So fed up of vulval eczema

[Anonymous7890]

Does anyone else have vulval eczema? It’s making me so miserable.

I had it years ago and now it’s come back and seems much worse this time. Last time they gave me a steroid cream, I used it very occasionally for a day whenever it flared up and that sorted it. They’ve prescribed me with hydrocortisone again and I applied it for 3 days and it went. But a month later it’s flared up again, I applied it for two days and it seemed almost gone so I stopped as I’m worried about it thinning the skin down there. But then a day later it came back so I used it for 3 days and it’s still lingering.

I tried a bit of Vaseline yesterday but read conflicting information about that online so don’t think I will again.

I even took an antihistamine this morning as heard that can calm eczema down.

The GP did swabs to check it’s not something else and everything came back
negative.

I’m suffering a recent bereavement and just want to focus on healing from that and this is making everything so much harder 😕

I’m no expert but have you tried Sudocrem? We are all girls in our house and always use that if we’re sore ‘down there’. Sorry you’re going through such a lot.

I get this sort of thing after thrush. Heat makes it worse so I can't wear tight trousers or take hot baths. Central heating makes it worse.

I don't know if it helpful but I make sure shampoo doesn't come in contact with the area and only use Dermol to wash. Sometimes I think it's a form of vulvodynia as well where the nerve endings are jangled after thrush and the skin feels off. This can be stress related.

my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/17878-vulvodynia

Can I just say how sorry I am for your bereavement 💐

I get this sometimes and can definitely second Sudocrem. Works better than steroids in that area, for me.

Sorry for your loss 💐

Do you have a local GUM/sexual health clinic? They’re the experts and should progress you through the system until someone correctly identifies and treats what you have.

Steroid cream seems to be the treatment for a lot of this kind of thing but you really need a correct diagnosis.

I was diagnosed with vulval psoriasis and later lichen planus but it took a long time and a lot of appointments and referrals.

Yep when I first got it years ago it was after a bad bout of thrush and when it came back it was after a bad bout of thrush too. I think thrush just makes the skin so sensitive down there and then it plays up for months and months afterwards. Last time they put me on weekly fluconazole for a year as the the thrush kept coming back as well. Now I’ve started take probiotics and that seems to have kept the thrush at bay and now I just get this horrible eczema. At least I don’t keep getting thrush I suppose as that was even more miserable.

I can never wear tights, leggings, tight trousers, non cotton underwear etc. even a hot bath can set it off. I only use plain cool water to wash down there.

It’s horrible having a vagina sometimes isn’t it!!

Hydromol ointment works well as an alternative to Vaseline. I don’t know how scared of the steroids you need to be, I use daily until under control then keep well moisturised with the hydromol. If you are perimenopausal vaginal oestrogen could be the answer

No not tried sudocream. I’m scared to put anything on it now in case it makes it worse 😕

And wash with dermol cream (not ointment) only

Things to make the skin less prone to getting irritated - cotton only underwear, gentle washing detergent and only use a small amount AND make sure it's rinsed out well, wash in the shower with something really gentle like aqueous cream (it's horrible and slimy but does the job). If you use sanitary pads, try to get ones with a cotton top rather than plastic.

@trainedopossumthis has been the bane of my life since teen years with multiple GP visits. I now know canestan makes things worse and two days trimovate steroid cream helps. But I suspect there's vulvodynia involved as well in my case. GUM clinic is a good idea.

I'd love to be able to wear skinny jeans but it seems floaty trousers are the only thing that works for me 😁

The GP didn’t really give me much information on how long I should use the steroid cream for. It’s 1% cream, just says to apply twice a day. Then the leaflet inside says for no longer than 7 days. The GP didn’t suggest any cream to keep it at bay in between using the steroid cream either.

Have you tried Savlon for the soreness? it’s very soothing: Also recommend Sudocreme as other PPs.

Vaseline works a treat for me for maintenance. What’s the conflicting information you have about it? I know it shouldn’t be used if you use condoms but haven’t heard anything else. My gynae says it’s fine for the flaps.

Yes I already do all those things sadly except for the cotton sanitary pads. I’m waiting for some to be delivered from Flo. And the aqueous cream I thought the research said it makes eczema worse so just using plain water for washing down there.

I was thinking of trying a gum clinic. And even considering using some savings to go private and get them to you a skin biopsy to confirm it definitely is eczema

Are you me OP? My gp's theory was that the thrush caused microcuts that let the thrush re-establish itself so I end up in a loop. If I get thrush it takes at least a month to get right again. I can only take fluconozole orally as creams irritate the skin.

However I'm now thinking the nerve endings are flaring after thrush. Closest thing I can find to that is vulvodynia.

Last had it last Christmas and it took two thrush treatments and steroid creams for the resulting eczema to go. I used the creams really sparingly and then tried to treat it as vulvodynia after a while as I think the stress was making it worse. Good luck.

Sorry to hear you’ve suffered too. A quick search of the internet shows so many women suffer from this sort of thing but it feels so lonely to have it doesn’t it, as can’t really talk about it. Like I can’t really say to work colleagues or casual acquaintances that I’m feeling a bit under the weather because my fanny is sore!! I think that makes it so much worse having to live with it

I have chronic eczema. Hydrocortisone is fine. I would use it for a bit longer and then use it 6 out of 7 days etc. to taper off.

If you've read that then you're probably right about the aqueous cream - it was the only one of those type of emollients I could remember off the top of my head.

Do you moisturise there at all? Obviously only the skin part of the vulva and not into the inner labia at all. But perhaps it needs a good eczema friendly moisturiser applied once dry after the shower?

So sorry to hear you’ve had it too. It’s really debilitating isn’t it. I’m terrified of getting thrush because my body finds it so difficult to get rid of. Taking a fluconazole doesn’t touch it and only works for maintenance for me. The only thing that works for me is the 6 day pessary.

Chronic genital eczema or elsewhere? The genital skin is much thinner which is why I’m cautious about steroids

No I’ve not tried savlon. I read Vaseline can cause bacteria to get trapped underneath it which can result in BV.

No I don’t moisturise there currently and it’s the inner labia that are sore so I need something that is safe to put there. So much conflicting information online has made me think to leave it the hell alone 😂

Aw thanks OP. Yes it's so debilitating when you have it and to be honest it makes me feel slightly depressed. It's not helped that in the past GPs have implied that it's in my head as they 'cant see anything wrong'.

I dread getting a bout of it. I've had to stop swimming too because the chlorine makes it flare. Tights I have to cut a hole in the gusset to allow aeration otherwise the area gets too hot.

Hopefully it will calm soon for you