What to do if your vagina is dry and itchy

In life, many people often feel that the vulva is dry and itchy. In fact, in this case, it is necessary to check whether there is a viral infection or sexual allergy, local inflammation of the anus, or bacterial inflammation of the vagina. The cause of vulvar itching needs to be found and treated.

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.

Sexual allergy

It is an allergic reaction that occurs during sexual intercourse. There are people who are allergic to semen, condoms, and friction.

Anal itching

It usually occurs more often in middle-aged men, but women can also get the disease, and children with pinworm infection can also get it. The itching is usually confined to the skin around the anus, but may spread to the skin of the perineum, vulva, or scrotum. Anal itching caused by pinworm infection is more common in children and often worsens at night. Pinworms or eggs can be found (the positive rate is higher at night). Anal itching in adults is often caused by hemorrhoids, anal fissures, etc. There are also many patients who cannot find the cause, and the symptoms of anal itching are very severe. Due to frequent scratching, the anal folds may develop secondary damage such as hypertrophy, radial fissures, infiltration, lichenification or eczematous changes.

For a long time, the symptoms of severe itching of the vulva, hypopigmentation and whitening of the skin and mucous membranes, and local thickening and coarsening of the skin have been collectively referred to as vulvar leukoplakia, but there has been no unified diagnostic standard. Later, the International Vulvar Research Organization decided to cancel the name of vulvar leukoplakia and renamed the disease "chronic vulvar dystrophy". As a result, many people have misunderstood this disease, thinking that it is like general systemic malnutrition. Some patients ask doctors in outpatient clinics: Am I lacking any food? How can I be malnourished?

In fact, the exact cause of this disease is still unclear. Some people have conducted experiments in which they exchanged the diseased vulva skin with normal skin on the patient's thigh. After a period of time, they found that the transplanted skin turned normal, while the normal skin transplanted to the vulva turned into diseased skin again. Therefore, it is speculated that the neurovascular dysfunction deep in the vulva may lead to nutritional imbalance in the skin covering the surface. Studies have shown that tissues in various parts of the body rely on nerve regulation to ensure adequate blood supply so that they can absorb nutrients. If the nutrition supply is insufficient for a long time, it will inevitably lead to pathology. Vulvar malnutrition refers to local lesions and has no direct relationship with the overall nutritional status.

Other causes

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.