Hi,
For about 6 months I've been having a non stop itch on my vulva. So bad to the point that I wanna cry. I can't stop itching! I've tried everything and seen the doctor too many times where they probably think I'm crazy. At first it was a fungal infection, then a yeast infection and now my gyno sees nothing that's related to the itching. I've been washing my underwear with clean and clear laundry detergent and been careful about soaps but still nothing. I also have hemorrhoids which I think is the cause of the anal itch too but that's just as bad! All day I just want to scratch the hell out of down there. It's quite depressing. I should mention my son did have pinworms at one point but they're now gone. And usually from reading pinworm eggs make it itch but even after I shower (if I had pinworms the eggs would wash away) its still itchy! Please help. I'm desperate for an answer. Holidays are coming up and I just want my normal feeling vagina back!
Your symptoms sound like it could possibly be Lichen schlerosus, an autoimmune condition of the skin treated with steroid ointments (initially and perhaps longer-term depending on seriousness of the condition & response to treatment) - see section on this website. I would advise that you go to your GP asap as, if it is LS, the sooner it's diagnosed, the better. S/he probaby won't know anything about it so specialist dermatologist is needed to confirm dagnosis. Check online for a gynaecological dermatologist somewhere in your area (not many of them either) so you can suggest getting a referral at the visit - you may have to wait a while for an appointment. GP will still go through all the differential diagnosis processes in the meantime but they really need to be told about LS so they can educate themselves on it as well. Even if you don't have LS, we need to raise the GP level of education about the condition so that when someone does come in with it, they will get the advice and treatment needed. Hope it goes well for you 
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Have you seen a dermatologist? You may have a mild contact dermatitis or another vulvar skin condition. Family docs and gynecologists are not very adept at diagnosing it. Hope you're feeling better at this stage!
Thanks for the reply! I feared it could be that but I recently switched gynecologist after my old one looked at me like I was crazy and that nothing was wrong. My new gyno is awesome and working with me to make sure we can find a solution. She ruled lichen sclerosis out so that's a relief. Things have been the same. But these past 2 days a little better. I was on the mini pill for 2 years cuz I'm still breastfeeding. My new gyno informed me that I could have gotten off of that after 6 months! My old one didn't say anything. 🙄 I've had no estrogen in my system that could have been causing the itch. I hope that's the case and will go away soon. Also taking 6 months of yeast infection medication because she found that there was still yeast. Also she said it could be just a itch, scratch cycle?? And as for my hemorrhoids...still bad! Well, wish me luck! Hoping this goes away very very soon!
Thanks for the reply! Hoping it was just low estrogen which can cause the itch. Switched my birth control after 2 years on the mini pill. My old gyno didn't inform me I could do that. So mad. Hoping for better results my next doctors appt in a couple days. If not, I will definitely look into your suggestion! Thanks!
This sounds like my life story for the past month. I don't have any additional advice but I'll be following your story and sharing anything I learn. You are not alone with this. I'm currently on my 3rd different yeast infection treatment.
Sorry you're suffering with this too! So far I've been ok...which for me is like the best thing in the world being able to actually enjoy my christmas. If I started to scratch it would still become very itchy so I've been dealing with a low level itch. Before..I would either itch and it would have this horrible poking feeling that wouldn't go away...like someone was poking me with needles and the only way to relieve that feeling was to scratch one scratch. Not sure if that makes sense but now I'm doing a lot better. Not sure if it's the flucanazole that's working or the estrogen I'm getting from my new birth control but I'm thankful that it's subsided. Now just hoping for full recovery! Also, my hemorrhoids are still itchy 😩 that hasn't gone away.
