes that coincide with the onset, try to remember what symptoms you've had or haven't had

3) pay close attention to the edges of your irritation, what does it look like? defined white line, raised red merging into normal skin? the edges can tell you alot about the infection

4) armed with your vulva image and symptoms - do some research yourself! even before you head to your doctor so that you can be an informed patient (remember, no one knows our bodies better than we do / or should)

5) there are so many reliable sites that list symptoms and images.  For me - I had no white bumps, or bumps at all, no discharge, no thickened leathery skin,  no odor, no burning when urinating, no oozing from the skin.  These symptoms, and doing a google image search allowed me to rule out a yeast infection, UTI, lichen sclerosus, lichen planar, lichen simplex, psoriasis because the symptoms and progression did not match.

What I Did have was pink irritated skin that looked broken, the skin was bright and shiny, and this shiny irritated skin made a nice oval from the top of my vulva, down the sides/crease of my leg, and down around my anus.  I looked in the mirror closely and also noticed 3 small round patches down near my perineum on the right side.  I remembered my vulva from 2 months ago - there was no distinct skin patch like this and the vulva wasn't so pink.  So it had gotten worse/spread.

What else had I done over the past 2 months? Scratch the area unintentionally like crazy.  I know how my skin responds to bruising so I decided that half of what I was seeing after 4 months was due to My irritating my skin, and it rubbing on panty liners.  Also, I had been eating badly so the area had been quite moist over the past 2 months (discharge whenever I eat white flour - basically increased yeast).  So scratching the wet, tender area May have broken the skin and made it as shiny and tender as it was now - but there was still an underlying cause for the initial irritation right?

Before heading a doctor for a skin biopsy, I decided to stop and think.  I have had similar bad experiences to yours with even the best rated doctors in my area - they don't actually pay attention to our particular case history, and often we don't pay enough attention to tell them.  We also don't speak up enough to ask questions about symptoms and side effects of drugs, and when we do speak up they make us feel that we are being annoying, too demanding and disrespectful.  I knew that I would go to at least 3 doctor visits, because I would be prescribed whatever the popular cream of the month was, which may or may not work, and may make it worse due to the side effects.  Like Clobetasol which is prescribed for lichen sclerosus actually makes your skin thinner over time :s.

So realizing that doctors are just people who guestimate a lot of the time (we've all been there ladies, they really aren't the gods displayed on television) I did my at home research first and matched my symptoms as best as I could, then looked for the least toxic (in my opinion) cures, and decided to try them for just 3 days to see.  If there was no difference, or it worsened then I would head to a doctor armed with allllll of my information, to help them rule out what didn't make sense, have a skin biopsy (just to be sure - it's better than them just eye balling it, if the disease isn't obvious), and start a sensible treatment program.

I was lucky that my symptoms were not ridiculous, but I did self diagnose myself with something super odd based on the edges of the oval, appearance of the 3 small bumps and lack of other symptoms - Female Jock Itch!!!

I looked over all of these boards for solutions that people have used on themselves and kids - I bought Betadine, a pack of walmart brand monistat 7 for the cream, and tea tree oil.  I had to be super careful applying in this sensitive area, I washed with diluted apple cider vinegar, dried off well, applied the betadine to my skin, let that dry, then put the monistat cream over it.  That very first night I didn't itch once and the next morning after I washed with the vinegar, the skin was less shiny, starting to "dry" out to start the healing process (it had gotten very thin from me scratching it when it was moist), the edges were visibly less raised and the 3 small bumps were drying out.  That same morning, I applied tea tree oil - which does burn and feel like your privates are eating a peppermint, but it wasn't bad enough for me to go wash it off.  A few hours later I repeated the Betadine and monistat fungal cream - and kept rotating like this for 1 week.

For those of you who have to deal with this at work, pack your travel kits and hand held mirror in ziploc bags, with wet wipes and bring them with you into the bathroom stall.  Wear boyshort-type cotton underwear to not irritate your skin, or groin creases.  If you do have a discharge, change your liner often.  Get a dollar store pack so you can change them every hour to keep dry if need be - your vulva is worth it. 

I just wanted to stress how important it is that we immediately A) get a mirror and have a look now! and do this every few weeks - sick or not and B) arm ourselves with as much info as we possibly can, because these doctors really are playing a guessing game with our bodies and their prescription chemicals a lot of the time.  Obviously if your case is alarmingly severe then don't wait 3 days to try at home treatments, but if we pay closer attention to ourselves (diet, changes, habits) then we should be able to catch most of these issues before they get horrible.  Good luck ladies! :)

I had a Similiar problem. Pain in my vluva and acute pain on my vestibule. Went doc tons and kept getting yeast infection treatments and antibiotics. Nothing helped. It was horrible. I did research online and found that it might be a muscle tissue problem. I went to a PT who specializes in pelvic floor work. She manually stretched and worked my pelvic floor muscles and stretched the area around my vestibule to work out the lactic acid. It hurt like hell but I got better fast. Now I still do some manual work down there if I feel things getting tight.

Okay, so I'm having the same problem!! Is there any information that you can share with me?