Why does my dd have sore labia?

[YunoYurbubson]

I will take her to the doc, but would appreciate MN thoughts before we go.

Dd (4yo) keeps getting a red, sore bits.

It is noticably worse on nursery days and for a while I have been putting it down to not blotting properly after wees at nursery, or even weeing a bit in her pants as she is more distracted than at home.

It makes it very stingy for her to wee. It clears up quickly with Sudocreme.

But this weekend we wet to a salt water pool and the poor girl screamed to be taken out and given a good rinse under the shower as the salt water stung her bits so badly.

And I was thinking, I am sure she is no worse at blotting after wees than the average 4yo and they don't all have this problem.

Could it be thrush?

Anyone had similar?

yes it could be thrush.

Does she still have a nappy at night time? Or wear panties?

Tight fitting/non-cotton panties especially at night can make this problem worse.

oh and of course see what the doctor says.

she may be sensitive to your washing powder.

Try washing he pants in Surcare (from most supermarkets) and not using softner

I have no experience of thrush. Can it come and go, as this seems to?

Yes to night time nappy.

All her pants are cotton and not tight - in fact we live in a warm country so she's never really bundled up tight in tights and trousers etc. sun dresses most days.

Hadn't thought about washing powder. Surely it wouldn't be so localised if it were washing powder? I'll try using those rubber eco washing balls though and see if it helps.

Thanks for that TwoPeople. Have you ruled out Thrush?

This might not apply these days - I'm going back 30 years! - but my DD suddenly developed similar problems and the HV suggested it might be a reaction to the dyes used for coloured loo paper. We switched to plain white loo rolls. The problem did go away, and that might have been coincidence, but I thought I'd mention it, just in case that might help.

No, that's a good thought actually. I shall ask what loo roll they use at nursery.

It might explain why it comes and goes without me being able to pinpoint a pattern to it.

dd had a sudden flare up on her labia, like thrush, totally horrible and agonising.

was tested for thrush it was negative.

BUT, she had worn a new pair of leggings, for about 4 hours, unwashed. Tesco jobs with alot of black dye in them, and i immediately thought it was them. I always normally wash everyhting, but she pulled them on as it was her birthday and they were new.

never again. She had this for 3 days, couldn't walk, sit, do anything. poor lamb.

Coloured loo paper still causes problems in this household

probably bleach used in white toilet roll.

Good idea to buy some natural rolls.

My DD has the same problem. She was tested for thrush, but was clear.

It only seems to bother her at night. It has improved now she is out of night nappies, but does still happen occasionally after swimming or if she eats lots of tomato (oddly enough).

My Doctor prescribed canesten and told us to use piriton if she had a bad flare-up.

Maybe I'll keep a diary and see if I notice any diet / flare up correlations.

So glad I posted - you lot have come up with lots of things I hadn't thought of.

Could you use the Sudocreme prophylactically before she goes to nursery?

If it is not wiping after weeing etc, it will form a barrier to irritation. You could put on some more when she gets home.

oh my DD is exactly the same. I was actually wondering this week if I should take her to the doctors. Good tip re washing powder. i will also follow the thread with interest

my gp said stay away from the sudocreme, as the barrier is not always helpful in healing something unspecific.

mind you there was no way i could have touched dd when she had this.

My dd1 has this too, sometimes she is screaming at night saying it hurts. We have been to gp, tested for thrush but it was negative. They prescibed a hydrocortisone cream to use very sparingly. This does work, but I don't want to use it all the time, so we only use it when there is a flare up, and I still don't know how to prevent it. I use Calendular nappy cream by Welleda, which is an effective barrier cream, and is very gentle, and I use metanium as well when it is very bad. We use white unbleached toilet paper, persil auto nonbio washing powder as recommended by dermatologist for use with her sensitive skin. I have always assumed that it is not wiping properly at school that causes this, as she never had it before starting school. She is four, nearly five. I wold be grateful for any advice too!

Urinary tract infection?

Urinary tract infection?

So good they named it twice!
Sorry!

Thought I would pop back to update, as there were others on the thread with similar experience. UTI tests came back negative.

The doctor called it "chemical vulvitis" which is really just a fancy way of saying sore bits caused by something external irritating her (points to the loo roll suggestors).

It is almost certainly the chlorine in our local pool. We swim a lot, sometimes four or five days in a row. I hadn't pegged swimming as the cause because we do so much of it it is just a part of life. Feel a bit stupid really.

Anyway, we now whip her cozzie straight off after swimming (no hanging around drying off or going home damp) and I give her a really good wash or a soak in the bath after swimming days, and we've had no more problems.

He also gave us some cream but it is quite stingy according to dd so we abandoned it fairly soon and will stick to lots of rinsing, and sudocreme if she gets sore again.

Thanks to all who helped.

Just wanted to add, for those who've tried thrush remedies, external causes, etc....dd's best friend has lichen sclerosis, an autoimmune condition that gives her very red and itchy/sore bits. Her Mum went through every treatment under the sun (threadworm, thrush, washing powder changes, loo paper changes etc etc) before getting a diagnosis.

Its unusual, but thought worth mentioning - the only thing that helps is steroid cream, which she has to use regularly and have regular check ups.

Yuno, so glad your dd's cause discovered, well done!

Could it be juice or something at nursery? When dd was bf if I drank orange juice she used to get really sore and red as her wee was acidic.