Vag issues !

[Roses10101]

Hi everyone

I’ve been having issues with my vag for years now and it’s really starting to get me down. I have been diagnosed with vulva dermatitis but I’m not convinced are the steriod cream doesn’t seem to be helping. It may help a little bit but not for long… I have seen specialists at the sexual health clinic and I have also paid ALOT of money to see a top sexual health doctor who also said it was dermatitis.

It comes and goes in the same area all the time the inside labia on the right side near the clit. I think they are the inner labia? Basically the lips with no hair on lol!

The specialists have said it is red down there but there are no lesions sores or anything. It feels insanely itchy and sometimes burny. I’ve looked with a torch and it looks a bit red but that’s it. Sometimes when it’s bad both the inner labias go huge and swollen. It seems to be worse after my period.

I’m on a stronger steriod that I thought was working but I’ve just came off my period and bam
It’s back ! Seems to also be worse at night.

I don’t wash with any soaps, I use organic cotton sanitary towels I wear cotton underwear and actually avoid wearing underwear when I can. I wash clothes in non bio an I also wash with emollient as advised by the specialist. Tried everything but this still happens.

I do suffer with Recurring BV but have been told by doctor these issues are not thrush or BV related.

She said it maybe lechen selerous but isn’t presenting as ‘typical’ in her words

Cos of the area that it is in and the skin being so sensitive near the clit It’s hard to itch it as it can get sore sometimes I have to kinda close my
Legs together to Itch it

Anyone have any experiences with this??

I had issues like this for a few months, tried absolutely everything, was in complete misery & starting to worry about something more sinister. Finally got in to see a good doctor and she basically said that I was suffering from an extremely bad form of thrush and with the constant itching, i was effectively just spreading it around the different areas of my vagina from my fingers. She gave me the strongest antibiotics and told me to wear white cotton underwear only as the dyes in other cotton underwear can set it off.

It cleared up within a month and fingers crossed I’ve not had it since.

I feel your pain x

It sounds bloody horrible! I had thrush recently after antibiotics and I scratched myself so much that the whole area felt bruised for days. Have you looked at diet? Trying to eliminate foods that create more yeast might help?

It is definitely not thrush I’ve been tested for thrush numerous times and has always come back negative. Its also been going on for years on and off now 3 different specialists have all said dermatitis but the sterioda don’t really seem to work so I have no idea ! It’s getting me down

I had this when I had an IUD. It got better when I had it removed. I don't suppose you have one by any chance?

@Northernsoullover I don’t have one no not on any contraception. I was on the implant years ago for 4 years and weirdly all these issues started when I had it removed.

Another thing they found was an off the scale colony of GBS (well, it was high, maybe off the scale is exaggerated) I'm sure I found a link between the two. Have you been tested for GBS? I don't think it is routine.

@Northernsoullover I’m not sure what GBS is ? Just managed to get an appointment to see someone this afternoon they examined me and found nothing. So confused as it definitely feels like something ??

Group B strep

Have you been tested for type 2 diabetes?

Also, how long have you been using steroid cream. Long term use can actually cause itching and redness, look up Red Skin Syndrome.

Sounds weird but have you tried giving up sugar and wheat and eating plenty of prebiotic foods?
So many women I see have found their diet impacts on their vaginal health. It's worth a try?

Although I was also going to suggest lichen sclerosis, but again, diet is meant to help with that. Also helps with thrush.

God me again.

You can test negative for thrush and still have it, really mild thrush can cause symptoms in some women. You can also test negative at some points in your cycle and positive at other times ( this happened to me, I am on a long course of fluconaze, which cleared up months of itching).

Have you tried antibiotics? I had some painful redness after one of children that creams wouldn't heal, it seemed worse after my period too as if the change in hormone made it worse. Anyway, eventually I went to the Dr's and antibiotics aswell as using vaseline and sudocream as a barrier cleared it up. I did have strep b in labour so not sure if it was anything to do with that. I'd take some good probiotics too, maybe go on a pH balancing type of diet for a few weeks too as mine definitely got worse if I drank fizzy drinks and had spicy foods etc.

What steroid cream have you got, is it Betnovate? You can try Canesten on it anyway it won't do any harm.

Thanks for all the responses. I have used betnovate in the past but I have been now on a new one called clobetasol propionate I also use the shampoo version of this for my scalp. I thought this was working but it’s 3 days after my period and it’s flared up again. The last time it flared up was also after my period.

Hydromol ointment seems to soothe the itch for a while then it comes back maybe as it wears
off when I go toilet or on underwear throughout the day. It honestly feels like you’d expect to see a sore or cut or something but when you look at the skin there is nothing there.

I’ve had blood tests for everything including diabetes all was clear apart from low vitamin D levels.

I have been using the steroid cream on and off since I was diagnosed in 2019 but I don’t use it for long periods of time without a break.

Havent tried changing my diet but could
Give it a try although foods don’t seem to trigger it

Hi @Roses10101 did you ever find a cure for this? Currently suffering the same for the last 4 weeks which started the morning after having inter course with husband, funnily enough i felt funny after we had sex and knew I would wake up feeling uncomfortable down there, had almost like a friction type pain. Next morning insanely itchy, thrush swabs also come back negative but still suffering a month later, some days better than others, I have been prodding and having a look recently which I think has caused it to be particularly bad the last few days

@Baby4due2023 Hi I actually have a recent thread on this as unfortunately a month ago now I was told I most probably do not have dermatitis but have lichen slecrosus funnily enough the itching had subsided a lot since my OP in 2021

I went to a private clinic about something else not even the itch and was told I had signs of LS and I should see a dermatologist who specialises in vulva skin conditions .. so I did and she confirmed it is likely mild controlled LS as she put it as I didn't have the tell tale sign of white patches but I had some mild flattening of the labia minora ( LS ,can cause changes down there to how it looks)

LS is more common in menopausal women which I am not (35) but it can happen in younger women and men too... not saying it is LS for you but one of the major symptoms is pain / uncomfortable feeling after sex ( I never and still don't have this ) and like you said an insane itch.. it often gets misdiagnosed as thrush as well as the GPs are not educated about this condition

a lot of women go years with misdiagnoses of thrush etc and other things and this can sometimes lead to scarring and changes down below that cannot not be reversed.. LS has to be treated with a potent steroid to keep it under control, my derm said I was lucky as I was already using a steroid for what I thought was dermatitis so it kept mine pretty much controlled

i would prod and look down there all the time aswell as it was so itchy I expected to see sores or something but there never was

again not saying it is LS but if it continues you should see a dermatologist who specialises in vulva I had to go private