Good afternoon.


On 2/7, I was diagnosed with cellulitus after my clitoral hood was swollen for three days. The ER doctor said that it most likely occured due to bacteria entering damaged skin as a result of shaving my vulva. I was put on sulfamethoxazoletmp (generic Bactrim) for seven days, which resolved the swelling issue, but the area was still sensitive and being irritated by the regrowing hair. I kept it protected either with toilet paper or gauze.


On 2/26, my boyfriend and I had intercourse (condom) and oral sex. While he was performing oral sex on me, he accidentally rubbed his facial hair stubble against my clitoral hood. We continued on with our activities, showered, and went to bed, but the next morning, I noticed that the area he had rubbed against with his stubble was inflammed and had a few scratches. I went to my GYN later in the morning to follow up regarding the previous skin infection, and told her about what had happened last night. She told me irritation from stubble & vigorous activity is common, and not to worry about it.


I made the mistake of masturbating in the shower on Sunday morning, causing the clitoral hood to become more inflammed. The skin is puffy and sometimes leaks clear/light yellow tinged "fluid," but there are no sores or open areas. It's not painful, and feels more awkward than anything else. Like with the last time, there isn't any vaginal discharge or odor. I feel completely normal otherwise, but I am on the second day of my period.


I am noticing some differences between the two instances; this time, only the hood is swollen (versus the vulva and hood), and is much less swollen than last time. There isn't any pain upon pressing down, and the area isn't hot or red. I will visit the GYN again if this doesn't resolve itself by Friday, but is there anything that I can do in the mean time to hopefully reduce the swelling? I've been trying the 20 minute on and off ice pack method, which temporarily reduces the swelling. I have applied neosporine alternatelly with Benadryl cream, and keep the area covered with a sheet of gauze. Gently washing with a gauze pad, luke warm water and mild soap as hot water seems to do more harm than good irritation wise. Is it possible that this is another skin infection, or did we just go a bit too hard with the oral? Thank you!