Sore vulva/vagina

[WildGeece]

I'm fairly certain I'm in the perimenopause (I'm 42, periods have become heavier & more painful), and have started to get a sore vulva/vagina between periods, which has been esp bad the last few weeks. I'm going to call my GP tomorrow but I imagine it will take a few weeks to get an appointment. Does anyone have any tips on things to ease the problem in the meantime? By sore, I mean a burning sensation.

Ah yes, weeks of this, (UTI and antibiotics but it's still continuing despite 'better wee') and another GP call this am. All very burny and irritation/itchiness.
Look up vaginal atrophy/atrophic vaginitis.
I have got pessaries coming - it's like a topical/mild form of HRT and one needs to be inserted twice a week.
All very common I think for peri m/p.

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Not sure about tips - I didn't go for natural yoghurt as I didn't want to upset things. When I've been at home I have been wearing a skirt and no pants though!

Vagifem is standard prescription for soreness/atrophy in menopause. Not sure if it's appropriate for you or not but might be worth trying. You can also buy it privately if you want to bypass GP. It's called Gina.

Yes, aware of vaginal atrophy & I'm imagining that's what it is, will be talking about Vagifem with my GP.

No burning when peeing, pretty sure it's not an UTI.

Looking for tips for easing the soreness til I can see a GP. Will look into Gina!

Look up lichen sclerosis/planus, I recently had a gynae appt about this. I had been prescribed steroid cream prior to this, which did work. Before I had the steroid cream my vulva was hell, swollen and itchy, uncomfortable constantly.

Because the steroid cream worked to resolve it, that's what they diagnosed and just said keep using it.

Wash with epaderm or similar emollient. Try cerave healing ointment smeared over area (like a vaseline style jelly). Longer term, topical oestrogen needed probably.

Topical oestrogen either in Vagifem less Aries or Ovestin cream. The cream is better IMO if you have vulvar soreness / dryness / skin splits as it goes right where you need it and works more quickly to re-oestrogenise the tissue.

You can buy it from Superdrug online. Gina is the brand name for Vagifem and can also be bought direct.

Pessaries!! Nothing to do with Aries 😆

Vagifem pessaries sort me out. I was prescribed the cream to insert internally initially but found this very messy.

while you wait you could use Vaseline I suppose as it’s harmless. I recently used sudocreme for the perineum area feeling very dry and itchy

As other posters say, you can buy a very weak topical estrogen product called GINA to use vaginally.

However, although it's OTC the pharmacist is supposed to ask some questions, one of which is are you over 50. Just bear that in mind if you try to buy in person or online. (And the cost is far greater than an NHS prescription.)

This is because it's licensed for use with women who are primarily post menopause (although GPs can prescribe it for any age.)

It's probably worth seeing your GP because the burning could also be thrush (have yo tried either the oral capsules for that or external/ internal creams?) Ideally you need some swabs to rule out other things.

Thanks for all the useful replies! Off to bed now but will review in the morning.

You also might have liken planus which would make you very sore. If you have any Dermovate around you could try using a tiny bit.

I echo using emollient ointments like Epaderm and Hydromol which can be applied externally on the vulva - thick and protect against friction. They can also be used to wash with - bought online eg Amazon or in pharmacies. Yes products are also good Yes VM (vaginal moisturiser) and Yes OB (oil based) in particular. https://www.yesyesyes.org/

This is a useful booklet about menopause. There is a GSM symptom checker to tick off your symptoms to discuss with your Dr and which treatments might be prescribed. https://menopausesupport.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/MEN0921351544-005_Menopause-Support-Booklet-5-3.pdf

I have been using Ovestin cream for 2 months and it's lifechanging. Seriously.

I have atrophic vaginitis, and have mostly been ok with the Vagifem equivalent from GP, but I had lots of trouble initially before they gave it to me!
For what it's worth I wouldn't use vaseline, in my experience it kind of seals the soreness in! And also can create friction where you don't want friction 🙂 ( same for all greasier lubricants, you would think they would reduce friction but not ime. And then you feel worse...)
I had a flare up recently and used first the kind of Cerave in a big tube( which I use for my sore problem skin elsewhere!) and then Cerave hand-cream for extremely dry rough hands. Both work fine,the handcream better.
Then I discovered Vagisil and it is wonderful, I feel quite evangelical about it!

I have same thing, it is vulva itchiness that is unbearable on the outside. It is like I have been burnt with a hot iron. Have to get something from pharmacist, did itch it once and made it worse as felt could rip my skin off. Shocking what us women have to put up with, get over one thing and another thing worse appears.