Help me with my lady bits please!

[MrsGrizzlyBear]

For the past 3 months (ish) I’ve noticed it stings when I go to the toilet. This lasts around a day or so and then it will be fine. I’ve been very itchy down there which is not normal for me.
I had a nose in the mirror just to see if anything was going on down there and noticed a patch of white skin on my vulva, around 1.5cm long.
I’ve googled and really didn’t like what I read. From what I can see it could be lichen sclerosus (sp?) or cancerous 😳
Has anyone experienced this? If so, what was the cause? Lichen sclerosus usually affects women after the menopause or young children. I’m only in my early 30’s...
I’m really losing sleep over this now.

I'm sure it's nothing but pleas get it checked out. My mum had cancer which was found like this but she was in her 60s.

I would get an urgent GP appointment (they should see you for something like this) and then you can at least put your mind to rest too

Oh god 😳

I have a telephone appointment on Friday (that’s all my drs are offering right now)
I can’t help but fear the worst, I’ve never had any issues down there before, not so much as thrush

Thrush?

Would thrush cause white skin? It did cross my mind that it could be thrush but I have no discharge.

Hopeful bump 😕

I work in dermatology and it's not that rare for under 50s to have lichen sclerosus. GP will probably prescribe thrush treatment but failing that, ask for a dermatology referral. Try not to worry OP the likelihood of it being something sinister is very small.

You need it checked out, a GP should still see you urgently for this. Push for an appointment.

However, it could be general vaginal atrophy due to lack of oestrogen which can happen at any age and is far more common than people think. It can be the cause of frequent urine infections or thrush so you may have those at the same time and that can be super horrid. You can get oestrogen creams prescribed - Ovestin is the main one and it generally works really well. If you need treatment for thrush or a urine infection you can use this at the same time.

Thank you both! I booked an urgent telephone appointment with my dr today... they didn’t call me back! 😫
I’ve been fine today... no pain when urinating. Very minimal itching. It seems to come and go 😳 but that pale spot is still there and obviously doesn’t seem to be going anyway. Other than that, I’m fine. Just can’t stop worrying and thinking the worst.
From what I can see, lichen sclerosus seems to be the best case scenario and even that sounds horrendous 😭

I don’t think it’s a urine infection, I have zero pain on the inside, it’s purely external. But it seems to disappear as soon as it comes. I’ve never had thrush before, but I’ve read one of the main symptoms of that is discharge... I have none apart from my usual ovulation stuff (sorry!) so I’m dubious that could be the cause.
What does scar tissue on the vulva look like? Could I have caused the white patch from scratching in my sleep? (Clutches at straws)
The itching is there, but it’s not so bad that I can’t ignore it. I do not scratch myself during the day. But I know it’s possible I’m scratching during the night.

I was diagnosed with lichen sclerosis earlier this year, same symptoms as you including the white patch. My GP referred me to a Gynae consultant who confirmed the diagnosis and prescribed a steroid cream. It cleared up within a week or so. I still use the cream once a week to prevent it coming back.

@missyB1 oh that’s so lovely to read, thank you! I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but google is just full of horror stories about lichen sclerosus 😳 vulvas fusing and all sorts.
I know this sounds really pathetic, but my sex life with my oh is important to me... I’ve not let him come near me out of fear it’s something terrifying. I know that’s really daft... I have a feeling my gp won’t take it seriously

My GP examined me and recognised what she saw. Honestly don’t panic, if it is lichen then steroid cream should sort it out pretty quick.