Splits above clitorus

Women's health
1

hi guys, 

I have had pretty constant slits around my bum for the past month, they've healed. I have had one open split above my clitorus in the crease of skin for about a week and have been using dumovate and epederm but I started getting a bit itchy again yesterday and have just seen that there is another tiny slit next to it .. I just feel exasperated and want it to go away.

I had sex with my boyfriend on Saturday night and am wondering if this new slit/sore is because I did that. I have also started running and I'm wondering if the sweat and motion can be making me worse?

I just want to know that other people get these sores and slits during their flare ups? I was completely paranoid about my LS being herpes for around a year and even though doctors have told me I have LS, not herpes, it still gives me great anxiety and stress which from these forums I undestand can make it worse anyway. 

I keep seeing people refer to their flare ups - does this mean slits and sores or White patches? 

I am only 21 and in need of some wisdom and reassurance.

I would be so grateful for any replies.

xxx

2

Hi my LS started to get really bad when I was running I chose to stop however you could use a really good barrier cream to keep the sweat off and see if that helps. I do get little abrasions like carpet burns on my flare ups they usually clear after 2 weeks and I can get these after sex even if I'm doing quite well at the time I also feel very bruised after sex which is something I never used to get before LS. Up to now I have no white patches I had my LS diagnosed by biopsy due to  being very sore and itchy it took about a year if different treatments before they did biopsy. I'm still learning about my LS I have never looked at my downstairs so much and in still confused sometimes you are not alone x

3

This is great Justine thank you. I will try the barrier cream whilst running. Obviously I am sorry you get the sores but it's nice to hear I'm not the only one. I'm the same, I dread going to the toilet because I always leave feeling so upset after looking down below. Thanks for your advice and good luck with yours xxx

4

Oh Jade i have just written to you a long helpful reply and deleted it! So i will start again

First i am so sorry to hear you are so young with this rotten conditon.

Herpes like cold sores have blisters- the white patches in LS are not blisters.LS is NOT catching.It is treated with strong steroids a pea sized amount as prescribed on the mucous membrane of the vulva - NOT into the vagina.

It is worthwhile understanding the anatomy and terminology of the area. I find tho talking about the" undercarriage" removes any embarrassment when talking to friends.

Visit the lecture by Dr Goldstein:-

https://patient.info/forums/discuss/dr-goldstein-lecture-271556 who explains a lot you will want to know

Flare ups are caused by many things- different for each of us Stress, some food stuffs, irritation, rubbing of clothes, tight clothes, infections, sex - esp if the partner is too enthusiastic, getting into bleached clothing, blood, urine,body fluids on the skin. using soaps and smellies in the bath All sorts of reasons

The flare up can be a burning sensation, itching soreness, white plaques,(patches) splits, tears - fissures- over growth of skin, the absorbtion of the labia - inner lips of the vulva -

Not everyone has all or even some of these symptons- everyone is diferent. It is worthwhile to look at yourself regularly and understand what you are looking at and note any changes - some people take photographs - i would say do so on a camera NOT a phone - too dangerous re hacking- to watch for changes in your condition

So drink a lot of water - it dilutes the urine, keep urine off the skin - all body fluids in fact- so use a barrier ointment. Use a non soap emollient to wash with apply your steroid wait for a while - an hour is a Good length of time then apply your moisturiser - important to keep the skin supple -then the barrier I use the moisturiser as a barrier but not all moisturisers will work well. Keep  a small spray bottle of water with you  to rinse off aftr a pee and a small bottle of your other stuff  so you can apply it when away from home. Try and keep blood off the skin too Go commando

It may take a few weeks to get  back to non itching - it may take longer  - or less time. THE most important thing is MANAGE YOUR STRESS, keep it under control- meditate- paint draw knit sing ANYTHING- running is good as it would appear that all of us on this site have a level of stress that may contribute to our conditon Laugh as much as you can have as much fun as you can - dont drink a lot of alcohol - there is far too much sugar in it and sugar is a common cause of flare ups

Keep smiling and enjoy being young - talk to a close friend or relative  you will go thro periods when a hug is needed. Best wishes 

Sue

  

5

Hi Jade, although I'm old now, I was having these problems when I was your age. I put up with tears and soreness during and after sex for decades. I fought with my sex-mad husband for years over my holding back when it was too painful. I don't think he really believed anything was wrong down below. Having a diagnosis is such a help. Our partners can look up LS online and  if nothing else, the shock of the photos should make them a bit less eager.

This time around I've finally made the connection between sex and flares. If you're already raw, torn, with white patches, the friction and bodily fluids of sex will make it worse. In me it also causes yeast infections. Justine's confirmed that the sweat and friction of running are also irritating these fragile areas of skin.

The reassurance I can offer is that LS does go into remission. It happened to me for years at a time and I wasn't doing any of the sensible things we know about here. I think I have the slowest-moving kind of LS. We've had a few young women on here who clearly have a very aggressive form. Only your doctor can tell what kind you have. The worst that can happen if you throw caution to the wind is atrophy – everything gradually tightens up and flattens out. During perimenopause – my late forties – my clitoral hood covered my clitoris and made it not very sensitive. Most of that kind of disfigurement is irreversible. Maybe if i'd known more I could have avoided that.

The best news is that your generation has a good chance of benefitting from the experimental treatments that are being tested now. Stem cell and platelet injections are being tried on LS patients in a handful of places. These treatments were developed for bad scarring, which is kind of what LS is. They have not been refined or proven effextive yet. So you should keep your ear to the ground for developments.

I don't want to be discouraging, but it's really worth taking the best care of your undercarriage.

