Vulvodynia Symptoms & Treatment

What is Vulvodynia?

Vulvodynia is the word for pain in the vulva. The vulva is the external genital area in women - the area around the opening to the vagina. The pain is usually described as a burning, stinging, itching, irritating or a raw feeling. Sexual intercourse, walking, sitting or exercising can make the pain worse.

In most women with the condition the appearance of the vulva is normal since the problem lies with the nerve fibres, which can't be seen. Although the pain may be felt inside the vagina the problem is actually on the outside. In this condition the sensory nerve endings appear to become much more sensitive so that even light touching of the skin triggers an unpleasant and painful sensation.

Causes of Vulvodynia

The exact cause of vulvodynia isn't known. Some factors that may be involved include:

• Frequent yeast infections
• Frequent use of antibiotic medicines
• Chemical irritation of the external genitals (from soaps or detergents in clothing)
• Rashes on the genital area
• Previous laser treatments or surgery on the external genitals
• Past or present genital warts
• Nerve irritation or muscle spasms in the pelvic area

Symptoms of Vulvodynia

• Burning
• Soreness
• Itching
• Stinging
• Rawness
• Painful intercourse (dyspareunia)
• Throbbin

Treatment of Vulvodynia

Medications - Tricyclic antidepressants such as amitriptyline can help lessen chronic pain. This type of antidepressant may work better than some of the other types of antidepressants, such as fluoxetine (Prozac, Sarafem) or sertraline (Zoloft), for this condition. Anticonvulsants such as carbamazepine (Tegretol) and gabapentin (Neurontin) also may lessen the pain of vulvodynia. Antihistamines such as hydroxyzine can reduce itching.

Biofeedback therapy - This therapy can help reduce pain by teaching you how to control specific body responses. The goal of biofeedback is to help you enter a relaxed state in order to decrease pain sensation. To cope with vulvodynia, biofeedback can teach you to relax your pelvic muscles, which can sometimes contract in anticipation of pain and actually cause chronic pain itself.

Local anesthetics - Using medications such as lidocaine can provide temporary relief from the pain.

Topical creams - Creams that contain estrogen or cortisone can help alleviate the pain.

Sitz baths - Bathing the area around your external genitals and buttocks in a saline solution can sometimes help make you feel better, but it also has the potential to aggravate your discomfort.