When you experience itching or burning in the vulva, it is always good to talk to your doctor. They can help run tests to find the cause.
It’s important to find out what is causing your vaginal pain, as it could be caused by many different reasons. Some of the most common causes include: 1. Yeast infection.
1. Yeast Infection
A fungus called candida (pronounced can-di-un) lives in small amounts throughout your body, including the mouth, digestive tract and vagina. Normally, good bacteria keep candida under control, but an infection can change this balance and allow yeast to overgrow. Symptoms include itching of the vulva or vagina and a whitish or clumpy discharge that resembles cottage cheese.
Yeast infections are more common in women than men and can affect people of all ages, races and sexual orientations. They can also happen if the vaginal microbiome changes, which is often the case when you have a new partner.
Your doctor will check for a yeast infection by asking about your recent symptoms, how long you’ve had them and what you’ve been using in your vagina. She might also ask to swab your vulva or vaginal area and examine it under a microscope.
You’ll most likely need medication to treat a yeast infection, which your health care provider may prescribe in the form of a pill or a cream, tablet or suppository that you put in your vagina. Yeast infections usually go away within a few days after starting treatment. But if your symptoms are chronic or severe, your doctor might need to do other tests to find out what’s causing them.
2. Lichen Sclerosis
Lichen sclerosus is a chronic skin condition that can affect your genital area (vulva, anus or penis). It causes patchy, thin, discolored and irritated skin. It can be painful and uncomfortable. Blisters and sores may develop, especially if you keep scratching to relieve itching. Often it appears in the skin around your genitals and anus, but it can occur on other parts of the body as well. It increases your risk of a type of skin cancer called squamous cell carcinoma. It can also cause permanent changes to the way your vulva looks, and it can lead to problems when you go to the bathroom or have sex.
It’s not clear what causes lichen sclerosus, but it seems to be an autoimmune disease. This means your immune system mistakenly attacks the healthy tissue of your vulva and anal area. It can happen at any age, but it’s more common in postmenopausal women. It’s not contagious and it can’t be spread by sexual contact.
It’s important to talk with your healthcare provider if you have this condition. It’s possible to treat the symptoms with a medicated ointment, and it can help prevent complications. If you don’t get treatment, the rash may progress and change the look of your vulva or anus. For example, the clitoral hood may become tight or shrink and cover the vulva’s opening, or the outer and inner lips of the vulva can fuse together and stick to each other. This can make it hard to urinate, have sex or get an erection.
3. Injury
Your clitoris (or clitoral hood) is the most sensitive part of your vulva. It has 8,000 nerve endings and is designed to stimulate sexual response in the rest of your body. This is why it can feel so sensitive when touched or stimulated inappropriately. It can be triggered by touch with your tongue, fingers or a sex toy, and it’s also the most sensitive area during vaginal penetration.
If your clitoral hood feels painful or sore, it’s worth visiting a GP to see if there’s any reason for the pain. Your GP will take a full history and exam of your vulva to see what’s causing the issue.
It’s important to visit a GP as your symptoms may be serious. The pain could be an indication of a sexually transmitted infection or a more severe condition, like lichen sclerosis or vulvar cancer.
Women with a sensitive vulva can be treated using a combination of approaches, such as pelvic floor physiotherapy to learn how to release overactive pelvic muscles. Alternatively, cognitive behavioural therapy can help with the impact of vulvodynia on your emotional wellbeing. Psychosexual counselling can also be helpful if you’re finding it difficult to enjoy intimate moments with your partner.
4. Allergies
The tissue that makes up the vulva is incredibly strong, capable of stretching and accommodating penises and toys, experiencing incredible pleasure, giving birth to babies (and more), and it can also experience some pretty intense allergic reactions. “It’s important to know that just like your skin and throat can be allergic to food, air, clothing, or sperm, so can the vulva,” Dr Kroker tells POPSUGAR.
In some cases, itching in the vulva is actually an allergic reaction. For example, it’s common for women to develop allergies to pads or pantyliners that are made of materials like synthetic fibres or scented chemicals. This is why it’s so important to always choose the safest option – 100% cotton, preferably white underwear.
Even inhaling things like perfume or cologne, chlorine from swimming pools or hot tubs, or the dye that is used in black clothing, including leggings/yoga pants, jeans, bodysuits, athleisure, and underwear, to name a few, can be a trigger for itching and irritation around the vulva. This is because these items absorb sweat and transfer the dye compound directly to the vagina.
Many women suffer from itching and discharge in the vulva as a result of these allergies. However, because itching and redness down there are similar to symptoms of infections and STIs the condition is often underdiagnosed. This means that a woman may be rushed to her gynecologist and given antifungals or antibiotics when it could be simply a case of allergies.
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