Hello, aja93431! I have exactly the same condition for 3 years now. Been to 4 ob-gyne and 1 derma. I also took flucanozole but 2 weeks after taking it, it came back! 😫😭 I also have allergic reaction to daktarin (miconazole) cream and nizoral (ketoconazole) cream, which are both antifungal cream. I cant forget that night when I applied Daktarin cream, it was terribly itchy and didnt make me sleep. I was also crying. Sometimes I already feel helpless.. 😞 But, recently I consulted a dermatologist, she checked my labia majora and anus, and her findings was contact dermatitis.It is possible that i have allergies to some detergents, that caused me to have dermatitis. So she gave me this cleansing solution that is soap-free. Felt good. however, she advised me to apply betamethasone cream... First and 2nd day, it was fine. On the 3rd day, it was already itchy. My labia majora became saggy and swollen. So I stopped. I still need to see her again this weekend. But, I also did some experiment recently before I consulted this dermatologist, I stopped using feminine wash like lactacyd, which was prescribed by my current OB. I wash after I pee using plain water. Thank God, the itch lessened. Only that, at night when I arrive home, thats the time i itch so badly and scratch it so hard. I hope you are feeling better now. But, I do more hope, that yours had been cured already. Hope to hear from you soon. Thank you!
Hello ladies,
I have been driving myself crazy for three months with ongoing genital irritation. It started in my vulva, then moved to the anal area, then it was in both. I first went to my primary care where they said it was a yeast infection and they sent me home with Nystatin powder. It helped for a bit but the irritation came back, and I also found out my yeast test came back negative so it wasn’t a yeast infection anyway.
Next I went to my gyno and got every STD test under the sun. All of it came back negative. At this point, the irritation was so bad I was losing my mind. I had never had anything like this issue until now and I hadn’t done anything different with my body so there was no explanation why it just popped up suddenly. The whole vulvar and anal area was red, raw, itchy, swollen, and sometimes I would see just the tiniest drops of blood after wiping. I changed everything: my soaps, detergent, diet and all that. My gyno gave me a steroid cream. It helped with the symptoms but did not cure anything. As soon as the cream was off, the irritation was just as bad.
I went to 2 different gynos trying to figure out this issue. I convinced myself it was cancer, lichen sclerosis, and every other vulvar disease I could find online. My 2nd gyno said she just didn’t see anything wrong and told me to keep using the steroid cream like the other gyno suggested. This is after I have changed my creams twice, had the powder, and been told to get over the counter hemorrhoid ointment even though I didn’t have hemorrhoids. I had done full blood work and everything was clear.
Finally I decided to just go to a dermatologist. And after two weeks of doing what she told me, I am finally starting to feel like it’s healing. She did give me another steroid ointment, but it’s more of a gel and not a cream like the others were. But her main suggestion for treatment was using regular baby diaper rash cream after every single visit to the bathroom. She mentioned AD ointment and Butt Paste. I used AD for a while but I think the Butt Paste is what truly is healing it. It’s a harder consistency to deal with but it seems to be getting the job done. She also said do not wash the area with anything but cold water. She also said to not even worry about scrubbing it that vigorously, because the area is supposed to have bacteria anyway and a simple rinse is good enough.
She also told me that this type of irritation is super common and that 9/10 times it is not something serious. I hope this helps someone. For the first time in months, I am feeling normal again. And I wanted to share because I have been frantically googling my symptoms and hoping for an answer like many of you for too long!
Hi i have been having irritation down there for ten years. Been treated for yeast infection and bacteria infection over the years . My last few paps have been negative for everything. Like you my blood work is negative for everything. I've been googling like crazy trying to figure this out. Any suggestions?
Have you been to a dermatologist? They will probably ask if you have had an STD screening first. But if you have and everything is negative, the Butt Paste has been working well for me. I think it’s finally starting to get better. She did give me a steroid gel to use twice a day, but the butt paste is the main treatment. I also have stopped using soap in the area, only cold water. I think it’s getting a lot better, and now I’m only using the steroid once a day.
I have been having this issue for about 4 months now and I have been going crazy until about two weeks ago. It started changing for me when I added in the diaper rash treatment. I wish I had gone to a dermatologist right away, but like many I assumed my gyno would have been the best choice. I have a great gyno too but really it came down to a simple skin irritation that was probably causing me more harm mentally than physically. You should definitely go see a dermatologist if you have not already. I would suggest finding one who has experience with identifying common vulvar issues and diseases. Not saying it’s a disease though! Just get to a good doc who will listen to you and take it one step at a time.
Did you ever get an actual diagnosis? I've been ecperiencing this for 2 weeks and I'm miserable. Doctor couldn't seem less concerned. It happened right after sex w my new boyfriend, but we both tested and everything is negative. It looked red for several days, but that's gone. It just feels itchy and burns so bad. From the vulva all the way around to the anus. NOTHING helps. I'm so scared.
