What should I do if I have excessive vaginal itching?
Excessive vaginal itching can be caused by a yeast infection or bacterial vaginosis (BV), pH imbalances in the vagina, and the use of panty liners that don't let air in. Sexual health expert Jen Landa, MD, provides some solutions for this issue.
Transcript
We always have bacteria and yeast in our vagina at all times. And they need to be in a proper balance.
That's what keeps it healthy. [MUSIC PLAYING]
A lot of patients complain of excessive vaginal itching. Now, most of us know that vaginal itching, a lot of times, will be a yeast infection.
At least 50% of us have had one at some time or another. And that's the cottage cheesy thick discharge.
Another cause for vaginal itching is Bacterial Vaginosis, or BV. The itching, in that case, is usually not as strong.
The discharge is usually not as thick. It can be kind of runny, a little bit yellow tinged. And the really telltale sign is the smell, the fishy odor.
That gets worse especially after sex because of the reaction between the sperm and the vaginal fluid.
So those are things to look for to make sure you don't have one of those two infections, which of course your gynecologist can help you with the diagnosis
as well. But other reasons for vaginal itching can be an imbalance of the vaginal pH. So what does that mean?
We always have bacteria and yeast in our vagina at all times. And they need to be in a proper balance.
That's what keeps it healthy. So we want to keep an acidic pH. We want to make sure the vagina is an acidic environment.
So one great way to do that is to use probiotics vaginally. So probiotics are good bacteria that
help keep the good bacteria and the bad bacteria and the yeast all in a good balance. And so you can use a gel, which you insert inside the vagina.
You can use capsules that you can insert inside the vagina. Or you can even take oral capsules. Oral probiotic capsules are going
to help keep the good bacteria and the bad bacteria in balance throughout your whole body-- your vagina and your gut.
And this final reason may really surprise you. A lot of women have itching from their panty liners.
Yes, it's from the dyes and the perfumes and from the plastic liners that don't allow your lady
parts to breathe. So it causes a contact dermatitis, which means itching based on contact with a substance.
So what you want to do, the solution here is if you need to use a panty liner, you want to find the ones that are free of dyes and perfumes and the ones that say "breathable"
on the package. [AUDIO LOGO]
womens health
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