Vaginal Swelling

[ssakydal]

I am experiencing extreme itchiness around the lips of my vagina. And i noticed that the lips have now generally swollen. I have never had sex and when previously went to a sexual health clinic to hopefully get checked up they analysized only my urine and did not look at the surronding area of my vagina. I dont know what this could be and what to do. Being 17 my male doctor is reluctant to look and refers me to sexual health clinics that dont do anything. Ive tried canestan and that hasnt helped.  

[MelinFL]

Hi!  I have been through this horrible problem for over 2 years with my 7-year old daughter. I can't think back to exactly when it started but she has complained of itching, burning, and recently has said she feels a sharp stinging on her outer labia.  Let me add that the itching has been between her labia majora and minora, her vaginal opening(but not inside), up around her clitoris and on the outside of her labia.  It's made it so hard to pin down what exactly could be going on.  It's sad to say this but I've already explored the possiblity of someone abusing her and that is not what is happening. She doesn't use soap on her vagina, just warm water and washcloth, she takes showers, not baths. I've changed all my laundry detergent to one with no perfumes or dyes but am now finding out that even the store-bought ones can leave a residue that can be irritating, so I'm going to buy something all natural online. I've changed toilet papers, thrown out all of her underwear and bought new 100% cotton ones, which she's always worn. I just don't know.  The only thing that I can think of that may have started this whole thing and made the itch/scratch cycle become a habit for her is overuse of antibiotics when she was younger.  She has strep throat all the time before she was 4.  She had it so often that they thought she might be a strep carrier. She eventually got her tonsils out and that took care of the problem but prior to that, she was always put on an antibiotic until I put my foot down and said take her tonsils out, no more medication!!  In her life, she's probably been on at least 10-12 antibiotics if not more and I know they can cause yeast problems. But, she's shown no signs ever of yeast infections but she's not been tested either because as the doctor said...there are no obvious signs of a yeast infection.
I can tell you that I think you're probably swollen from scratching, as the same thing has happened to my daughter.  We've gone to two different pediatricians who tested her urine and found absolutely nothing wrong.  We went to a dermatologist who gave us two different creams to help with the itching but neither worked.  The derm. said she looked normal in that area and usually skin problems are very obvious in that region.  

I then consulted a Urologist. He discovered a couple of things. First, she had a fold of skin partially covering her urethral opening that shouldn't be there.  He said it could be causing a little bit of urine to not be expelled which could be causing the itching.  She had surgery two weeks ago to remove it and she also had a cystoscopy done to dialate her urethral opening because he said it was narrow, which also can be problematic for urine flow.  He also used the scope to go up inside her vagina to see if there was any infection or abnormalities that might be causing this and he found no signs of either and said she looked perfectly healthy and normal.  Prior to surgery she had a bladder and renal ultrasound to make sure urine wasn't refluxing back into her bladder or kidneys.  Both were normal.

At this point, she is still itching and burning.  I realize the burning is a result of the itching.  It should take about 3 weeks to a month for the incision from cutting the flap of skin over her urethra to heal and I'm hoping to God that's why she's still itchy.  If this doesn't solve the problem, my next step is either an allergist or a therapist/mental health counselor.  

I apologize for this post being so long but I wanted to tell you what I've been through so I can hopefully save you some time and co-pays seeing different doctors and also to think about alot of the stuff I've listed above as possible causes to this problem. Start with the simple ones first, i.e. have you recently changed or tried a new laundry detergent or soap?  Fabric softener and drier sheets are also highly irritable. Have you recently been on antibiotics?  If so, go see a doctor(not the same one....he doesn't sound too thorough) and get tested for a yeast infection.  Along the same lines, check for other symptoms besides itchiness and being swollen...any unusual discharge, odor, abdominal pain, burning when you go to the bathroom?  If you have any of these, find a reputable gynecologist or a urologist and get an appt. as soon as you can.  Have you tried any OTC itch creams?  There are so many but my friend has an unexplained itching problem every once in a while and she uses Gynecort, which helps relieve the itching.  

I hope this helps and if I can be of further help, just let me know.  :-)