You could see that brown blood come and go for the next several years as your body finishes the adjustments of puberty. Many women get it off and on their whole lives. Still happens to my wife at age 45 once or twice a year. It won't harm anything, it's just a pain.
First of all, consider any antibiotics you've been taking or have taken recently. Antibiotics kill good and bad bacteria and can also alter the ph in your vagina as well as your intestines, which can lead to an overproduction of various types of bacteria (if the ph is just right they can flourish). This is often the cause of candidiasis (yeast).
Second, the postulations about irritants sitting on the skin are a good thought. Sometimes you can be allergic to pads, tampons, fragrances, toilet paper, laundry detergent, types of cloth, your own blood, etc. Mostly what I've found in my research however, is that irritation caused by an imbalance in bacteria is caused by the discharge coming into contact with oxygen. So when it exits your vagina and sits on the skin immediately outside (the vulva), it causes itch.
Yeast, if it's not in your whole body, can be taken care of either by trying the OTC meds (which I have not found to be very effective), or trying some natural antimicrobials/antifungals. My best suggestion is garlic suppositories. You can make a little drawstring bag with some old underwear and floss to put a peeled garlic bulb in. In order to change the intensity of the dosage, just make little cuts on the skin of the garlic with your fingernail. Works great, except you can taste it. So you might want to do it just at night so it's not so intense.
For BV, that requires some help from the doctor, maybe an antibiotic like clindamycin or flagyl. Often accompanied with a strong fishy odor that is more pronounced after sex or after washing with soap. This isn't an STD but you and your partner can trade it back and forth...unfortunately, the woman is the only one who suffers.
There's also Cytolitic Vaginosis, which is an overproduction of the good bacteria, called lactobaccilli. This happens usually when your ph becomes too basic I think. So that might also require an antibiotic or a diet change. It usually smells sweet like yeast, but not like bread. Just sweet, and discharge is white.
Vaginal atrophy and dryness are associated with hormone imbalance and you will have to talk to your gyno about it. It is usually the case if you know you're dry ( like when you have sex and need lubricant more than usual). THe dryness and the stretching of the skin usually causes little cuts to form on the sensitive skin, which can sting and burn if discharge and other things come into contact with them. I had to take some estrogen suppositories when I had this happen to me lol
Chlamydia and gonnorhea are very common for women between 16 and 25 but generally if you get tested negative, that's not your problem. They usually cause burning when you pee and irritation with discharge, but can also occur with little to no symptoms.
Herpes outbreaks cause a "tightness" and itch and tingling before they cause a sore. These pre-sore symptoms are called the prodrome. An outbreak like this can also cause flu-ish symptoms like achiness, fever, sore throat, etc. But if you have some kind of sore, that's pretty obvious, and you'll probably need to talk to a doctor. Not all sores are STDs though, sometimes it can be folliculitis, which is just basically bacteria that gets into an ingrown hair follicle. Those sores can be huge, so you won't know until you get looked at.
As for this particular post, I am at a loss, because I've been having a similar problem. I thought it might be PID because I had abdomnial pain right before I got itchy and started feeling like c**p. PID is pretty serious because it's when bacterial infections like Chlamydia or whatever move up into your reproductive organs instead of just infecting the cervix.
I've been trying the garlic even though I know it's not yeast, and trying to take some immune boosters to try to kick my body in gear, but that's about all I've got.
I don't like using the monistat creams and sh*t for itch, because in my opinion they don't work at all. Best bet is to use plain yogurt and cold compress to relieve irritation, and for the love of god don't scratch. Such sensitive skin can be easily damaged and be more irritated that way. Make sure not to wash with soap either, just use warm water. That avoids any possible irritation as a result of soap. Hopefully some kind of answer will be developed because vaginitis is a very mysterious issue and not a lot of people understand how it works.
The exact same pattern has now happened multiple times so I started thinking that maybe it had something to do with the hormone levels of the pills. I originally thought that the irritation would go away when I started a new pack of pills. I did some research and found out that ALL of the seasonique pills have the exact same amount of hormone besides the final seven placebo pills. Since the problem isn't going away bc I start a new pack of pills, I believe the problem is going away because I had my period.
Girls, I think the key to solving this problem or reducing the amount of time you experience this irritation... is to force having your period. I asked my doctor if it would be ok to start taking the placebo pills as soon as I experience the irritation. She said to be careful with this because if you mess with the pills incorrectly, you can get PREGNANT. For me, she said that as long as I have taken at least 21 consecutive hormone pills, It should be ok for me to move onto the placebo pills. I'm trying this now, and it seems to be working. So it may be worth asking your doctor about.
i have this problem as well, i was shocked to see how many women have this problem, i felt awkward even typing it in, i jst got very desperate to get rid of it, ive tried everything, i am very clean i get checked all the time, after periods i get dry, irritation, my area swells and turns red, ive tried wet pads, the lose panties may help, i often cause friction and it gets worse, i have never had a yeast infection, this is the outer part that gets irritated. i do not use tampons. Im not sure why this happens.. it did not occur when i first started my period. mine is only after menstrual cycle. it usually lasts untill i ovulate. but this did not start untill i had a miscarriage. i do not have discharge. i cant even have light discharge when aroused and before the miscarriage i was developing light discharge too often, so im not sure what to do, other than wait out out the few weeks. i take bubble baths and try to keep dampness around the area, cold substances also help. i feel so stupid but its the only thing ive found for relief.
I have never been more happy to find a thread in my life. I think I've itched before and after my period for quite a few years (put it this way, I can't remember when it started), but put it down to what my mum used to say when I was a kid, which was not wiping properly (and did the classic thing my mum used to do, which is put Sudocrem down there). But in the past year or so I've noticed it get so much worse. Then I made the connection to it being around my period. And then I realised Sudocrem didn't really help. So I use Vagisil - but that is hit and miss if it works or not. I was a virgin when this started, and it's not the vagina itself, but the surrounding areas and vulva that itch. I've never used tampons either, it's always been pads. What that user posted about the "brown blood" though seems like a good response to me... it certainly starts with that! Definitely think the time has come to see a doctor though - although from reading this thread, that might not do me a lot of good. Always felt too nervous about letting a doctor see my "bits" though - but I suppose they see it all the time...