Vulvar Disorders

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Basics

• Summary
• Start Here
• Symptoms
• Diagnosis and Tests
• Prevention and Risk Factors
• Treatments and Therapies

Learn More

• Specifics

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Research

• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

• Find an Expert

For You

• Children
• Teenagers
• Patient Handouts

Summary

The vulva is the external part of a woman's genitals. Some problems you can have with the vulvar area include:

• Vaginitis or vulvovaginitis, swelling or infection of the vulva and vagina
• Skin problems due to allergy
• Vulvar cancer
• Vulvodynia, or vulvar pain

Symptoms may include redness, itching, pain, or cracks in the skin. Treatment depends on the cause.

Start Here

• About Vulvodynia (Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development) Also in Spanish
• Vulvodynia (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
• What Causes Vulvodynia? (National Vulvodynia Association)

Symptoms

• What Are the Symptoms of Vulvodynia? (Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development) Also in Spanish

Diagnosis and Tests

• About Vulvodynia: Diagnosis (National Vulvodynia Association)

Prevention and Risk Factors

• Vulvar Care (American College of Nurse-Midwives) - PDF

Treatments and Therapies

• Self-Help Tips for Vulvar Skin Care (National Vulvodynia Association)
• Vulvodynia Treatments (National Vulvodynia Association)

Specifics

• Bartholin's Cyst (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
• Lichen Sclerosus (Cleveland Clinic Foundation)
• Vulvodynia (Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development)
• Yeast Infection (Vaginal) (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Vulvar Diseases (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Vulvodynia (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Vulvar lichen sclerosus and vitiligo: Overlap and clinical features.
• Article: The European Society of Gynaecological Oncology (ESGO), the International Society for...
• Article: Labial synechiae: a diagnostic conundrum.
• Vulvar Disorders -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Also in Spanish

Children

• Labial Adhesions: A Guide for Parents (Boston Children's Hospital)

Teenagers

• Lichen Sclerosus (Boston Children's Hospital)

Patient Handouts

• Vulvodynia (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Vulvovaginitis (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish