Vaginal Irritation before and several days after my period

this is true about the tampons i used unscented ones i was on but when i started to use scented ones is when the irritation started...

This just happend to me as well, itching around and almost inside of it...one guess of mine would be your tampons. I just changed my tampons to "kotex" and I think that I might be allergic to them, the itching started during my period and yesterday I finished but I am still itching...try switching your tampon brand, "Brilliant Ph Fresh Tampons" is best by far for me, I'm switching back to it...p.s.--if still itching then stay without panties at home or when you sleep, it helps when the panties are not rubbing to the itching part...

I don't think it is tampons. For many posters, it happens before the period where they are not even wear tampons yet.

The big clue is the brown discharge... That is blood from your uteerus that has stayed trapped up there for too long and has started to decompose slightly. That old blood is very irritating to the vagina and the surrounding tissue. Wash extra well to get rid of it. Don't use soap inside your vagina, or commercial douches, but a finger can help wipe the inner walls clean of that old blood. Carry a few wet naps in your purse for the few days after your period, so if it starts itching you can clean the area. It doesn't take but a tiny amount of that old blood to cause irritation, so even if you can't see it, wash often and well anyway and it shouldn't bother you nearly as much.

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.

Hey there! I have about all of the issues you had! Im only 15 and has never done anything with a guy....I started my period for the first time back in october and had it every month without any issues. But last month I had some discomfort a couple days before then had my period then right after it ended i had discomfort again and have still had it for a week. Its discomforting when I walk and it feels sore down there...its very weird! any ideas on what it is?

Ok, so this is pretty mystifying as an issue, especially given that many of you have been tested and talked to doctors already.

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.

I'm taking the generic form of seasonique (the pill that lasts for three months before I get my period). About 1-2 weeks prior to my period, I start experiencing the irritation (swelling, dryness, small cuts).  The first time it happened, my doctor thought it was an allergic reaction and prescribed an ointment.  The ointment didn't seem to help but the irritation did eventually go away after I had my period.  

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.

A lot of this can be due to changes in vaginal flora with fluctuating hormones before and after your period.  Go to the healthfood store and get a good probiotic (at least 5 billion), and take every day a week before and after your period.  This may help, as it helped me.  I stay on it every day now due to the GI benefits as well. 

I have the same thing and now a week after my period I'm bleeding fresh blood . Why??

I also suffer from this, w/ no Diagnosis, however I too use clobetozol for another reason, and out of desperate measure I used clobetozol and it worked !!

I have the same after my period I get very itchy and sore, I have now narrowed it down to the tampax the string on the tampax is what has been making it happen, I still need a solution to fix the problem any ideas

I have been having the same problem. It just started occurring After i had my daughter about 7 months ago and I thought it was from having her and I am on the ten year IUD. I don't know what to do but I always dread when my periods on its way. It hurts and it's soooooo uncomfortable. Can it have anything to do with birth control? I do have a slight odor when it occurs and it's very embarrassing. My birth control is the para guard

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...

I've found that baby powder helps, this keeps happening to me for the last few months and its quite irritating but my doctor said there's nothing to do about it..