Dd has severely itchy vagina

[Bubbagirl]

My dd is now 4 and for about the last year she has been so itchy in her nounou (as she calls it). It's basically inside the outer labia and on the inner bits not actually inside her vagina.
We have been to the doctor 3 times and they've been totally unhelpful. We've ruled out worms and thrush and one of them said it was soap irritation and one said eczema. But no-one can give us anything to treat it.
She is itching so bad she makes it bleed. The skin is all stretched and saggy and she cries her eyes out with how itchy it is.
I feel so bad for her. She wears mits at night due to her eczema anyway but she still manages to scratch it really bad.
She doesn't use soap only an eczema special wash. We wash her hair in the shower so rinse it all off so I'm not sure it's soap irritation.
We put sudocrem and vasoline on it but it doesn't really help.
Anyone experienced this with their dd? Any tips on how to treat? We are thinking of asking for a private referral from our doctor but not sure if it's a dermatology problem or gynaecological??
Thanks in advance

Dermatology or allergist referral as soon as you can

She may be allergic to dust mites in her bedding if she has excema. Try putting encasements on her mattress and all her bedding (and ban the teddies from bed) to see if it helps

Give her child antihistamines, some make you tired, so give those before bed.

Look through some of the old threads on here about excema, there are some really good recommendations for creams that work really well

Try washing with aqueous cream? It helped me with a similar problem.

Have you tried canesten? I know children can use it as I had it prescribed for DD for a terrible nappy rash before, can be bought over the counter.
My DD uses to get sore down below for no obvious reason, coconut oil always helped, and we used feminine wash rather than soap, Asda have a cheap version which is good.

Have you considered the products you use for washing clothes?

My oldest daughter had this at the same age, she would cry at night, it was almost like her skin had been burnt. We realised the shampoo even in the shower was probably not helping but it could also have been her nappy, it went away once she was dry at night

yes it could be an allergy to the washing powder. Im very sensitive to these things myself. definitely worth pushing to see a dermatologist though.

I’d reckon dermatology. I have psoriasis and it first showed up being itchy down there. I totally sympathise with your daughter. Hope the poor little mite gets some relief soon! In the meantime be very careful with what you wash her clothes in or put on her skin. Perhaps try some coconut oil to sooth it and let her be naked for a little while

Is she out of nappies at night? When my DD was three she went through a time of being sore, because she wasn't wiping herself properly after having a wee.

Make sure, when washing the area, gently, you use a lot of clean water and wash front to back. A fem wash would be helpful.

We had this too. Using Sanex to wash body. Non-bio washing tabs. And sudo creme when bits are sore. Change pants if they get at all wet. Don’t sleep in pants. Shower/bath regularly to get rid of sweat.

Give her piriton before bed to help with the itching. Wash her clothes in non bio, and just wash with water.

I went through this from being a baby until I was 9, it was candidiasis. It stopped when my Mum cut all sugar out of my diet, made sure I only wore cotton knickers and clothes that were breathable (it was the era of Lycra cycling shorts!) and used a ph neutral wash and non perfumes products in the bath and when washing me. The sugar reduction was the thing that finally ended it, on the advice of the gynaecologist who’d mentioned it as a last ditch attempt. Canestan was always helpful and soothing too.

It was a horrible thing to experience long term, I feel for her and hope it gets sorted soon.

Oh and make sure you're using natural loo roll, nothing scented.

Nothing up there? Ndn removed a tiny plastic pig from her dd once!

If she has been scratching she could now have a fungal or bacterial skin infection. They need to refer you to dermatology, if they won't and won't treat her and she is seeming in pain and unwell or starts spiking a fever with it then find your nearest children's A&E and go there to see a paediatrician. They see infected eczema all the time and may be able to help. I would stop using sudocrem and vaseline try bepanthen or another more breathable nappy cream in the meantime.

Have they checked her for urine infection - that can also cause burning/itching on the outside area.
But definitely if it has been going on for a year insist on a dermatology referral.

You might consider getting her a different mattress. The vast majority of UK mattresses contain large amounts of flame retardant chemicals that can cause all kinds of problems, including skin-related. One of these kinds of flame retardants - organophosphates - were banned from weed-killer because they're so toxic but they're still used in mattresses. The UK has the toughest fire safety laws, which is why all those flame retardants. Other EU countries (apart from Ireland) do not put flame retardants in their mattresses; so you could buy over the internet from there. Or check out an organic/natural mattress makers. I don't work for them but recommend Cottonsafe:
www.cottonsafenaturalmattress.co.uk/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI7Kyqq9PX4gIVKyrTCh3_6AUVEAAYASAAEgIOB_D_BwE
GIve them a ring; they're very savvy about flame retardants.

Sorry I've only just seen all these amazing responses thank you so much.
I have finally got my doc to write referral we are seeing a dermatologist who specialises in that area so hopefully we can sort something out.
She's been out of nappies for about a year and half so no issue there (she actually tends to sleep Butt naked to get some air down there!)
In the last week I've banned baths and it's showers only so any shampoo etc fully washed off and we're using an aqueous wash. It seems to have helped a little, the scratching isn't quite so crazy but she is still quite itchy.
Fingers crossed the dermatologist can help.
Thanks for all your replies

is she wiping properly (front to back) after going to the loo?
is she using wet wipes in the area?

can you try using a barrier cream?
can you use flannels with warm clean water instead of toilet paper to wipe her bottom?

I would have thought a nice bath might help-clean everything out. Just wash her hair separately.

@orangeshoebox we put a barrier cream on every evening now as it seems to help a little. We have been monitoring her wiping and she seems to do it ok. She often just sits with a cool flannel on the area as it soothes it.
@fedup21 I know what you mean but according to the doctor it's not so good sitting in the water as need to rinse the area so no soap residue left. Even though we don't use soap on her he just said avoid baths or shower her after the bath which is just a bit of an effort when bathing her little sis as well...bathtime would take all evening 😂.
Hopefully the dermatologist will be able to help

could it be worms?
i know they ruled that out but how?

We've had that. Never really found a definite cause. We were referred to hospital and the Doctor put my daughter on a laxative and made her increase her water input as that was one of his suggestions. - I didn't think she had issues pooing but he felt her belly and thought it worth a try (I had previously put it down to an anxiety behaviour) by then we had already tried every cream going, every washing powder, every bath wash, shower gel, no soap, showers, baths etc etc.....I personally believe drinking more water was helpful. Other things that I've found out since is that orange juice can cause this in some girls (so I would guess other juice) -- so maybe keep a food and drink diary along with symptoms. See if there are any links. My daughter is much better now although sometimes she will tell me it's bothering her. I just try to get her to drink more. It seems to go within 2 days now. Rather than the weeks and weeks it would go on before.

Just a bump to say that it could be paediatric vulval lichen sclerosus- but that your dermatologist should be able to diagnose this for you.

Thank you @ladyandthechocolate I've just googled that and it really could possibly be that! I'll be sure to mention it if the dermatologist doesn't thank you