Vulval Itching Is Driving Me Mad!

[Itchitchitchy]

I’ve been suffering with intermittent vulval itching (mainly around the entrance to my vagina) now for around 3 years. In the last year or so, it’s becoming more frequent. I’ve recently had 2 sets of swabs done, which have all come back clear and I am up to date with my smear tests, again all normal. I don’t have any unusual discharge, or odour and my vulva looks ‘normal’. It literally just feels itchy and sore when it flares up.

I’ve seen my (female) GP many times and was told initially I was just run down so she prescribed me a mild steroid cream as it might help ‘calm everything down’. Used for a month and tapered off as the time went on and it made no difference. Saw a skin specialist gynae who said everything looked normal (so no lichen sclerosus or vaginal atrophy) and if I was ‘just washing with water’ then I would be drying myself out, so recommended I wash with aqueous cream and apply hydromol after drying and then discharged me. This has made no difference whatsoever and actually, washing with the aqueous cream sometimes makes me feel like it’s burning! 😳 Saw the GP again after this and she said it could be a peri menopausal symptom (I’m 41, it’s taken many appointments for her to come to this conclusion but she won’t test my hormone levels as she says they fluctuate too much to be accurate 🤷🏻‍♀️) and then prescribed me Estrodiol pessaries. I used them every night for 2 weeks, had my period (they only last 3 days thankfully) and since that finished and I used the next pessary, the itching has been worse 😫 I’m going back to see my GP next week but as she said if it was hormonal I should notice a difference after 2 weeks, I’m not sure how much more she can help?

I’ve tried Dr Wolff’s moisturising cream, even though I don’t feel dry (burns), Vagisil Oatmeal Daily Sooth & Protect cream (burns and doesn’t stop the irritation), hydrocortisone cream (makes the itch worse), Canesten cream (makes the itch worse), Vagisil medicated cream is the only thing that gives me some temporary relief but it’s not ‘tackling the cause’ (as quoted from my GP). I’ve been taking probiotics for years, currently taking Lepicol. The other issue I have is that when the itching is flaring up, it makes me feel like I constantly need a wee and I have had 5 UTI’s in the last 2 years, before that for at least 15 years I had none. I saw urology earlier in the year, who did a cystoscopy and scanned my kidneys, all normal. They gave me 3 months of a low dose antibiotic and I didn’t have one UTI whilst I was on them but less than a month after finishing them, had another one (despite me following all recommended advice for preventing them). I’m now taking d-mannose, cranberry and vitamin C all in one capsules daily to see if it prevents them. I’ve also had my bloods done umpteen times and my blood sugar is 31 so I’m not diabetic either. I only wear 100% cotton underwear, fragrance free san pro etc. and I only drink plain water (literally nothing else, no caffeine, no alcohol). I’m at a complete loss, has anyone experienced this and found something that actually works? It’s affecting my quality of life now 😔

You could ask for a 6 month trial of HRT to see if it helps.

Try this www.yesyesyes.org/products/yes-vm-natural-vaginal-moisturiser

Have you tried vagisil ? I know that's pretty basic advice available over the counter or amazon - but it definitely works for me .

I would definitely start HRT and I would also go to a private menopause/peri-menopause clinic. They know best how to help you, GP's rarely, if ever, do.

I could have written this op. I've suffered the same over the last year and also no obvious answer. I'd suggest Trying eurax, either cream or gel, I've found it's the only thing that relieves my symptoms.

I had utterly dreadful itching when I was peri and menopausal- I actually used to make myself bleed. The only thing that helped a lot was some special coal tar cream (forgot what it was called) that I bought online from Australia!! I sympathise OP- had it for 3 years

Has Vulvodynia been mentioned at all?

Should have added my DS friend has this and is only 28
She has had some relief with steroids local anaesthetic cream and Amitryptiline
You could also try an Anti histamine which may calm the itching

@DustyLee123 My GP will only give me the pessaries at the moment as she says I am too young 👀 If the pessaries don’t help, would full HRT anyway? 🤔

@bestbefore Thank you 🙂

@Soozikinzii Yes, the medicated Vagisil creme does help temporarily but my GP says it just masks the symptoms and doesn’t help the cause 🤷🏻‍♀️

@Aquamarine1029 Worth a try, I’ve spent a fortune on trying to get myself sorted already though but will give it more thought.

@Lizzt2007 I’m sorry to hear that you’re suffering too, it’s absolutely awful isn’t it 😔 I did actually buy a tube of Eurax to try but didn’t use it in the end as the instructions said ‘not to be used on the genital area’! 😬 I’m glad it works for you though ☺️

@Crikeyalmighty Thank you, I’m sorry you suffered as well, it can become debilitating can’t it 😕

@uncomfortablydumb53 Vulvodynia was mentioned by my previous GP when this first started and she just said ‘It ones of the things we women just have to put up with!’ which was really helpful of her 🙄 It could well be that, although looking at causes, I don’t fit the profile of a sufferer but I suppose I could be an anomaly 😕 Steroids haven’t helped and I was on amitriptyline for something else but I had awful side effects so wouldn’t consider taking that again. I was prescribed fexofenadine recently but that hasn’t helped either 😫 I think I’m just a lost cause! ☹️

Have you tried a thrush pessary? Don’t trust the tests which say you don’t have thrush. I had similar pain for ages, tests for thrush were negative, but a thrush pessary fixed the problem so that’s obviously what it was.

You can buy oestrogen cream over the counter now and I found it transformational for itching and for UTIs. Or get it prescribed. You don’t have to be on other HRT to have it - it’s a tiny dose and very localised.

Oh no I'm so sorry That's awful and must really affect your life

Local anaesthetic cream? I realise that's masking the issue but it seems like the body's response rather than an actual problem which requires treating if that makes sense?

Have they ruled out lichen sclerosus?

It couldn't be thread worms could it? Just a thought, as I mistakenly thought it was thrush for a long time. Took several doses of medication to finally relieve the unbearable vulval itching.

Poor you 😔 My recommendation for itchy vulva is very cold water in the shower. It will sometimes numb the area for long enough to break the itch-scratch-itch cycle.
I'd also try a thrush pessary as pp said. Worked for me in the past.

And don't shave anywhere near the area! Regrowth seems to get everywhere and really irritates, ime

Op, Vulval Lichen Sclerosis can cause itching such as you’ve described.

can you take a picture of you ladies bits and compare them to pictures online.

I've had a really similar issue when post partum twice. Mine was not itching just burning if touched at all, even clothes rubbing, or if I tried to wash with anything other than water.

The first time I drove myself crazy trying to get help and felt so dismissed. They recommended a few of the same things but all made it worse, although I declined to try estrogen cream as was breastfeeding.
Eventually it just went away on its own, I'm not even sure when, but only things that changed was time, or getting pregnant again or stopping breastfeeding.

It's now back with a vengeance after baby no2 despite not even having a vaginal delivery. This time I'm confident it's hormone related, given my experience each time. So this time I'm going to try estrogen cream despite the breastfeeding.

Hopefully sharing this helps to add some info to the puzzle for you. I would say try to go down the hormone route whatever the options are there!

Given the uti picture too I think it's hormones. You need hrt as you are symptomatic. Age is irrelevant.

Cutting back on sugar helped me massively with this problem