6

Sue, 

Thank you ever so much for such a lengthy and helpful reply. I am thinking sugar is contributing to it being worse. Im thinking of starting a diary of flare ups.

I guess my paranoir about herpes is because I don't get the white patches I just get the tears and sores and sometimes they begin as a little bump. My doctor has told me this is just irritation but I just worry myself sick.

I find my clitorus can sometimes get a little tear in, becomes purple and can be extremely sensitive and painful - is this something normal with LS?

Thank you again

Jade xx

7

Hi there,

As I said to Sue above - thank you for sending such a lengthy and considerate reply. I am going to take your advice and advise my boyfriend to have a read up - he is also a bit sex mad and whilst he understands I don't think he properly does.

Thank you so much again for all your advice

xx

8

For me the use of soaps and creams , with the exception of the steroid cream which I have to use occasionally, is problematical.  In fact, I have had to stop using soaps even in the bath because my whole body is now alive with irritation and soaps exacerbate this.  Clean water, occasional simple soap in the bath, dry off and keep dry, using clear water after urination (before I knew all this I lost my labia and the urine goes all over, as a result) and again dry.  This works for me.

9

Yes, there's a passing 'intellectual' understanding and then there's really getting it. So far it's been in his interest not to get it. My guy (we've been together less than four years and had to give up sex a year ago) really gets it now. He's mentioned looking LS up online a few times and has a pen pal who's very old – he wonders if she has it. I think the main reason he gets it is he noticed on his own that I was wincing and rushing things in bed. But he's been with a number of women and is tuned in due to this maturity. He has a number of pretty bad work-related old aches and pains, but he thinks what I have is far worse than anything he's had to endure.

That tear by your clitoris sounds really sore. It also sounds typical of LS.

The diary of flares is a great idea. You might write down any significant things you eat. Avoiding sugar is the best thing you can try – the craving does let up quite quickly, it's a cycle.

10

The clitoris is the females' penis - it is the rudimentary form that has a huge number of nerve endings in it - like the male penis, when swollen and inflamed it can get VERY sensitive and painful and sometimes makes one feel "ready for sex NOW!" -all the time!  

So it is reasonable to assume that a flare up affecting the clitoris willl be painful.

Do NOT WORRY- worry is stressful - AVOID stress as much as you can

- when having sex do make sure you are protected- or he is - then the issue of STD's is lessened - if necessary explain to him that it is important not to have ANY body fluids on your undercarriage, and even if you have been on the pill then you have a good reason to keep from any likilhood of acquiring as STD

The  Herpes simplex virus ( like the cold sore) will remain in the nerve path it affected initially and can reoccur when the conditions are right, and thus when having a cold sore it is important  to wash hands and not infect yourself with the virus, obviously  oral sex  with someone with a cold sore is Not A Good Thing! - for EITHER of you!

I think your idea of keeping a diary is a really good one. I would keep it daily charting food and drink - and possibly moods as well - then you may be able to see a pattern emerging

Put your steroid on to those parts that are most vulnerable to taring

Good luch  take care

Sue

11

No you are NOT old - 60 is the new 40's! Keep as young as you are!

 

12

I can't use any form of soap, hence if necessary I use an emollient- like aqueous ointment - or what i am now prescribed - Diprobase-  that I use as a "soap" everywhere - it is one of The best moisturisers I have ever had - my face is so much happier these days too.

How long have you had LS? Before i came across this site i hadnt realised how many women have lost their labia too. I was so unhappy when i watched what was happening to my body

You say you have whole body irritation - that must be so dreadful - i feel for you

13

Yep, tears and purpleness are definitely normal symptoms of LS. I will also sometinmes get little bumps (some are just bumps others are like pimply things or boils). The tears I get are usually in the cracks of the folds but sometimes are right on the clitoral hood or other places. I have even had tears just inside the vagina. Some times the white patches are there, other times (usually after using Clobetasol) the white patches aren't there (or are hardly noticable unless you really look) but the tears and purpleness (kind of like a broken blood vessel, or a blood blister , or a tiny bruise) can still be there even if the white/grey patches aren't. 

 

14

Pixie thank you so much for this. I get these bumps and pimples - just been desperate to meet someone else who suffers with these and these tears. I have been in councelling this week for this obsession with my lichen sclerosis being herpes so reading this post really relaxes me. Thank you for sharing xx

15

Ha! I didn't see this last week. I know, but to twenty-somethings we're old.

16

I have just been disgnosed with LS. I suffered for months and was told it was a yeast infection. I too worried and still worry its herpes even though i have been told by 4 health professionals its not. i have had a sawb test that came back as negative but i still suffer from anxiety. When you read the symptoms of LS they dont mention the bumps, To make mysefl feel better i keep reading this post over and over because its reassuring that im not the only one who has had these bumps. 

17

I've been getting bumps and pimples for over forty years. I actually had a diagnosis of Herpes Simplex II in 1972 – I the doctor was wrong, I think it was LS. I've never had herpes again.

We just have crappy skin  – it's vulnerable to yeast (you likely did have a yeast infection as well as LS) and bacterial infections.

18

Hillary, it is also so nice and reassuring for me to see this post from you, we sound exactly the same. i get extremely anxious and upset about it all. I would be happy to exchange emails with you if you ever need someone to talk to because my obsession with herpes has been affecting me for over a year and it may help the both of us to talk to another person with the same issues! Xx

19

thank you so much for this, so reassuring to know that they're common symptoms xxx

20

Hi jade. Exchanging emails would be great. 

Mine is: hillary_84@hotmail.come