Vulvar Ulcerations

Submitted by posturemama on February 8, 2009 - 6:01pm
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Hi,

I'm new to this site but not new to prolapse. I was diagnosed with uterine prolapse after the birth of my daughter in 2003. Folloing my son's birth in 2005, I was diagnosed with a stage 2 cystocele, stage 1 rectocele & stage 3 uterine prolapse. For 5 years I have had no symptoms other than being uncomfortable from my cervix hanging just past the vulvas.

During the past weak, I develped increasing pain; to the point of not being able to walk. So I've taken it easy, stayed on my back but to no avail. After checking with a mirror I noticed I have ulcers & EXTREME swelling & redness. This is beyond painful. I've always bucked the idea of surgery but after this it has come to the forefront of my mind. I've tried icing to no avail. I'm wondering if I might even have an infection.

Has anyone experienced this & gone on to treat it succesfully? Will this be something that happens more often & gets worse as the rubbing of the cervix seems to be breaking down the vulvular tisse? I haven't had any luck with the sea sponges or a pessary. They always fall out.

I recently went into perimenopuase & have noticed signs of depression from it. Now with this going on I'm even more depressed.

louiseds

February 8, 2009 - 8:16pm

Hi Posturemama

Glad you have found us. Sorry to hear about the distress and pain you are having. While you are entering perimenopause and, while this may be a factor, I would suggest that go see a doctor and see what s/he has to say. It doesn't sound like purely a prolapse-related thing but it may be in some way related. Who knows. Hope this is not TMI but there are many sexually transmitted diseases that affect the vulva. I would suggest that you eliminate these possibilities and other straightforward vulvar conditions initially, and exercise maximum caution with any sexual activities before you consider the more mysterious possibilites (ie LS etc).

It is important that you take some action, which will at least mean you are not sitting around simply worrying about it and hoping it will go away by itself, which it probably won't. In the meantime there may be over the counter pain relief which could help, eg perhaps haemmoroid creams or something similar which contains a local anaesthetic. Don't get advice from an Assistant. Ask the trained pharmacist for advice. Trained pharmacists are very informative if only you ask them.

I do hope this proves to be a simple condition to overcome.

Louise

kiki

February 9, 2009 - 7:07am

HI Posturemama,

I echo Louise in saying go get it checked out.
But, don't panic. It may be something quite simple like thrush which, i recently discovered, can be horrific. I had severe burning / swelling / itching / tears--it was horrible. turned out to be bad bad thrush for the most part..

there are, as Louise said, infections that can cause ulcers. so can eczema / dermatitis like conditions. And other skin conditions such as LS (lichen sclerosis). but don't panic, just get it checked out.

in the mean time, salt water baths are very soothing (even soaking in a baking pan with salt water, not too strong! if you don't want to run a whole bath)

posturemama

February 10, 2009 - 5:37pm

Thanks Ladies. Turns out it is a strep infection. It most likely came from my bowel & essentially attcked my groin. Hopefully the antibiotics will kick in soon. I never ever thought this could happen.

louiseds

February 10, 2009 - 6:55pm

You'll have to ease up on the Brazilian. L

posturemama

February 10, 2009 - 7:22pm

What's the Brazilian L??????

louiseds

February 10, 2009 - 7:53pm

Just kidding. ;-) Total removal of pubic hair

But seriously, I think this is otherwise known as impetigo or school sores. See http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000860.htm . A friend managed to get these lesions all over her legs once, after shaving her legs, maybe with a contaminated razor, or some other thing to do with shaving. They are very contagious, so you will need to be meticulous about hygiene for a while, eg hands, wash cloths, towels, knickers etc need to be disinfected or dried in the sun after washing, and changed frequently. No sex for a while.

Antibiotics seems to be the treatment but it takes a few days to work. BTW, Gentian violet paint used to be the treatment of choice, and it still works well, but gentian violet has been identified as a carcinogen or something, and it is no longer available for purchase. You wouldn't want to be using it over a large area of skin for obvious reasons, but it is great for stopping tiny lesions in there tracks. Dries them up instantly so they don't weep everywhere and grow bigger.

I am so glad that is what it turned out to be. Fairly simple to treat. You may never get them again. I have had them a couple of times. Stress was also a factor.

Cheers

Louise