After a year of dealing with this issue, I discovered this was the result of a severe reaction to maltodextrin and dextrose. Cut it out of your diet and see if that helps. It was in my coffee creamer so I was ingesting it daily.
I have not received an official diagnosis yet. The butt paste was helping but it got worse again. I switched to A&D ointment and that seems to help the symptoms tremendously, the burning and itching. I put it on every time I go to the bathroom and immediately after showering. I would suggest to try using that religiously if even just for temporary relief.
I just had my second biopsy yesterday. The first biopsy said possibly condlyoma, which is the strain of HPV that can cause genital warts. They do not test for HPV during STD screenings, so you wouldn’t necessarily know that you had it even if you did. The only time to be concerned about having HPV is if you have an abnormal pap, and even then, if it’s detected early it has a very high success rate of getting back to normal. So just get a pap every year and dont worry about it otherwise. I only include that because if you start googling HPV, you can freak yourself out.
My dermatologist does not feel that my symptoms are at all in line with HPV, so we did the second biopsy and are sending it to a new pathologist. She mentioned it could possibly be lichen planus, but even then, I’ve been looked at numerous times by multiple doctors and everyone has said the area looks normal. So I’m confused.
It’s now my 6th month dealing with it. I have been to the doctor more times in these months than I have in my whole life. I hope if we figure it out that it will help someone here who is also struggling to find an answer.
Thanks for your reply. I did also get pap back, showed abnormal cells, hpv, not the genital warts kind. I ended up having such severe pain yesterday, I went to the emergency room. Doctor said I was severely inflamed, inside and out. Could be a bacteria, but he didn't see an actual infection. I'm stl a terrified mess. I have a follow up with a new doctor tomorrow. I've spent a fortune at the doctor, missed time from work. This is an awful way to live!
I’m so sorry! I know how awful this is! Have you tried seeing an allergist? My entire ordeal was an allergy! Apparently this is the way some people react to an allergen. I had a colonoscopy and an entire section of my rectum was inflamed. Now that I have cut out the 2 chemicals (which are found in half of all processed foods) I am 100% normal again!!
No, I haven't. I already tend to avoid those chemicals. I do have chemical/ food sensitivities. It's a great suggestion. I have been doing the ketogenic diet as well, kind of wondering if that threw off something??
Oh my goodness, I am so sorry to hear that. I do hope you find some relief very soon. You’re absolutely right, it takes much enjoyment out of the day to day. I wonder why some of these genital inflammation issues are still such a mystery.
I would be surprised if the inflammation is related to your HPV. I have been told that the types of HPV that cause abnormal cells is usually asymptomatic. I’d be curious to know if they peg it to that.
I did actually reach out to an allergist yesterday to talk about what they do for cases like mine. She said they can test for an allergy to literally anything, even your partner’s semen if you’re sexually active. I’m waiting on my second biopsy results before I reach out to schedule that. I hadn’t changed anything in my life that I can recall when all this started, so I’d be surprised if it was truly an allergy. But she did say that they have been able to help many women who have had unexplained genital irritation.
I've heard that about even the seman causing an allergy! I hope something is figured out soon. I keep googling and that stresses me out. It's absolutely miserable! The two different areas being affected is odd too. They tell me yeast is negative!
I've had the same problem for 3 or 4 years. My first thought was that I had gotten jock itch from having a bout of athlete's foot. I tried treating it with jock itch medicine, but it didn't help. I mentioned it when I had my pap test & the PA tending me took a scraping that nearly sent me through the ceiling! I'm sure the people in the waiting area wondered what the screaming was all about! Two years later I went to a different doctor (his PA) & she said she could see irritation. She requested lab work for any bacteria that didn't belong & any possible fungus. Nothing. She had said it may be necessary to do a biopsy if the lab tests don't show anything, & they didn't. It's been HORRIBLE the past couple of weeks, but now I don't have any insurance & can't afford to go to the doctor again. Please let us know what your biopsy shows & if you find anything that works.
I recently read about taking diatomaceous earth daily for all kinds of stuff & am considering trying that.