4 year old itchy / hurting vulva

[Sandrine1982]

Please help! My 4 year old DD is complaining and crying every single night, scratching her private parts. It's been going on and off for months. She has eczema but not in her private parts, her eczema is really only on the back of her legs. The itching on her vulva is a complete mystery. We thought of:

• pinworms. Checked. No visible signs. Treated her anyway. Twice.
• yeast infection. Absolutely no signs. No discharge. Treating her with probiotics anyway. Can't do any harm, right?
• discovering her sexual organs? Could it be that? But surely that wouldn't be making her so miserable?

please if anyone has any other ideas, send th over . I need some sleep!!!

I used to have this when I was little! It would wake me up burning and I couldn’t sleep.
looking back I think it was thrush, but a hot bath always helped
I remember waking up and running myself a bath at age 8 whilst my parents slept
it wasn’t fun but it helped

Have you bought scented loo roll?

or changed laundry detergent?

Also not to sound graphic- but gently clean around the “hood” area, as tissue can get clogged up abit like a boys bits can,
obvioisly delicately pull it back etc

Thrush or vaginal dermatitis. Prob former. See a good gp

My DD sometimes has similar. I think she wipes after a wee far too vigorously and makes it sore . She was really scrubbing the loo roll against herself as she hates feeling damp.
Alternatively could it be a mild allergy if you use bubbles in the bath or anything else that accidentally gets on her skin eg shampoo running off her hair etc.

If it's only at night I would suspect threadworms. Get some medication at the chemists - it comes in a syrup for children.

Has she seen a GP?

Have you tried changing washing powder for clothes, changing loo roll, using a thin layer or sudocrem nightly?

Probably thrush. No amount of eating yogurt is going to cure it. Probiotics is good only as a preventative to reduce risk of thrush.

Go see a GP.

First port of call would be worms but you covered that so unlikely.

I remember having this as a child and my mum making me use the bidet with a special gentle soap in the middle of the night. I grew out of it, there was seemingly no reason. I was the same age as your DD.

My daughter went through this earlier this year.

she wasnt wiping herself well at school so it was kind of like a nappy rash, where the urine was all around the area

few nights of sudcocream/nappy rash cream helped.

You need a magic cream called Daktorin. We had this for years, tried treating for worms, thrush repeatedly, told ‘vulvovaginitis’ just bath in a certain way etc etc, also have really bad eczema. But that was the thing that canned it once and for all. It was hellish to cope with! It’s GP prescribed. Best of luck!

Threadworms. That's what it turned out to be for my DD. I know you've treated, but perhaps she needs another dose.

I had this when I was little and I now know that it was thrush! She will need treatment rather than probiotics.

Possibly vulvitis as a PP suggested. DD (3) suffered from it a few months ago, GP checked for thrush, UTI, and threadworms, all of which were negative, and suggested rinsing with water after a wee (we used a quick swipe with a cheeky wipe & warm water), using 4 tablespoons of bicarb in the bath instead of bubble bath & persuading her to sit for 10 mins, and a layer of sudocream before bed.

If you Google ‘vulvovaginitis bicarb’, one of the top results that should pop up is some helpful info by Oxford University Hospitals that might help determine if your DD is experiencing something similar.

Poor thing have you seen a gp? In the meantime I can really recommend a company called stinkystuff which does a balm for intimate itching. Its natural products but it really really helps to soothe it. You have to keep it in the fridge though.

Our 5 year old suffers from this, Awful itching and pain on her vulva and sometimes vagina, generally at night and usually waking her up distraught... male gp diagnosed thrush. It wasn't thrush. Female gp diagnosed vulvovaginitis. For my daughter, stopping use of any bubble baths or shampoo or soap in the bath has helped, and aqueous cream has been a GODSEND and the only thing which has actually kept it i check. If she does have an attack, a bath with bicarb of soda does seem to help, sometimes we have done multiple baths in one night...
We keep an eye on it and apply aqueous cream most evenings. Apparently vulva can be very sensitive pre puberty until some hormones kick in so not uncommon, but oddly not very well known, its blooming awful when it hits though. Hope you find something that works for your little one xx

Could it be Lichen sclerosis? It’s an awful autoimmune condition seen in women but also young children.

Sorry it's called skin stuff not stinky stuff!

Did it improve at all following the second worming treatment? Did you treat the whole family for worms?
If it's definitely not worms then see your GP.