Why is my vulva itchy and painful?

Vulvar itching accompanied by stinging is likely caused by diseases such as vaginitis or cervicitis. There are many reasons for female vulvar itching, including bad hygiene habits, skin diseases, pubic lice, allergies, etc. If you have vulvar itching, you must go to the hospital for relevant examinations in time. After finding out the cause, you should receive symptomatic treatment. Before the cause is clear, do not use medication blindly.

What causes vulvar itching?

1. Trichomonas vaginalis infection

When the acidity of a woman's vaginal mucosa decreases, the production of lactic acid decreases, making vaginal Trichomonas infection more likely to occur, which manifests as foamy leucorrhea and vulvar itching.

2. Local skin is unclean

Some women use toilet paper improperly, and the skin of the vulva is soaked by menstrual blood, vaginal secretions, and even urine, feces and sweat, which causes chronic inflammation of the local skin and causes vulva itching.

3. Fungal infection

For women with diabetes or long-term use of antibiotics that cause imbalance of normal flora, Candida albicans among fungi can easily invade the vulva and vagina, causing fungal vulvar and vaginitis, often with bean curd-like leucorrhea and vulvar itching.

4. Drug rash

"Fixed drug rash" caused by sulfonamides or other drugs in women with allergic constitution often occurs at the junction of the skin and mucous membrane of the vulva. In addition to local itching, it may be complicated by erosion and exudation. Vulvar itching may also occur if allergic reactions and contact dermatitis occur when using drugs for vaginal washing or vaginal insertion.

5. Genital skin diseases

The skin lesions of tinea cruris often extend to the vulva, causing severe local itching. The local itching caused by vulvar eczema and neurodermatitis is more severe. The former is manifested as papules and blisters with unclear local skin boundaries and erosion exudate, while the latter often causes thickening of the skin with lichenification due to scratching. In addition to causing vulvar itching, vulvar leukoplakia is often accompanied by vulvar malnutrition and skin atrophy.

6. Viral infection

Genital warts mostly occur on the female vaginal wall, cervix and vulva, and may also cause foul-smelling leucorrhea. Molluscum contagiosum occurring in the vulva often presents as round papules with an umbilical-like depression in the center, and may also cause itching in the vulva. Genital herpes is often manifested by the appearance of bright, rice-sized blisters on the urethral opening and vaginal wall, in addition to local itching.

7. Parasitic infections

Pinworms mainly attack young girls, but adult women can also be infected. When the anus relaxes at night, pinworms crawl out of the rectum and swim to the vulva to mate and lay eggs, irritating the skin and mucous membranes of the vulva, causing local itching. When scabies is caused by scabies infection, the external skin lesions are the most serious, so local itching is also the most obvious. Pubic lice are manifested by severe itching in the area where pubic hair grows, and grayish-white millet-sized nits or lice may be found at the base of the pubic hair or on the hair shafts.

8. Other reasons

When women suffer from diabetes, due to the irritation of the vulvar skin by urine sugar, they are prone to complications of bacterial vulvar and vaginitis, causing vulvar itching. When jaundice occurs due to liver, gallbladder and other diseases, vulvar itching may also occur due to the increase of bilirubin in the blood and the irritation of the skin by bile salts. In addition, some women may experience vulvar itching due to psychological factors when they are under stress.