irritation

[kate58]

For the past few months i have been having various types of irritation around my vaginal area. at times it has been red, hot, swollen, tender and very painful to touch. i have also had a rash down there from time to time which i thought was razor burn. all of this would come and go and just recently i have been getting little almost like paper cuts on my labia and around my vagina. my doctor told me it was all from shaving and told me to grow out my hair so i did and then i started noticing cuts at the base of the hair follicles and when i shaved it got better down there and would go away but come back in a few days. i took a salt bath one night to see if maybe it was my PH being off . and since then i have not had any cuts but it has still been itchy . and i also thought i had a yeast infection but the pap smear said negative but i had the discharge and pain during intercourse. im so confused .. could anyone give me some insight. thanks.

[kate58]

Thank you so much . i took a salt bath DEC 25th and since then i have not had any cuts on my labia and most of the irritation has gone away. it is just now getting itchy and irritated again. i have not been checked for stds . my bf of 6 and a half months has not had any problems with his genitals but i know sometimes symptoms don't always present themselves. i have always used protection like a condom and just this month i started birth control in hopes to lessen my painful cramps and shorten the days from 7 to maybe 5 . as far as sex goes i think he is too big for me because after i always have cuts around the penetrated area which take a few days to heal. the pain during sex doesn't happen every time  but does occur most of the time. before i met him it had only hurt once having sex i figure if i had some sort of problem then in the past 2 yrs i think it would have gotten worse or would have shown more symptoms .. maybe im wrong im not a doctor so ...  i thought i might have some sort of infection with my reproductive system because of the pain and what not and i have also been getting sick a lot more than usual i have had swollen puss covered tonsils three times last yr and two colds one of the colds i am currently getting over. i figured maybe those two factors had something to do with each other .

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
Red and painful vagina can be due to a number of causes. First of all it can be due to allergic reaction or contact dermatitis to your undergarments, sanitary napkins or tampons, soaps etc.There is no change in the color or smell of discharge in this case.

Secondly, It can be due to vaginal infections or STD’s like Chlamydia or thrush (red,sore,itchy vagina along with pain during sex and slight increase in the vaginal discharge may be present), Gonorrhea(Itchy, red, or swollen vagina and Pain during intercourse, urinating or abdominal pain may be present) or Trichomoniasis(red, very itchy vagina along with greenish, frothy discharge is present).

Thirdly it can be due to dermatitis or eczema. I sincerely suggest you to get a cervical swab done from a gynecologist and also consult a dermatologist to rule out the skin causes. Till then wear cotton clothes, wash the area with fresh water and apply some calamine lotion on the rash. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.