Vulvodynia is a sexual problem of women, it is pain and
some burning sensation at the outside part of female genitals and the entrance
of the vagina. It is an elusive disease, it is hard to diagnose. Gynecologists
can set a diagnosis by ruling out any other health problem of the genitals.
When doctors cannot find any reason behind burning, irritating pain in your
genitals, you can assume that you have vulvodynia.
Awareness Is Important
It is a common sexual health issue. According to the
National Institutes of Health’s Office of Research on Women’s Health, a study
conducted in 2006 suggests that about one in five women have the symptoms of
vulvodynia. However, many health care providers do not know this disease.
According to a 2003 study from the Harvard Medical School, over 3,000 women
have visited at least three doctors with their symptoms, and 40 percent of them
were not diagnosed with this condition. As a result, in 2007, The National
Institutes of Health has started a campaign that should raise awareness of this
problem.
Irwin Goldstein, MD, the director of San Diego Sexual
Medicine, the editor in chief of The Journal of Sexual Medicine, says that
vulvodynia is responsible for the pain that premenopausal women experience
during sexual intercourse.
Symptoms
Vulvodynia has different subtypes and subtypes have
different symptoms. Some patients experience a painful sensation only when they
touch their genitals or when a penis (or a tampon) enters them. Other patients
live with a chronic pain. They feel pain from wearing pants. In other cases,
pain is intermittent. Some patients have felt pain from the first time a penis or
a tampon penetrated her. Others developed the condition at a later stage in
their lives.
The reasons behind the condition are different. Some
patients have a nerve overgrowth at their genitals. Others may develop
allergies that cause their symptoms. Infections like candidiasis, herpes, or
human papilloma virus, also may lead to
vulvodynia. Probably the patients live with an autoimmune disorder, similar to
lupus or eczema. Pelvic floor dysfunction might be another reason.
According to doctors, vulvodynia is not a psychological
condition, even if its symptoms seem intangible. Health care professionals say
that it is often treatable, even if full recovery is rare.
Scientists have not found the exact cause of this
condition, they say it has multiple factors: genetics, immune diseases,
probably it has something to do with the wrong diet habits.
Treatment
Treatment includes healthy diet options, medicines, in
severe cases, surgery.
